Traffic at the intersection of Eighth Street and Highway 566 is causing concern for the City of Airdrie and Rocky View County.

That's what Lorne Stevens, Director of Community Infrastructure with the City of Airdrie told City Council at Monday's (January 15) meeting. A notice of motion from Councillor Tina Petrow prompted the update.

Stevens explained the City has been monitoring traffic on Eighth Street at Airdrie's southern boundary. 

"What we have currently observed is traffic counts in the range of about 12,700 vehicles per day. To put that in context, if we were looking at Main Street in front of City Hall, it's about that amount of traffic."

Stevens said over the last three years, traffic in that area has increased by approximately 18 percent.

Stevens also said that he has been in correspondence with his counterpart at Rocky View County, who has completed an intersection review and shared that information with the City.

"Ultimately what they identified is, they believe the most appropriate form of addressing this issue would be a traffic circle. Now that is contemplated with the overall 566 interchange improvements, but those have not been identified for specific funding by the Province."

Unfortunately land needed for a traffic circle is not currently available. Road widening that would need to occur before a traffic circle is constructed is just one of some outstanding issues.

Stevens explained that the City and the County did jointly author a letter to the Province several years ago, requesting their assessment of the intersection. That resulted in some speed signage, but the City and the County would like further steps to be taken.

"From the perspective of Rocky View County and City of Airdrie admin staff, we would like to see more. We are concerned about safety at this particular intersection. I'm mindful that 566 is controlled by the province and it is in a Rocky View jurisdiction overall."

The City has offered to conduct a traffic signal warrant study on the intersection to determine if lights should be installed, a move the County supports. Once that is complete, the County and City will bundle the data on traffic volumes, the intersection review and the traffic signal warrant and send it to the Regional Director of Transportation as part of a request for a traffic safety assessment by the Province. Stevens said because the information is still being collected, that is expected to be done around the end of the month.

 

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