On Monday afternoon, hours after a ground-breaking ceremony took place, City Council was informed of what will be occurring in the coming months about the City's new Library and Multi-use Facility.

Luna Velez, Project Manager with Colliers informed councillors that construction is set to begin imminently though there were discussions surrounding a potential delay due to a traffic impact study. Velez said that although a traffic impact study had been conducted a year ago, due to the redesign of the facility, a revised report was received.

"When we received that revised report, it was submitted with the development permit. That's what's being worked out. The traffic impact assessment has been done [and it] is just getting the traffic consultant to do a little bit more digging on some of the specific questions that we've been getting in terms of the big picture of; all of Main Street."

Councillor Petrow asked if the traffic assessment is only for the site itself or the greater downtown area.

"That's really what we're doing right now; because the traffic consultant looks at the Main Street movements, but it's focused on the site. So, when they put their recommendation forward, it just looks at it from a project perspective. That's where we're working with the city - to look at it more broadly in terms of the big strategy for Main Street and all the other intersections that are nearby," Velez answered.

City documents that were presented to the council, enumerated the potential for a delay because the timelines for the development permit approval might delay the approval of the foundations’ permits which would impact CANA’s to start the construction and take advantage of the favourable weather during the summer. This was one of the more critical project risks. 

However, Michelle Lock, with the City's Community Services clarified that development permits have been approved.

"[This development] is going to generate new traffic patterns, new demands to the site. Engineering has asked the traffic consultant to do a little more modelling and to get them a little more information so that they're confident that they're selecting the right solution for traffic along Main Street."

Lock added that the Engineering side has granted the project to proceed as the traffic consultants were to bring back the information requested on a very short deadline. 

In late September, a Design Development report that is being prepared by CANA and Turner & Townsend will be presented to City Council. It will touch on the Class B Cost Estimate, to verify that the project is still on budget.

When completed in 2025, the new space will be 73,000 square feet, with 53,000 square feet allocated for the library and 20,000 for the multi-use space. The cost of the project is priced at $65 Million. 

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