By Thia James

Speed limit on 15th Street West staying put

Nov 14, 2013 | 4:07 PM

The speed limit on 15th Street West will remain at 50 kilometres an hour for all vehicles and the truck route will remain on that street.

Prince Albert’s city council made that decision at Tuesday’s meeting. Coun. Rick Orr made the request to look into making changes to the truck route and the speed limit for trucks after residents brought up concerns about the heavy trucks using 15th Street West causing vibrations.

Council also decided to look at changing how often the stoplights along that corridor turn red. The suggestion was countered by one member of council.

If the city ends up changing the frequency of the red-light cycle, it could lead to the further deterioration of the intersection, Coun. Lee Atkinson said. He suggested that if the volume of vehicle traffic was similar to the kind that travels on a highway, white-topping – covering the asphalt with a layer of concrete – could be an option.

“But if the volume of traffic doesn’t warrant it … you’re going to stop more trucks at that intersection and it’s going to deteriorate sooner rather than later.”

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Finding a solution in asphalt

But the city is eyeing a more permanent solution to the vibrations – paving the road. Last week, Mayor Greg Dionne said the rattling in the homes is a direct result of the condition of the road.

“At the end of the day, what we’re told is smoothing it out,” Orr said of the recommendation from the city’s administration.

“And since it [is] an arterial road and the residents have bought on that road, bought it in a condition when the road was in good shape. It is not in good shape. And that’s what they’re upset about. They want the vibrations to stop. We’re told by our experts that the best way to do that is smooth the road.”

Orr pointed to the $4 million the city allocated towards the paving program potentially having an effect on the condition of this road.

“And it’s in a miserable state now. I’m not sure where it’s going to be three years from now, if we have to wait for the upgrade to the underground pipes before we can do the surface. It’s the homeowners that are calling Coun. [Charlene] Miller and myself, they’re very concerned about it. They’re concerned with Coun. Miller’s discussion last week about the kids going back and forth across that busy intersection.”

He described the problem with 15th Street West as a huge burden on the area’s residents.

The asphalt reality

Orr presented some of the feedback his Ward 2 constituents living along that street gave to him. One key concern regarded how long the pavement would last if the city were to fix it up.

In response, capital projects manager Wes Hicks said how long the road would remain in good condition would depend on the volume of vehicles using it. Asphalt in this climate, he said, would last 13 to 24 years.

Hicks told council the timeframe for the upgrade is up to the council, because it would be a budgetary item.

And such a fix would not come cheap.

“I mean, we’ve estimated it would be anywhere between $1.2 to $1.4 million to go from avenue four [Fourth Avenue West] to avenue nine [Ninth Avenue West],” he said.

“And that would be the replacement of the water main and services, which would disturb the north curb and gutter, and sidewalk. So, that would have to be replaced. And then the re-asphalting of the entire roadway, which is wider than most.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames