Ask and you may receive.
The City of Merritt is making strides towards installing sidewalks in Collettville, acting on safety concerns expressed by School District 58 at a committee of the whole meeting last Thursday (Jan.14).
“We really want to make it safe and sidewalks are going to be the best way [to do that],” school board chair Gordon Comeau told the Herald.
“The way to implement it would be through a local area service, so the residents that are there are the ones paying for those services as opposed to people in other areas of town.” City of Merritt CAO Shawn Boven.
At the meeting City of Merritt chief administrative officer (CAO) Shawn Boven said that preliminary designs of a storm sewer system for the Collettville area have been completed, and the next step would be to complete detailed designs for sidewalks and come up with cost estimates.
“The way to implement it would be through a local area service, so the residents that are there are the ones paying for those services as opposed to people in other areas of town,” Boven said.
Boven told the Herald the city will put forward a budget proposal for council approval to move ahead with detailed designs.
If council were to make this a priority, staff could look into completing the detailed design this year and get cost estimates prepared for the 2017 budget.
Merritt Mayor Neil Menard told the school district the city won’t make any promises for sidewalks, but will discuss the idea during its budget deliberations before touching base with SD 58.
Boven said staff will be looking to council to designate some funds towards this initiative. The designs for sidewalks will need to determine where they will be built, what they will look like, what they will cost and other similar pieces of information.
Trucks often use Lindley Creek Road to access the Tolko sawmill and Merritt Green Energy Project.
SD 58 Superintendent Steve McNiven told the Herald that a number of students use Lindley Creek Road to access Collettville Elementary, Central Elementary and Merritt Secondary School.
At the meeting, Coun. Ginny Prowal said that she thinks a sidewalk along Lindley Creek Road should be a priority as it currently has ditches running along either side of it.
Trucks often use Lindley Creek Road to access the Tolko sawmill and Merritt Green Energy Project.
The school district has also sent a letter to the town of Princeton requesting it budget to place sidewalks around John Allison Elementary, noting student and public safety concerns.
