By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
A pair of residents who live near Tamke Road south of Saskatoon appeared at the RM of Corman Park council meeting on June 24 to voice their concerns about the impact of a proposed upgrade to the road on the Hamlet of Beaver Creek and on local wildlife.
A few months back, Corman Park learned that the RM of Dundurn had been in talks with the Department of National Defence (DND) about upgrading Tamke Road to a primary weight highway standard.
Incidentally, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation was also involved in these talks, and Corman Park learned about the upgrade from them.
The reason for this upgrade is to provide an east-west access across the RM of Dundurn between Highways 11 and 219.
The project has also been cited as a possible resolution to a $100 million lawsuit launched by the RM of Dundurn against the federal government. This legal action was spurred by the DND’s closure of an east-west access through Dundurn.
One problem is that the RM of Corman Park was not involved in these discussions despite the fact the road actually belongs to the municipality, which Reeve Joe Hargrave pointed out at the June 24 meeting.
Despite being left out of the loop, Hargrave said they felt it was very important they become involved in this process so they could represent the concerns of ratepayers.
To that end, Corman Park council passed a motion in May to sign an amended memorandum of understanding with the RM of Dundurn, the City of Saskatoon and the Whitecap Dakota First Nation that sets out a framework of co-operation.
However, “we’re a long ways from doing anything,” noted Hargrave.
LOCAL CONCERNS
The first resident to speak was Cam Ewert, who brought up the potential impacts on the Hamlet of Beaver Creek.
Established in 1981, Ewert noted that this was the first organized hamlet in Corman Park and one of the first hamlets in Saskatchewan. In fact, there are still five original residents living within the community.
Ewert said their hamlet board conducted a survey of 66 residents, and found that 97 per cent of them were not in favour of this project.
He pointed out that a number of local houses would fall well within a 60-metre offset from the proposed highway, which could see as many as 1,800 vehicles per day.
He also highlighted flaws within the SNC-Lavalin report that originally identified Tamke Road as an option for upgrading to a primary highway weight standard, noting that it was “horrifically out of date” and the asphalt costs identified in that report have risen dramatically since the COVID pandemic.
Ewert noted the report also suggests that land acquisition costs could be $5,000 per acre. “If anybody can tell me where I can buy property in this RM for $5,000 an acre, I’ll line up to buy it,” he added.
He also pointed out that the RM of Corman Park’s administration acknowledged that upgrading Tamke Road would result in increased traffic along that road, but it would take pressure off of other RM-owned roads.
“To me that says, ‘These people will suffer, but we’ll be OK’,” he said.
Ewert suggested that all the information he had presented could be found on a website dubbed https://www.notamkehighway.com, including two potential alternate routes for an east-west access.
The other presenter was Christopher Giede, who focused on the potential impact on wildlife by upgrading Tamke Road.
“Beaver Creek is a wildlife corridor, and the west side of Tamke Road is a part of that wildlife corridor, no doubt about that,” he said.
Giede shared a number of photos he had taken of local animals, including long-eared owls and deer, and noted how a nearby slough was home to many species of birds.
“You could go there with a Saskatchewan bird book and fill half the pages with checkmarks,” he aid.
While putting a highway through the area would be a shock to local residents, he suggested that it would be even more devastating on the wildlife.
Giede asked the RM to eventually hold a meeting with all the stakeholders who would potentially be affected by this project, including the hamlet residents and the Salvation Army (which operates an overnight camp at Beaver Creek).