Deciding who pays what for improvements to Hwy. 2 intersections is not as easy as it sounds. So town council is finding, as it tries to come up with a formula that’s fair – both for developers and taxpayers.
Council entered its Mar. 4 meeting intending to make a decision on a formula – but ended up delaying it another month as it tries to wrap its head around a host of considerations, some of them brand new.
One thing’s for sure: traffic on and across Hwy. 2 has increased tremendously in the past two years. With further development south of the highway in process and even more proposed, the traffic is bound to get even heavier.
Typically, benefiting developments pay for such infrastructure upgrades that the development makes necessary. But the question of who benefits from intersection improvements on Hwy. 2 is a complicated one. Council heard from two developers at the meeting, both of which pointed out that when the town came up with its formula for who pays what, it missed several potential beneficiaries.
For example, Dave Gaskell of Legacy Developments asked the town to consider land at the northwest corner of Hwy. 2 and Caribou Trail, as well as lands south of the highway, but east of Sawridge Creek. Those lands, when developed, would benefit greatly from intersection upgrades, he pointed out.
In the first case, the land in question is in the M.D. Lori Skrynyk, the town’s planning and development supervisor, said that there’s no mechanism for collecting levying fees on M.D. lands.
Nathan Boskers, representing the Springwood commercial development, had a similar line. He focused on land north of Hwy. 2, saying that it should be considered when distributing the cost of intersection upgrades, since any development there would certainly benefit. Not only undeveloped lands, he said, but “suppose 15 years from now somebody tears down a building and puts up a multi-family. Surely there’s some way to deal with that.
“The developers that are currently doing things are bearing the brunt of this,” Boskers said. “The guys down the road are getting a free ride.”
Additionally, Boskers said his company believes that Alberta Transportation should bear some of the cost.
“They need to step up to the plate and contribute,” he said.
Under the scheme as proposed, the town would cover 25 per cent of the cost of the upgrades, which would amount to around $625,000.
Councillors felt they needed more time to consider the issue. They decided to put off a decision for a month.

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