SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With more than seven years of holdups, two Yellowknife MLAs say it's time for the Department of Transportation to get moving on building a safe pedestrian route from Niven Lake into the downtown core.

Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley says the delays on building a safe path from Niven Lake into the city is putting residents at risk. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo Council split on Niven neighbourhood access On Monday, Coun. Dan Wong will make a motion to have city administration meet with the Department of Transportation to discuss options for managing the stretch of road between Niven Gate and 49 Ave., to improve pedestrian safety. In order for the city to consider taking over the stretch, which is currently under the jurisdiction of the GNWT, senior administrative officer Dennis Kefalas said significant repairs are necessary. He went on to say administration is at a loss as to why those repairs were not included next year's territorial budget. "There has to be some kind of urgency here to do something in the meantime because it does continue to put residents at risk," Wong said. "From my point of view, I would definitely like our staff to be meeting with the Department of Transportation so they can discuss what sort of short-term solutions there are before the snow melts and foot traffic increases." With no easy solution in sight, Coun. Cory Vanthuyne suggested alternate routes from Niven Lake into downtown to avoid walking along the shoulder of the highway. "There are other options to consider and if in fact you are concerned about your safety, most certainly, take the other options," he said. Seeing a liability in taking on the burden of the battered highway, Coun. Niels Konge said he would not support a motion to assume responsibility. "As for putting people at risk, I do believe people are putting themselves at risk because we do have a very good trail network and along with a trail network we also have our city streets all the way through Niven, of which many have sidewalks," he said. "I think we as a city have given pedestrians and cyclists ample choice in which route they take and if they choose to take the highway, well that is obviously a choice that they make." This point drew firm disagreement from Coun. Adrian Bell who agreed with Wong that improving the access route for pedestrians is the responsibility of the city, whether by taking over the roadway or working with the GNWT. "I'm just not prepared to say, 'Use that stretch of road at your own risk.' That's ludicrous," he said. "I would like to see us move past this discussion, I want to see formal options here. I'm not prepared for us to say the GNWT isn't listening to us."

"This unacceptable delay has put the residents of Niven Lake, who commute to downtown by walking or bicycling, in an unnecessarily and increasingly dangerous plight," Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said March 10 in legislative assembly.

"Encouraging people to live a healthy lifestyle, reduce their carbon footprint, leave the car at home and walk when possible are all legitimate suggestions from the government, but we must do our part and ensure they can be done safely."

In legislative assembly, Beaulieau responded to questioning on the condition of the roadway by saying that he was unaware the road was in bad shape, which is why repairs hadn't taken place. The response drew stated surprise from both Bromley and Framle Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro.

Beaulieu went on to say his department looked at the issue in 2011, in particular the option of building an underpass for the access road.

"After carefully examining that and having some difficulty with getting some land on the Niven Lake side of the road, it was determined to be unfeasible and the money was spent on another transit project within the city," Transportation Minister Tom Beaulieau said in response to Bromley's question.

Efforts have been made to increase safety in the area, Beaulieau said, including lowering the speed limit to 45 km/h. Aside from that, he said his department would need to come up with a solution with the city and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Following up on this, Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro offered another solution.

"The city and the GNWT have been talking about this stretch of road for many years," said Bisaro.

"My first comment to the minister is that there's a simple solutions to this very complex problem - fix the road, which is what needs to be done, bring it up to code, bring it up to standard and turn it over to the city."

With residents voicing concern over the lack of a safe pedestrian route into town from Niven Lake, Mayor Mark Heyck told Yellowknifer council did make the issue a priority early on in its term.

While city administration has been in talks with the GNWT on the issue, he said the poor condition of the road is a serious consideration.

"There are some major concerns about the state of that road and the cost associated with maintaining it," Heyck said.

"There are unstable ground conditions under certain sections of that road. The territorial government has fixed the road many times and within a year it's sagging in certain spots again. From a cost perspective, we have some fairly serious concerns about taking it over."

As far as committing funds to repair the road, Beaulieu said it would have to be treated as a new project and brought to the house.

"So, that's not going to happen for about five years then, if we go through the capital process. It's well beyond that. This is not a new project. It's something that's been on the books for quite a long time," Bisaro said.

"If the GNWT is not willing to do the work, will the GNWT accept the bill from the city when they do the work and hand over the bill?"

The government has indicated that it would look into rebuilding the road if the city were to take it over, Heyck said, but the council has not made a firm decision on whether it would be willing to take that responsibility on.

"It's up to council to make that determination. There are mixed opinions among council whether it's a good idea or not to take it on, regardless of the cost of initially repairing or ongoing maintenance, it would require additional work for the city," Heyck said.

"Council will have to vote on that at some point in the future, if they want to go in that direction."