At their final council meeting of the current term Monday, Battleford council heard concerns about the situation along 5th Ave. West in Battleford West.
The roadway in question runs from Telegraph Road south to Highway 40. At Monday’s meeting councillors heard from Tom Sieben, a resident of the area, representing a group of local residents writing a letter to council on the issue.
Sieben made it clear this wasn’t the first time the issue was in front of council. He noted five issues with the road.
One was the dust generated by the gravel road, the noise generated from the traffic early in the morning and at night, the speed of the vehicles, the high number of vehicles utilizing the road, and a major blind spot on the road that is an accident risk.
He noted the road was being used by users from Cut Knife and Unity. “What they say is it’s the shortest, fastest way to North Battleford,” said Sieben.
He suggested either closing the road or finding another acceptable solution.
In the discussion that followed, Mayor Ames Leslie noted there was a pending study of that road with the ministry but it was delayed to after the election. The general feeling from council was that something needed to be done.
Councillor Kevin Russell said he went over to speak to those in the condo unit about the issue, and agreed “we have to do something ... we have to do the right thing.”
Some ideas offered at the meeting from Sieben were to put up a few signs and other things that could slow traffic down.
The indication from council is they will look at the issue further in the next term after the election.
