After sending out notices to four affected subdivisions within the county, Wetaskiwin county council has decided to make some speed changes.
Dorchester Ranch, Hiland View, West Point Beach and Heritage Estates all received notices from the county about potential speed zone changes, as well as requests for feedback regarding the proposed changes.
Of those who responded in the four subdivisions, residents in three of the four subdivisions supported reducing the speed zone from the current 50 km/hr to 30 km/hr.
Of the 187 notices sent out, only 56 were returned, and of those, 39 voted in favour of the change.
The Speed Rate Bylaw passed all three readings during the Nov. 9 regular meeting.
New access road
A rural residence in the County of Wetaskiwin is going to be getting a new access thanks to a new Memorandum of Agreement between the province and the county.
The agreement, signed during the Nov. 9, 2021, council meeting, will close the existing access to the property, and establish a new access via one of the county’s nearby township or range roads.
Currently accessed off of Highway 2, the rural property has had an “unsafe access for a number of years,” according to public works director Neil Powell.
To-date, county staff have put in about 50 hours of work into the project.
Various connection routes have been reviewed, however, during the meeting Powell said that the owners of the property were requesting that the access not come in from the west via Range Road 261, as it would cut their field in half.
One option proposed during the meeting is extending Township Road east towards Highway 2, then turning it south towards the residence, running the access parallel to the highway.
With the agreement signed Powell will begin working with his counterparts at Alberta Transportation to finalize the route of the access and get construction started.
The project will be fully funded by Alberta Transportation.
Motorcycle ice racing
County council has approved the 2022 edition of the Mulhurst Bay Motorcycle Ice Races.
The first two races of the series will take place on Jan. 23, and Feb. 6, 2021.
According to the request for council decision, organizers of the event are expecting 100 competitors in the race, being put on by a team of 25 volunteers.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Rod Hawken, this is at least the fifth year for the event.