On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the City of Cranbrook and engineering firm Urban Systems hosted an open house to present concept designs on a redeveloped 2nd Street South and a new use for the Moir gravel pit as operations on some parts of it slow down.
Representatives from the firm explained the concepts behind the redesigns.
The plan for 2nd Street South was developed with the concept of a "complete street."
The redesign will include roundabouts at 7th Avenue and 11th Avenue, and bulb-outs as traffic calming measures. The sidewalks will be wide with prominent accessible bus stops. Crosswalks will be placed at narrow points in the road.
Urban Systems outlined the problems with the current configuration of 2nd Street South. Wide lanes and narrow sidewalks, as well as on-street parking all the way along it, make visibility limited. The wide crossings also make for long crossing times for pedestrians. Then the road surface itself is failing, and inconsistent drainage could put some residential properties at risk of flood. Underneath the street the water, sewer and storm drainage are in states of disrepair or past life expectancy.
Urban Systems presented two versions of 2nd Street’s re-design, with the main difference being the inclusion and exclusion of a central treed meridian.
The other part of the open house was the unveiling of the concept design to reclaim the Moir gravel pit land as mining winds down on parts of it. The city decided to start the reclamation process on the land as it becomes available — the first phase will begin in summer, 2014.
The plan is for a park with emphasis on dogs. It will include a small-dog area, off-leash area, dog training and play area, washroom and parking. It will eventually include a lake, a waterfront stage and amphitheatre, single-track paths, sledding hills and nine-hole disc golf.