Construction starting on downtown project

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 10, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Construction will begin this week on a downtown project that will see watermains replaced and protected cycling lanes constructed.
Those two elements are part of three facets of the project that will also include pavement rehabilitation work along 4 Ave. South and 7 St. S.
During the project 100-year-old watermains will be replaced along 7 St. S from 3 Ave. to 6 Ave. Watermain work between 3 and 4 Avenues on 7 St. will result in a full road closure and was starting Wednesday.
The protected bicycle lanes, the first of their kind in Lethbridge, will be constructed along 4 Ave. S. from west of Scenic Drive South to Stafford Drive South and along 7 St. S. and 7 Ave. S.
Weather permitting, all the work is expected to be finished by the end of the construction season, media was told Wednesday.
The work will be done in separate phases to reduce the impact on businesses which will remain open during the construction.
The City says as the cycling lane project was being developed, it offered an opportunity to do the watermain renewal and the pavement rehabilitation.
Those bicycle lanes on 4 Ave. will mean the four lanes that are now open to traffic will be reduced to two, with one running in each direction.
Parking will be alongside those lanes with the bicycle lanes situated between parking and the sidewalk. Concrete barriers will separate the bike lanes from parking spots.
Crystal Scheit, the City’s Urban Revitalization Manager, said people will see barricades coming up this week.
“This is a multi-faced project that the City is undertaking,” Scheit said.
“It’s a great project to really connect in some of the existing infrastructure, pathways,” and existing bike lanes to 7 Ave., she said.
She said the 3rd Ave. and Festival Square projects were great initiatives to help
with revitalization to try to encourage multi modes of transportation and the new project will enhance that.
“This is just another project that will really help with providing that multi-mode transportation to the downtown core by connecting those existing pathways and bike lanes and just adding additional way that people can access the businesses into the downtown core,” Scheit said.
The watermain that exists under 7 Ave. presents an opportunity to leverage projects together, leverage grant funding and existing operating budgets to be able to come in, do the watermain replacement, provide a new surface of the roadway” as well as creating the protected cycling lane, she said.
The City is working with the Downtown Business Revitalization zone to let people know sidewalks will still be open during construction, adding it may be a bit of an extra walk for people to get to their favourite store.
“We’re trying to make it as convenient as possible,” she said.
As part of the cycling master plan approved by council in 2017, this is one of the initiatives to show where cycling networks can connect to one another throughout the city. In 2020, this was one of the main projects that was identified to be implemented, Scheit said.
Sarah Amies, executive director of the Downtown BRZ said that the work “is necessary, it’s proactive. We’ve seen what disruption can happen when a watermain breaks,” she said with co-ordinated work making a lot of sense.
“The addition of the bicycle lane is awesome because it is yet another persuasion for folks to leave their cars at home,” Amies added.
Businesses “will be really glad when it’s over and that’s completely understandable. There’s a little bit of concern about disruption to business but we’re working very hard with the City to make sure that businesses on 7th Street remain informed,” Amies said.

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