By TERRY PUGH
With the Martensville Recreation Centre (MRC) slated to open in mid-October, officials with both the City of Martensville and the Ministry of Highways are hoping to finalize a plan that makes it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to use the Main Street overpass over Highway 12.
Currently, pedestrians and cyclists using the overpass have to stay on the shoulder as close as possible to the bridge railing. There is no physical barrier between pedestrians and vehicles. There are also no pedestrian walkways at the vehicle approaches and exits to the overpass.
It’s an issue that Martensville City Councillors are very concerned about, and discussions on the issue have been ongoing for several months.
“In an urban environment, which is where that overpass is located, it makes sense to have access not just for vehicles, but also for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Martensville Mayor Kent Muench. “We’ve advocated for that to be part of the design right from the very beginning, when the overpass was first approved by the province almost a decade ago.”
The $58.3 million multi-purpose MRC is located in the new Trilogy Ranch development area on the west side of the highway, which is part of Martensville’s long-term growth plan.
The overpass connecting Martensville’s Main Street with Township Road 384 was completed in 2018. The original design for the overpass did not include any accommodation for separate pedestrian walkways and cyclist lanes, despite the province being aware that Martensville’s future growth plan hinged on residential and commercial expansion on the west side of Highway 12.
“The overpass bridge itself is not a highway; it’s a continuation of our Main Street, where the speed limit is 40 kilometers an hour,” said Muench. “But it’s built to the same standard as a highway-speed overpass with wide lanes like the one at Warman’s intersection of Highway 305 and Highway 11.”
Muench said despite having the support of then-MLA Nancy Heppner, city officials were not able to convince the Ministry of Highways to include a separate pedestrian walkway into the original design of the overpass when it was first constructed in 2018.
Over the years, discussions with the Ministry continued with the goal of accommodating pedestrians and cyclists.
Those discussions are still underway, according to the Ministry of Highways. In an email response to a question from the Gazette in mid-September, the Ministry of Highways stated: “The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways is working with the City of Martensville on an interim solution to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on the overpass over Highway 12. The ministry is considering re-allocating existing lane and shoulder widths of the overpass for an interim pathway.”
The focus of the discussions now is on a proposed design for the walkway and connected pathways.
The City of Martensville previously completed a design with their engineering firm, Catterall & Wright, to design a solution that included pathways leading to the overpass connecting the main city to the new recreation facility.
Muench said the city was prepared to pony up the funds, despite not owning the asset.
“We had budgeted $1.2 million for the design on an asset that isn’t ours,” said Muench. “The Highways Ministry should have included that design in the first place, but they didn’t. So we as a council agreed that this was important enough that we would do it.”
The design prepared by Catterall & Wright for the city included a proposal for the installation of concrete jersey barriers on the south side of the overpass bridge deck, which would have the effect of narrowing the lanes. The decreased lane width, combined with a lower speed limit, would act as a traffic-calming measure and contribute to pedestrian safety.
The city has already allocated $1.2 million in its 2024 civic budget for the project. The engineering and design cost was originally estimated at $200,000, but that price tag has since risen to $250,000.
Martensville city councillors were dismayed to learn at a council meeting in early September that the cost of both the design and construction had increased after new requirements from the ministry were included in the design by ISL Engineering.
A report from the city administration to that council meeting indicated the Highways Ministry had identified additional requirements, including cast-in-place concrete barriers that would be keyed-in to the bridge deck, and larger concrete refuge islands for pedestrians. These and other additional requirements would boost the overall construction cost to between $2.4 and $4.1 million.
Several councillors questioned whether the additional requirements were necessary, noting that jersey barriers are working well at a new mid-block crosswalk on Centennial Drive.
Councillors also did not appear willing to proceed with spending any more on the design, but may be open to textual amendments to the engineering report containing its previously-submitted design.
The Ministry of Highways, meanwhile, says it is awaiting direction from the city.
“The ministry looks forward to receiving from the city a design for this interim solution so it can be reviewed by Highways to ensure it’s safe for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists,” stated the Ministry of Highways email to the Gazette referred to earlier. “The ministry appreciates the patience and understanding of the community as it continues to work with the city to move forward with a solution.”