Edson Mayoral candidate Kevin Zahara speaks out on town water supply & pedestrian safety.
Edson has made the regional and national news more times lately than many would feel comfortable with. There have been two stand out events lately, firstly the fire on 50th St. where water supply questions were raised and secondly another tragic death of a pedestrian.
We asked Edson Mayoral candidate, Kevin Zahara for his take on both events and issues.
On the fire
“Our emergency services did an excellent job with the fire on 50th street a few weeks ago and it showed the excellent mutual aid relationship we have with Edson, Yellowhead County and Hinton. This fire was significant with the age of the building and the materials used in its construction. A massive amount of water was used by the multiple fire engines and firefighters on scene in order to contain the blaze. Fires of this scale, fortunately do not happen often. The water restriction was only put into place in order to fill our reservoir quicker, so if another fire did occur there would be ample supply. We were not short of water. It was an excellent precautionary measure taken by public works and our fire department to ensure we didn’t end up in a situation where we didn’t have water for essential services.
The restriction was pretty minor, only impacting non-essential watering such as lawns, truck fill station, sani-dump and the spray park. The town invests a lot of money each year for our water system, looking at new wells and ensuring we have safe, clean drinking water. Our Fire Department is well resourced. Should a large fire, or several fires break out in town, I’m confident that are in a good position to deal with the situation. We have open water sources such as ponds, creeks and rivers in which water can be pumped from if the town water system is taxed during a large-scale fire.“
On pedestrian safety
“The issue of crossing the highway has been long standing. Unfortunately, little movement has been made because traffic and pedestrian count thresholds have not been met for the Province to put crossings in place.
The Town has historically said it is a provincial responsibility, and rightfully so, since the highway is under the jurisdiction of the province.
That being said, somebody has to do the right thing as this issue should have been dealt with a long time ago. It is a matter of public safety.
I don’t believe full-fledged traffic stop lights are needed, but I do believe pedestrian activated crossing lights, such as the ones located at some of our schools and along Highway 2 in High Prairie and Highway 55 in Athabasca are required. We need at least three along 4th avenue (by A&W, Centennial Park & Walmart) and one or two along 2nd avenue (Provincial Building & possibly Canadian Tire). If the province can’t get their act together than the Town of Edson should deal with it. It shouldn’t take a collision like this to make it happen. With the Carbon Tax in place, and the Notley Government trying to get people to use less fossil fuels, this would be a perfect opportunity for our provincial government to provide some grant funds from the Carbon Tax to put pedestrian crossings in place. If the Province won’t provide funds or won’t do it, then the Town needs to step up and get it down.
I believe Edson has a larger issue than just pedestrian crossings on the highway. Our community is not pedestrian friendly and that needs to change.
We have multiple areas in which we have sidewalks that go to nowhere, meaning that you walk along and the sidewalk just ends. You are forced to walk on grass, in a ditch or on the road. We have multiple areas along the highway and commercial areas such as by Independent Grocers and Walmart that have no sidewalk. Historically bad planning has led to this situation. When developments were approved, sidewalks should have been a requirement.
A complete review needs to be done to make Edson more pedestrian friendly, ensuring safe crosswalks and sidewalks that actually connect to each other. 40th street by Hillendale is another example where there should be a sidewalk or trail for people to walk on. I’m surprised we haven’t had more accidents. A complete review would be a priority of mine if elected, and I would want to see recommendations on how to effectively fix this problem.
More and more people don’t have access to vehicles or prefer to walk, run or cycle. Our community in the last few years has been come more active with the establishment of Eddie’s Big Run, Step-it Up Challenge and other events.
More needs to be done to address these issues to ensure a safe and active community.”