At Fernie’s council meeting on July 13, council supported a number of awards, grants, and decisions to improve infrastructure throughout the city.
The Ghostrider Commercial Infrastructure Project was approved to Transcendent Mining and Mobilization Inc. As recommended by the city’s consulting engineers and ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd., mayor Ange Qualizza and Fernie’s corporate officer are to execute a contract for the project in the amount of roughly $2.3 million. An additional amount of approximately $220,000 is being allocated from the Gas Tax Reserves to be used as a contingency fund for the project’s completion.
The Ghostrider Commercial Infrastructure Project will ultimately improve the Ghostrider Commercial Area with heightened service to neighbourhood users. Improvements include a stormwater management system, larger water mains for increased available fire flow, a multi-use path for connectivity to adjacent neighbourhoods, and improved paving and road structure.
On July 13, council also supported an application to the Infrastructure Planning Grant Program (IPGP) to receive $10,000 in funding for the Fairy Creek Drinking Water Source Evaluation Project. The program is offered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and assists municipalities with planning, designing and managing infrastructure to improve public health and safety, environmental protection, and infrastructure sustainability. The application for funding will delineate the social, environmental, and economic benefits of the Fairy Creek Drinking Water Source Evaluation.
In the coming years, the city seeks to invest in upgrades to the Fairy Creek water supply. To supply safe and quality water, and to ensure that supply from Fairy Creek can meet Fernie’s demand, the city seeks to increase knowledge of the risks to the safety and availability of drinking water before planning for future investment in the source.
Also decided on July 13, all future council meetings will be relocated to the Community Centre.
In a post on their Facebook page, the City of Fernie also mentioned that staff reached out to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) about the congestion experienced on Highway 3 earlier in the month. Changes have now been made to better manage highway work near the city to allow for better traffic flow. As such, the MOTI re-evaluated the signal timing of one way alternating traffic at the Fairy Creek bridge, committing to hiring traffic control personnel on site during long weekends to judge the flow of traffic and override the signal based off of volumes queued. The city and MOTI further committed to communicating in an effort to better manage future traffic delays.
Throughout July and August, road work crews will also be completing improvements to stormwater management, pavement edges, and gravel shoulders along residential streets in West Fernie. Citizens are to expect intermittent lane closures and are urged to respect traffic control and drive with caution in work zones.
The City of Fernie also seeks to remind residents that Community Ambassadors will roam city parks and other populated locations as summer weekends become busier. The ambassadors promote the adherence to social distancing in shared spaces by providing the public information and answering questions.
For more information and city related updates, visit Fernie.ca.
reporter@thefreepress.ca
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