Highway 2 rewidening project continues to generate discussion within Red Deer

David Miller, who’s on the board of the Maskepetoon Legacy League, said the open house appeared to be more of a presentation for the Alberta Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors to show what’s been decided rather than to gather public feedback.

He explained the ministry seems set with the plan they have right now, which will impact 7.5 hectares or 18 acres of Maskepetoon Park. This option also includes a 130 km/h standard.

He said many at the meeting raised questions about why a 125 km/h standard, which would only impact 1.96 hectares of the park, or a 120 km/h standard, which would impact 2.7 hectares of the park, wasn’t considered.

“That question was asked in a few different ways at different times, and we never really got a great response,” he said. “They basically said no, we’re building at 130 km/h and the design is what it is.”

Miller said one design was asked about a 110 km/h design speed, which would have far less impact on the park and potentially a safer highway design but said the province didn’t seem to have an answer for it. There’s also a plan that doesn’t go through the park at all.

The Ministry reported that the reason for the project is to address aging infrastructure, capacity, traffic collisions, overall safety, and economics. As they say, the highway is Alberta’s most important commercial highway corridor.

In a statement from the Ministry, they said there was a variety of views and opinions from local Red Deer residents at the open house.

“Preliminary engineering for the project is complete, and the detailed design phase will incorporate local input. With more than 10,000 vehicles using this road each day, the goals of the project is to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and create a more reliable transportation network in Central Alberta.

For residents unable to attend the Open House, we encourage them to send their ideas to tec.hwy2reddeer@gov.ab.ca and Red Deer city council.

The project presentation and an updated fact sheet are available at www.alberta.ca/Hwy2RedDeer.”

Laura Murphy, vice chair of the Maskepetoon Waskasoo Legacy League, said when lanes are added, there will be increased noise, more pollution, and more congestion.

She said that by increasing the highway to eight lanes, there could also be increased collisions.

“What we’re seeing is that the highway’s actually not going to be any safer. At higher speeds, the reaction time is less, and with pollution, it makes property values less desirable,” she said.

“As well, they’re going to go through 25 per cent of the park, which includes part of the wetlands. They’re talking about reclamation, but wetlands simply can’t be recreated elsewhere with the same ecological value.”

The MWLL further pointed out, the province reported that 50,000 drivers a day drive on that stretch of highway near Red Deer each day and by widening the highway, it could add thousands more, adding to the noise and potential safety concerns.

“We aren’t opposed to having a safer highway, but with increasing to eight lanes and the speeds increasing, how can it possibly be safer?” Murphy said.

Miller added that they believe the widening needs to happen, but that it could be done in a safer way with less impact on the park.

“At some point in the future, the stretch between the north and south ends of Red Deer likely will need to be like Deerfoot Trail or Stoney Trail. It has to move to an urban design with a lower speed to keep everyone safe.”

Red Deer Mayor Cindy Jefferies, who was at the meeting alongside select city councillors, said there was frustration in the room among people who wished they were involved in the process earlier.

However, she did hear that the province is doing some engagement with local Indigenous communities.

She said the city owns some of the land the province is looking to build on so council will need to decide whether to engage in negotiations with the province or not.

“It’s the province’s project, so whether they decide to make changes based on what they heard, I don’t know,” she said.

“When they have their final proposals together that will come to council for consideration on whether we’re going to support it and negotiate, or what other opportunities are in that space.”

Currently, the Ministry is in the public engagement portion of the process, but if they get the go-ahead, construction could begin in 2028 and be completed by 2030.

by Ian Gustafson

Highway 2 rewidening project continues to generate discussion within Red Deer

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