Interchange ignored: councillor

The province’s refusal to fund a badly needed Deerfoot Trail interchange in the city’s far southeast is hobbling development there, says a city councillor.

The city and developer Brookfield Residential are willing to pay for $20 million of a $50 million interchange at 212 Avenue and Deerfoot Trail to connect the communities of Cranston and Seton and cover the rest as a loan, said Ward 12 Coun. Shane Keating.

But he said after being part of the previous Tory government’s 10year capital plan, the commitment to fund the project has languished under the NDP regime.

“Our plan capitalizes on the investments from other partners and it doesn’t make sense they wouldn’t go along with that,” said Keating.

Better access and gridlock reduction is vital in an area that’s recently received the South Health Campus and new fire hall, along with other prime amenities, said Keating.

For now, the only way to quickly go from one of the rapidly-growing communities to the other is the overpass above the Deerfoot at Cranston Avenue and Seton Boulevard. And he said the develop- ment is also needed to ease access to Cranston since the area isn’t approachable from westbound Stoney Trail.

“The city won’t approve more development until such time as they find ways of getting more traffic through there,” said Keating. “If the existing system fails, the congestion is crazy.”

It’s possible provincial funding could leverage infrastructure money from Ottawa, he said.

The province has been confronted with $14 billion in capital funding requests when it’s just increased its spending plans to $4 billion, said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason.

“We can’t say ‘yes’ to everything right away,” said Mason. “The Prentice government may have promised things but they had $80 a barrel oil ... We’re in a difficult financial position.”

The province, he said, is saddled with obligations to either fund or possibly contribute to the Springbank anti-flood dry dam, the southwest ring road, a Calgary cancer centre and LRT Green Line. He said Brookfield has requested the meeting but no date for one has been set.