Coaldale resident ‘fed up’ with plans for 16 Avenue

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Sunny South News

Clive Schaupmeyer, a 74-year-old resident of Coaldale, claims the Town of Coaldale did not “do their due diligence” in consulting the residents of 16 Avenue, the street he lives on.

Moreover, he is “fed up” with a general lack of communication from town council, potential traffic increase, as well as the potential risk of sewage back-up.

However, Spencer Croil, deputy CAO and director of Planning and Community Development, as well as Kalen Hastings, chief administrative officer (CAO) for the town of Coaldale think otherwise.

“The town has a participation policy and they absolutely, utterly ignored it,” says Schaupmeyer, adding the town “didn’t ask one person for their opinion.”

“This is the biggest complex in a 100-year history,” says Schaupmeyer, “it was always intended to be a park.”

Schaupmeyer exclaims, “there has been zero communication to anyone on 16 Avenue from the town.”

Croil made a presentation to town council May 10. In his presentation, he outlines that notice was mailed to surrounding property owners, as well as two advertisements in the Sunny South News. There were no requests to speak at the hearing.

However, that’s not all the town did. Croil says the creation of the website letsconnectcoaldale.ca -“was an example of the town’s commitment to public engagement.”

“The concept of extending 16 Avenue west, as part of the town’s growth management plan, is not new and has been in the planning works for almost 15 years,” says Hastings, “as growth occurs in and around the joint facility, additional vehicular entryways will be created on the west side of the facility.”

According to Schaupmeyer, “there would need to be a few hundred trips of school buses, parents and students.”

Despite Schaupmeyer’s concern, Hastings says, “the town’s transportation planning consultants have confirmed the way the existing portion of 16 Avenue is currently constructed, in terms of lane widths and a sidewalk on the south side of the road, it is able to carry the expected additional volume of traffic to and from the school and rec centre.”

“As is the case in any situation -where new growth uses parts of an existing network, which is almost always, this part of the network will be monitored over time.”

But, this is not Schaupmeyer’s only concern. He is also concerned about the potential for sewage back-ups in the homes of residents on 16 Avenue.

“I’m no sewer engineer, but I have a note from the CAO in 2015 acknowledging there were sewage back-ups in 2013/2014 or 2014/2015,” says Schaupmeyer.

“The sewer issues that were caused in 2013 and 2014 were largely due to in-flows from storm water runoff and sump pumps being connected to the sanitary system in Garden Grove. These issues will not get worse with the introduction of the flows from the school and rec centre. This has been confirmed by MPE Engineering, as a part of their modelling processes for the school and rec centre site, and by town infrastructure staff, “says Hastings.

“Capacity along 16 Avenue has been confirmed to be sufficient for the school and rec centre, and the portion of the existing sanitary line between 23 Street and the road that serves the Garden Grove Manufactured Home Park is being replaced and upsized, as part of the 16 Avenue roadway extension project, as well.”

“Storm water infiltration and in-flow issues are also an area of focus with any upgrades planned and executed in the area,” says Hastings.

“As development occurs in the town quarter, and capacity thresholds are reached for sanitary sewer, further upgrades will take place along the line that is in place at 16 Avenue.”

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