Bragg Creek residents petitioning for changes to frustrating intersection
Worried about increasing congestion, confusion and potential collisions, residents in Bragg Creek are petitioning the province to fix a troublesome intersection in the community.
Mike Shea, a resident in the town just west of Calgary for 51 years, says the awkwardly-structured four-way stop at Balsam Avenue, Highway 22 and Highway 758 is so flawed that tourists are avoiding the area while townspeople who live there feel trapped.
“It’s not a normal four-way stop, where the roads are perpendicular. Roads come in at an angle, so people get confused, they don’t know what they’re doing in terms of how to get through,” Shea said.
“And with more people coming into the area, especially on weekends and special event days, the traffic is becoming really backed up.
“We’ve been stuck there for up to 45 minutes at times.”
Shea added that last summer, during the July 2016 long weekend, he heard a Calgary radio station broadcast warnings to motorists to avoid Bragg Creek because of excessive traffic volumes.
Residents say traffic congestion comes from a number of different sources, including Bragg Creek becoming used as a growing traffic transportation bypass to south Calgary.
More hikers are also flocking to the recently expanded trail system in West Bragg Creek, Shea added, and special events such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
As well, with the recently proposed residential development at Wintergreen just west of the townsite, the Gardner residential development on Highway 8 and the completion of the Calgary ring road project, residents worry even more traffic will be added.
In 2012, Alberta Transportation conducted an intersection improvement study, proposing several different solutions, but concluded two traffic circles or “oblong roundabouts” along Highway 22 at Balsam Avenue and then at Highway 758 were the best solution.
“But a year after that, we had the big flood in June 2013, and since then, all the priorities have changed,” Shea said.
Officials with Alberta Transportation said they’ve heard from residents and the area MLA about congestion and safety concerns but the proposed roundabout solutions are not a priority.
“Our government has funded many road improvements that increase safety for drivers in our province by ensuring that our roads are well-maintained and the traffic control infrastructure that is needed is in place to prevent collisions,” said Aileen Machell, press secretary to Transportation Minister Brian Mason.
Each year, future projects are based on certain criteria, she explained, including the number of people affected by an intersection.
“While a roundabout at this intersection is not currently on our three-year construction program, it will be considered in future budget cycles.”
NDP MLA Cam Westhead, said while he sympathizes with concerned residents, there are other higher priority projects that impact more people.
For example, the intersection at Highway 1A and 22 in Cochrane, has received funding to start construction on an interchange in late 2019.
More than 25,000 people now live in Cochrane, a rapidly growing commuting hub, while only 2,000 residents live in Bragg Creek, which contains many retirement and recreational properties.
Westhead added that while the Bragg Creek four-way stop can be a challenge, “I’m not aware of many collisions there. Because of the congestion things slow down so much, you don’t get a lot of accidents.”