Sylvan Lake’s years-long lakeshore redevelopment project will reach a major landmark.
By this fall, improvements to sidewalks and other pedestrian areas on the north, lake-side portion of the main strip will be complete.
Town council approved tenders for Phases 5 and 6 on Monday. Phase 5 involves upgrading the sidewalks and road from 52nd Street west to Marina Bay. Phase 6 involves similar work at the east end of Lakeshore Drive from 33rd Street to the Hwy 20 roundabout.
Both projects were originally scheduled for last year. However, council decided to postpone the work after the sole Phase 6 tender came in much higher than anticipated.
Getting turned down for a $1.4-million provincial grant that was to be used for Lakeshore Drive also convinced council to reconsider the project schedule.
Mayor Sean McIntyre said the town got better pricing this year and will go ahead with both phases.
On Monday, council approved spending $2.39 million on Phase 5 and $1.58 million on Phase 6.
“We’ll go forward with a similar design and calibre of work as Lakeshore Drive east, in the business district,” said McIntyre.
”It will unite and unify the entire lakeshore district, for the people who use the area, which we hope is a growing number of our residents and visitors,” he said.
Redevelopment of the town’s lakeshore has been going on for eight years. New washrooms and changing areas have been created, Centennial Park remodelled, Lakeshore Drive re-routed and sidewalks turned into promenades as part of a multi-million project that included significant provincial funding.
McIntyre said the town may turn its sights in the future to upgrades to other parts of the Lakeshore and downtown areas.
“I would not rule out more improvements in the future,” he said.
The town will also fix an ongoing headache for RV users.
A dump station was removed from near the local UFA store during upgrades to sewers in 2012. A temporary location was found on Erickson Drive in an industrial park, but it didn’t provide water and was not in the best location for access.
The solution was found through an agreement with Canadian Tire and Sylvan Lake Shopping Centres to locate a sani-dump in part of the hardware chain’s large parking lot.
Council approved a $180,191 tender for the project, which is expected to be done by late June.