SASKATOON – For the 5,500 residents living in Hampton Village there is now only one way into the community.
“Right now, it is the only main artery out of Hampton Village and it isn’t done properly so we are going to fix that,” said Ward 4 city councillor Troy Davies.
The westbound lane of Claypool Drive from Airport Drive to McClocklin Road is closed to traffic this week so Hampton’s north entrance can be twinned.
“It should be done probably by early November it’ll be complete. They will be working between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., although they are allowed to work until dark,” said Celene Anger, the city’s construction and design director.
The project is in response to the neighbourhood’s growing population and problematic flooding at the McClocklin intersection.
“These were neighbourhoods that were thought of when city planners came up with Hampton Village. They thought it would take years and years to fill up. That was the mindset 10, 12 years ago when they designed these plans for Hampton Village,” said Davies.
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Hampton Village took much less time than that to ‘fill up’ sending a clear message to city planners.
“The planners have learned from mistakes and think they would do things differently in new neighbourhoods that they’re developing now compared to what they’re seeing in Hampton Village,” said Davies.
The only other major roadway to get into the community is down 33rd Street, which has seen a significant increase in commuter traffic.
Overall residents don’t seems to be upset knowing there is a need for change.
“During the rush hours sometimes I’ve noticed during the morning they’re having a build up by the intersection between the stop sign and Claypool so they need to widen it. So for me it’s really good. It will help a lot,” said Hampton resident Mark Martinez.
The project will continue in spring when another lane will be added to the east side of Claypool Drive.
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