City council approved multiple changes to downtown with the new rehabilitation project at their Monday meeting. One decision made was to have asphalt used as the roadway material on 101st Avenue between 100th street and 102nd street. Councillor Helen Rice says although it is exciting for the downtown to think about options, she wants to make sure they don’t run out of money.
“The paving stone would be nice but the sidewalks are going to be unique. I want to make sure the project, that is enhancing and exciting for downtown, we don’t run out of money on surface beautification. The important thing is to get the underground done.”
She adds that some of the underground infrastructure was installed in the 1930’s. The meeting also brought some confirmation for some project limits that could change future expansion on Revolution place. Council approved the project limits adjacent to Revolution Place for deep utilities up to the original project limits located at the CN Railway and 101 Street. Mayor Bill Given says there was a variety of opinion on flexibility for a potential future expansion.
“In the end, we decided to proceed with the underground services. This will limit the scope of any future expansion.”
He adds that he is very excited for the project.
“I am a big believer in Grande Prairie and the future of [the city]. I am very comfortable in making investments, especially now when we are going to get a lot of value for construction work.”
The decisions for these changes to downtown were decided after the Open House for Downtown Rehabilitation earlier in February but there will be another Open House in the coming months to showcase more phases as they come available. Other approvals included the future parking system to be based on kiosk style payment.