The Traffic Impact Assessment was necessary to determine what, if any, impacts will be seen for emergency services response times and what, if any, suggested improvements need to be made to roadways and intersections to mitigate the impacts.                                                                             

The Town of Drumheller does not have the capital to replace the current fire hall infrastructure.   

The traffic count data collection methodology provides a worst-case scenario for traffic volumes that will be impacted by the 2-block closure of Riverside Drive. Initial traffic counts and patterns were taken from pre-pandemic times. Furthermore, the counts were based on peak tourism season, peak AM travel times, and peak PM travel times. The counts were then adjusted to reflect the growth in population from pre-pandemic times to the present.     

One-way streets can cause confusion and limit emergency access further. Installing one-way streets is not the best solution for the Drumheller Valley.  

Increasing the speed on Railway Avenue East would not be an option, the town would sooner decrease speed limits in residential areas than increase speed limits elsewhere.  

Construction of a road on top of the Berm would require the dike to be built to a much higher standard in a few areas, including the fill, dike side slopes, roadway geometry, guardrails, etc. These standards would be required for vehicle loading and roadway considerations, which would significantly increase the cost of the dike; thus, this measure was discounted. Constructing a road on top of the Berm would also cause a significant impact on adjacent properties due to the footprint.

The travel times post-closure considers the three intersection improvements. Without these improvements, there would be greater travel time delays. The TIA modelling shows how the intersection improvements will reduce delay at key intersections within the network and so reduce the travel times post-closure along the diversion routes. Travel times were only modelled for Emergency Vehicles.  Regular traffic would have slightly longer travel times, as compared to Emergency Vehicles, however, they would likely result in similar trends in traffic travel times.

The preferred route for semi-trailers is the highway. The preferred route for RVs and motorcycles is utilizing regular transportation routes.

Stop signs are approximately $500 for material and labour. As we are in the preliminary stages, a high-level estimate for other intersection improvements is approximately $150,000.     

As outlined in the presentation, travel times consider several factors including new turns. The Traffic Impact Assessment results in similar trends in traffic travel times overall.      

The Downtown and Area Revitalization Plan team will be working with Wayfinding, Google Maps, Apple Maps, and other digital platforms to ensure correct routing is provided.           

The Town already only allows cars and trucks to angle park. There are signs on the street indicating that large vehicles park in a free parking lot downtown. The Town also has listed RV parking locations on our parking signs.   

As outlined in the presentation, there are multiple routes that would allow for sufficient travel times for those not requiring an ambulance. As always, if a person is in need of immediate medical attention, they should always call 911.     

The aim of the Traffic Impact Assessment was to determine what, if any, impacts will be seen for emergency services response times and what, if any, suggested improvements need to be made to roadways and intersections in the downtown area to mitigate the impacts.                 

All highways within town limits are under the jurisdiction of Alberta Transportation (AT). It is AT that would be responsible for determining the need for and installing any traffic lights along their highways. At the town’s request in 2019, AT did review this intersection for a traffic light but there was not enough vehicle traffic at that intersection to warrant installing lights. AT is also moving away from traffic lights in communities and installing traffic circles instead, so if warranted, that is what they would have installed.