Jasper Avenue pilot project winds down this week

This is the final full week of Imagine Jasper Avenue. The pilot project aimed to bring an “innovative, vibrant and relevant streetscape that balances the needs of the community, commuters, businesses and visitors” to the section of Jasper Avenue from 109 Street to 124 Street, according to the City of Edmonton’s website.

There’ll be a wrap up event Saturday and between now and when a report to city council is distributed in January, one design modification will be adopted that was changed midway through the experiment.

There will be a right hand turning bay kept at 109 Street.

“It’s good to open the right turn and do some signal operational changes so that it benefits both commuters and pedestrians,” project manager Satya Gadidasu said. “Once that study is completed we want to take the recommendations and go with that into the design to do the modifications.”

Two months into the test period, after vehicles had a hard time turning right to head south to the High Level Bridge, engineers opened the bay and the change was monitored during September and October.

The layout of the avenue will remain until the end of the month. Already the trees in the portable containers have been removed because of the weather. Gadidasu said the park benches, picnic tables and other amenities that were put along the sidewalks to narrow the width of the avenue will be removed before Remembrance Day.

“We’re actively working with other city groups to make sure that we find a permanent home for the elments we put out there.”

Bannister Research has resumed its work doing phone interviews to collect resident feedback now that the election has come and gone. That data, along with what city staff will have compiled, will be put in a report for city council that will be presented in January.

“Now we have to get into the design and once design is done we’ll have a clear idea how much it will cost. That’s where we’ll be going to council to ask for the money.”

On Saturday, between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., city staff will be holding the final of four events looking for feedback on the pilot project.

“Whatever the public felt in the last four months will be shared with the public so they have a good understanding of how the avenue elements put out there will fit into the permanent plan,” Gadidasu said.

Construction is slated to begin in 2019 once the design work is finalized next year.