Changing the face of the community

After being a topic of discussion for a number of years, the sidewalks in the downtown core are finally being replaced.

This makes Director, Operations & Infrastructure Jason Bradley happy. “We’re changing the face of the community,” he says proudly, as we watch a crew pouring concrete beside Lush Deserts. “We are replacing all the sidewalks from around the downtown core, excluding the Dollar Store, Subway, Dragon Palace, and Fresh Mart. Everything else in the downtown core will be repaved with new curb and gutter as well.”

He says, while there have been some disruptions downtown (including closing Main Street for much of last week), the project is moving along at a good clip. “The project started two weeks ago, and they’re projected to be done by May long weekend.”

The total cost for the project is estimated to be just over two million dollars. That’s including re-doing the curbs and gutters, something that wasn’t in the original quote.

According to Bradley, the curb and gutters were not included in the original plan, as they are generally considered part of the scope of work in a road maintenance project. “However, with the sidewalks removed the heavily deteriorated condition of the curbs has become more prominent,” says Bradley.

Bradley says this allows them to make the sidewalks more accessible. “One of the things that we were diligent on was improving accessibility. So not only are we putting back the letdowns [curb cuts] for access to the sidewalks, we added nine additional letdowns in the downtown core for easier accessibility. We also added better accessibility around the pharmacy to help with our seniors.”

In addition, a number of the obstacles that used to dot the sidewalks are not returning, most notably the concrete pillars. “We got rid of quite a few obstacles that used to be in the downtown core. With breezeways between the pharmacy and the bakery, as well as between Tumbler Ridge Place and the liquor store, we got rid of all the obstacles that were in place before. This is going to have a better flow through and it’ll give us a clean palate for seating outside, for tables…it will give us different options for flower pots, and so on.”

This will also make it easier for sidewalk cleaning in the winter.

About a quarter of the cost—$500,000 is coming from a BC Active Transpor-tation Infrastructure Grant from the province. The remainder is coming from other funding sources and not directly from taxes.

He says the new sidewalks will have better drainage. “Everything is sloped properly this time.” He points to the example of the transformer located near the Century 21 office. “We removed the old brick wall that was in place there. We got rid of it because water was pooling in behind the wall. This way it’ll open up that area, but it’ll also allow for better sloping for drainage. The condition of the concrete that we had, the drainage issues were becoming worse. So this will be a huge improvement on all of that.”

Bradley says this has been in the works since 2019. “It’s taken a lot of work to get this project underway. And to be honest, Lisa Scott, our CAO, was instrumental in moving this forward. With all the staff turnover that we’ve had, nobody’s been able to take it over the finish line until now.

“And the business owners have all been absolutely fabulous through this. I think the contractors have been great. Everybody’s working together to try to get this done. We’re two weeks into the project and I would say we’re over halfway through the pour already. We’ve already got all the concrete removed. So I would say this project is, so far, been very successful.”

This is just phase one for a summer of construction in Tumbler. This week, renovations have started on the Community Centre’s lower parking lot. “There’s some big changes coming there with accessibility as well. There is going to be a traffic circle down below for drop off. There will be additional accessible parking spots. We’re getting rid of the brick work in front of the pool breezeway. That’ll all be paved for ease of maintenance. We’ll also get rid of the high and low spots on the brick work, which can become slipping hazards in the winter. So that’ll all be paved. It’s going to be crisp. It’s going to look really good down there.”

And then there’s the golf course road. “We’re trying to figure out a timeline as to when we can get started on the golf course road replacement. We’ve run into some issues with increased cost, so we’re no longer paving it. It’ll be a dirt road, but it’ll be wider, safer. And obviously we’re going to address all of the bumps in the road.

“We’re also looking at doing a few additional paving projects. Starting the last week of May, we will have roadworks going on Bergeron, Southgate and portions of Pioneer Loop. Continuing the capital budget this year, we’ve brought forward five roadways that are going to be getting resurfaced. We will be starting with Valleyview Crescent. Then over to Peace River Crescent, where we’re going to remove the median that’s at the entrance. Right now, anybody that lives in that little section of roadway, has to pull illegal U-turns to get to and from their home. It’s also going to make snow removal quite a bit easier for us. We won’t have to mow that little section anymore. So I think that’s going to be a big improvement.

And once that’s done? “We’re also looking at doing Wolverine Place and Wolverine Avenue, as well as Sukunka Avenue and Sukunka Place. So we’re just doing all the testing that’s required before we start looking for resurfacing.

“It’s busy, but it’s definitely going to be worth it when it’s done,” says Bradley.

Zeb Irving, who has joined us for the interview says he welcomes people to come out and check out all the work that’s going on downtown. “And in return, I’m hoping that it’s going to help our business friends here as well. There’s some new businesses that are just opening their doors, and that’s definitely needed for our small businesses in town in the downtown core. So come on down and spend some time in the downtown core. It is going to create an inviting environment.”