The proposed sidewalk connecting the Timmins Square to Walmart will require more council discussion before being set in stone.
It is one of the many new capital projects included in a draft of the 2016 roads budget.
A little more than a kilometre of sidewalk in the west end could prove costly to the city coffers, but would do wonders for safety in the area, council has heard.
Many figures have been mentioned at council meetings throughout the past few years, ranging from 500,000 to nearly $1 million to complete the project. The latest figures from city officials estimate the cost at around $700,000.
Mayor Steve Black says although it would be nice, the public should not be getting their hopes up yet.
“I would like to see the sidewalk built but I am not sure it will make one of the top priorities for this year. We have many infrastructure needs throughout the community and some I consider a higher priority then the sidewalk so it all depends how much money we have available for capital this year. Council has many projects they would like to consider as well so we may need to push the sidewalk for another year,” he said.
The Timmins Square is the largest shopping centre in the city and is the former site of Walmart, before the retailing giant moved to its current stand-alone location, further west on Riverside Drive, in 2005.
Councillor Andre Grzela, who represents the area, has been supporting the proposal since its inception.
“A project like this, like any other significant infrastructure project, would need somewhat of a study. What are the best options? Is it a curbside sidewalk, or a stand-alone sidewalk like they have on Airport Road. Where the students used to walk on the road, now they actually have greenery and a ditch in between the road and the sidewalk. Is there room to do that?” said Grzela.
Black said he feels that there is enough room to build a sidewalk in the area, but has concerns about going ahead while a study on the city's main thoroughfare continues.
“There is currently a feasibility for the entire connecting link ongoing and that may be another reason to delay the sidewalk. We may not want to construct a new sidewalk if we are looking at doing major reconstruction of the connecting link which would result in us digging it back up and may want to wait for construction to happen during that phase of work,” he said.
Grzela is optimistic that the financial burden wouldn't drop solely on local taxpayers.
“If we do decide to go ahead with it, there's a lot of things happening provincially and I do believe things will be hopefully occurring soon federally, when it comes to funding for infrastructure or this kind of project for the municipalities” he said.
He adds that although the money was included in the draft budget, it does not necessarily mean that it would be spent in 2016, or that it will even pass council voting.
“The money can be put aside if we say yes, but the council can say no later on if the expenses are above and beyond what we earmarked,” said Grzela.
Much like council, public opinion on the matter is mixed.
“Most of the feedback I have received is positive regarding the sidewalk but like any issue there is always people on both sides of the debate. I wouldn't say there has been a ground swell of feedback on either side” said Black.
Grzela feels that it would be a snug fit to install a curbside walkway as it stands.
“I drive there almost every day, I think the shoulders would have to be widened to allow for a sidewalk, if its curbside, right along the road” he said.
The possibility of needing to expropriate land to the city would be a part of the study.
He feels that opposition to the idea, which includes some members of council, are simply not informed enough. “Some of the other councillors don't see how many people actually walk on the side of the road there, simply because they don't drive there daily like I do” said Grzela
“You can only do what you can with what you know.”
He would like to get some credible numbers on the amount of pedestrians currently, and the amount of interested if the walk was much safer and accessible.
“I'm willing to suggest maybe transit provide a survey to some of their ridership, sort of an 'if they build it, will you come?” said Grzela.
Opposition from council includes Councillors Pat Bamford and Mike Doody who feel the numbers simply aren't there to justify the expense.
Numbers would likely be much higher if the walk was less intimidating. The number of pedestrian-vehicle injuries and fatalities have been on the rise locally leading some to avoid the risk, particularly in winter.
“It's quite frightening in the winter especially, to see people walking along there and traffic having to stop to make sure they don't get close to the pedestrians,” said Grzela.
“We have a responsibility to make sure the residents stay safe.”
