P.A. city council has voted to sell a walkway on Laurier Drive to address all the issues coming from residents. (City of Prince Albert)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Issue Resolved

P.A. walkway set to be closed off after years of concerns from residents

Oct 20, 2021 | 1:05 PM

After several years of waiting, multiple residents in Prince Albert are getting their concerns about a walkway addressed.

The city’s council met on Monday where they approved selling the small path on Laurier Drive to one of the homeowners on the street who has plans to add it to their property.

The walkway leads to an alley that vehicles use despite there being no straight path to 28th Street West.

It’s also become a spot for unwanted guests.

“People seem to be hanging around in that walkway, sleeping there during the night, urinating, all that kind of stuff,” said Larry Danylyshen who lives two doors down from the path.

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He noted a lot of children also use the path, however, closing it would do better than bad.

Ron Koop lives a few doors down from the walkway and says he hasn’t experienced any issues but sympathizes with those right next to it.

“I understand if my house was right next to it, I might feel differently.”

These issues aren’t new.

An attempt was made back in 2013 to remove the walkway, but P.A.’s council voted against the ask as there wasn’t a policy in place outlining the procedure to officially close off a path.

Since then, a ‘walkway closure policy’ has been established.

Now that they have the proper procedure, P.A. Mayor Greg Dionne believes it was time they got rid of a path that doesn’t have much upside.

“There are five or six houses to the corner, so even if you use the walkway you don’t have to go far to get around.”

The only one who didn’t vote to close the walkway was Councillor Terra Lennox-Zepp who claimed she doesn’t want to close any walkways.

Currently, the area is still open to the public.

A deal between the city and the property owner buying the path is still in the works.

As it stands, the individual is set to pay $1 for every square foot, with the walkway being approximately 1,070 square feet.

After the sale is complete, the owner will be responsible to fence the property which will physically close it off for good.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow