The majority of residents who attended the City of Castlegar information session about the Columbia Avenue Redevelopment project Tuesday night were in favour of the project as a whole, but some had concerns over individual elements.
The first phase of the project will cover Columbia Avenue from 11th Street (the bottom of Sherbiko Hill) to 18th Street (the intersection near the Super 8 and CIBC). The project includes underground water utility improvements, repaving of Columbia, curb, gutter and sidewalk upgrades, landscaping and street furniture and one-way cycle tracks.
The cost of this phase is $5.376 million with almost two-thirds of the funding coming from the federal and provincial government through grants. The city’s portion of the bill is $2.1 million.
The current plan calls for the relocation of power poles to the outside of the sidewalk at a cost of $600,000. At a city council meeting a few weeks ago, Coun. Bruno Tassone brought up that he would like to see the power lines buried during the project. The city estimates burying the lines would cost $3.1 million and because of the price tag, the remaining councillors were not in favour of the idea, but agreed to seek input from residents during the information session.
There were about 25 residents at the meeting and Castlegar News tried to talk to as many of them as possible to get an idea of how people felt about the project.
Of those questioned, 17 were in favour of the project as a whole, four were against and a few were undecided.
The most voiced concern among those in favour and against was the bike lanes, but the lanes were also the reason other residents were absolutely enthused about the project. Local teacher Kurt Kutschera stated, “If I see kids riding to school more, the project is well worth it.”
Reasons against the lanes included not liking that there were two lanes, not liking the raised curb dividers, and the concern that the bike lanes are narrowing Columbia Avenue.
Another concern was that the project is costing too much money.
One senior resident who was in favour of the project expressed that she felt that the project has to be done — that infrastructure must be upgraded. She also liked that it would create jobs, be good for the economy and make the city more attractive to visitors.
As for the question as to whether residents were in favour of adding an additional $2.5 million to the project to bury the utility lines — the majority of residents at the meeting gave a resounding no. One resident expressed it this way, “I would love to see it — but we are not a big enough community to afford it.” Similar sentiments were repeated frequently.
Other comments included, “We have to be reasonable,” “What are we potentially giving up in the future if we spend this money now?”, and “Do I want to pay for Fortis to upgrade its utilities — no.”
The city will be looking over the feedback forms that were distributed at the meeting, but barring any major issues brought forward by enough residents will be moving forward with the project.
