Parkland residents opposing traffic changes on Highway 16A

PARKLAND COUNTY -- A local petition is calling on the province to scrap its plans to close Range Road 20 access on Highway 16A.

As of the time of this article, the petition, submitted by local resident Tracy Hucul, has garnered more than 400 signatures. The petition opposes Alberta Transportation's plan to close the intersection and instead reroute traffic through a service road connecting to Range Road 15.

According to Hucul, this will present various concerns, including possible safety issues.

"We already see accidents so many times at that intersection," said Hucul in conversation with the One. "Range Road 15 and 16A is already a very busy intersection as is, and now they're closing off Range Road 20, and all those community members are now rerouted to an already busy intersection. So there definitely is a safety concern."

In a letter from Parkland County Mayor Allan Gamble, its stated that the province's Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors has already reached a decision about proposed safety improvement changes. Despite this, he says they will continue to communicate residents' concerns as received.

The petition calls on Alberta Transportation to adopt a solution that reflects the community's needs and priorities. Hucul says that the voices of community members were clear during consultations, and that the new road plan fosters more problems than it solves.

She adds that the plans will add unnecessary congestion to the area and will negatively impact area residents.

"There is a concern that there will be a significant increase in both noise and light pollution from traffic," said Hucul. "This will have a direct impact to quality of life, and also, more traffic pollution on that corner."

Publicly released details about the improvement project for Highway 16A at Range Road 20 are few, but the Ministry of Transportation notes that it is currently in its design phase. It's anticipated that full construction will begin in the spring of next year.