I find it difficult to understand why city officials do not want to move the cenotaph considering the traffic flow of Ross Street and 49th Avenue.
I am sure our Engineering Department anticipates increased traffic flow down this major throughway connecting the city of Red Deer. The proposed lane of where the park will go has been closed for close to a year and a half and we are having traffic snarls. What will this be like when it will be permanently closed?
With all due respect to our past and present war veterans, I believe the cenotaph must be moved to a larger park such as City Hall Park, a park all the citizens of Red Deer are proud of.
I am sure the plans to create a park around the present location of the cenotaph will be wonderful. Our city planners made Red Deer a city of parks, but this one truly is not practical in a growing city. Creating this park in its planned location will remove even more parking stalls and become a small space for people to enjoy. Additionally, this will create traffic problems with the addition of benches, trees and people. Permanently closing off of this section of road on Ross Street may reduce commerce in the area as well.
At present, the section proposed has been closed for more than a year for the building of Executive Place. Once this section on Ross is opened, I suggest the city allow some time to see what traffic will really look like once it is back to normal in the area.
Council, please consider alternate locations for the cenotaph. Let’s do it now instead of reconsidering it in 10 to 15 years.
Don Wielinga
Red Deer