Town Council has voted to go ahead with installation of nine bollards after another vehicle jumped the curb on 1st Avenue.
The original project was for nine bollards to be installed at a cost of $30,000 in 2018. The work to purchase the bollards and prepare the locations cost $15,000 in 2018, and the remaining $15,000 was carried forward into 2019. The total cost of installations for 2019 will be $20,000, and the additional $5,000 of funding will come from savings of other public works projects.
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The bollards will be made of hollow steel pipes encased in cement with a decorative bollard placed over top. They will be set four-feet into the ground, and able to withstand vehicle impacts up to 30km/h. Vehicles that jump the curb on 1st Avenue are often travelling at high speeds.
Businesses along 1st Avenue were surveyed through the Ladysmith Downtown Business Association. Many businesses responded that they had not been affected by incidents of vehicles jumping the curb, however some businesses did report damage and disruption due to the incidents.
“At this point, we need to be moving forward with the plan that we have,” Councillor Tricia McKay said. “We’re not going to know if they’re going to do the job we hope they’ll do until we get some installed. I’m happy with the nine that we’ve got and seeing what happens from there.”
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The Town can choose whether to continue installing bollards during budget approval discussions every year. A phased approach is planned to eventually install 160 bollards over a number of years with a budget of $30,000 per year beginning in 2020.
Work on the bollard project will take place over the summer of 2019. Traffic disruptions on 1st Avenue are expected due to the installation.
