The protected alignment for Molly Banister Drive extension will remain in city plans following a 5-3 vote by city council late Tuesday night. (City of Red Deer)

By Sheldon Spackman

Back To The Drawing Board

Melcor disappointed but moving ahead following Molly Banister Drive decision

Oct 28, 2020 | 12:48 PM

Officials with Melcor Developments are expressing their disappointment after Red Deer city council’s decision to keep the Molly Banister Drive protected roadway alignment extension in the City’s plans moving forward.

Following a public hearing during a special meeting of council on Tuesday, a recommendation from City administration to remove the extension was defeated in a 5-3 vote by council.

Guy Pelletier, Vice President Red Deer Region for Melcor Developments, says they felt they had a compelling case to eliminate the potential extension.

“It was a case we thought was in the best interests both of that community, as well as the whole city,” laments Pelletier. “So it’s quite unfortunate that the administrative recommendation, which confidently stated that the Molly Banister Drive extension was not required to manage traffic, was dismissed by some of the council members.”

The potential roadway alignment would see Molly Banister Drive extended over Piper Creek just east of Bower Place, and hook up with 22 Street at 40 Avenue.

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Despite suggestions from some councilors that keeping the roadway extension in the City’s plans offers options in the future, Pelletier counters that there’s a significant cost in keeping those options open.

“I think it was pretty clearly stated by the folks in the engineering and the traffic department that the alignment was not needed with some of the modern technology they have to manage roads, they’ve got other tools,” Pelletier suggested. “Clearing up this item, which has been around for three decades or so, just having certainty on what the plan is, then they can go ahead and design those solutions without this extension and manage traffic very effectively for that part of the city.”

According to Melcor, maintaining the protected roadway alignment would have a negative impact on property tax revenues by an estimated $670,000 per year.

Beyond the lost potential revenue, Melcor officials say the City would have to invest tax-supported capital dollars for an additional 1.4 kilometres of divided, four lane arterial roadway, including a significant bridge – resulting in ongoing maintenance liability in perpetuity.

A 2006 study done for The City of Red Deer determined that the cost to widen 19 Street (including significant intersection improvements at the intersections of 19 Street / Gaetz Avenue and 19 Street / 40 Avenue) would be $20 million more than extending Molly Banister Drive, including construction of a bridge crossing Piper Creek.

The study also noted that even if Molly Banister Drive were extended, 19 Street would still need to be improved at some point.

“I think it was spoken to pretty confidently by the fire chief (Ken McMullen) that there was no issue whatsoever with EMS times, either for fire or ambulance,” Pelletier added. “And it appeared through the work done by the engineering group that there would be some minor savings in commute time, but we’re talking about a pretty extensive piece of infrastructure and in our view, it’s not in the city’s best interests to spend the kind of money it would take to build this road for the very limited savings that we would find on commute times.”

Pelletier says Melcor will now go back to the drawing board and analyze what their options are for creating a Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan (NASP).

“I think we’ve got a pretty clear picture now of what the concerns that were raised by folks in the area and by council themselves. So it’s up to us and our consulting team to find solutions that resolve those concerns. We’re not going to rush into it, it’s a pretty special property and we want to make sure we get it just right.”