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Restaurant owner concerned about Gasoline Alley road changes

Nearly 20 trucks were lined up on the service road in front of Glenn’s Restaurant and Gift Shop in Gasoline Alley on Friday morning.
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Nearly 20 trucks were lined up on the service road in front of Glenn’s Restaurant and Gift Shop in Gasoline Alley on Friday morning.

That useful access road and prime parking spot will be closed on Monday as the overhaul of the $100 million Hwy 2 and Gaetz Avenue interchange improvement project continues.

“Monday morning, goodbye trucks. There’s no parking for trucks,” said Glenn Simon, whose restaurant bears his name.

“You take out one whole service road and guess what happens. The people that used that for parking, trailers, motorhomes and trucks are going to have to go away.”

For the trucks that do venture into Gasoline Alley, Simon wonders where they will stop and what traffic chaos could be created as they navigate through the redesigned area. Traffic entering Gasoline Alley from the new entrance will have to negotiate two tight traffic circles, two sets of lights and four light-equipped crosswalks.

“It’s going to be like a maze getting through it,” he said. “Trucks are going to have a terrible time navigating.”

Simon also wonders what sorts of traffic jams are going to be created when the service road access to nearby gas stations and restaurants is eliminating funnelling all vehicles in from the west.

He also wanted to see better exit routes out of Gasoline Alley and the new access road in made two lanes instead of one.

“The old plan has one lane and the new plan has one lane. How is that an improvement?”

Likewise, the exit at the south end of Gasoline Alley remains limited and is already backed up often even without the service road closed.

Red Deer County manager Curtis Herzberg said the county unsuccessfully urged the province not to close the service road, at least until another alternative parking is available. While it was always an impromptu parking area, it clearly served a purpose.

“From the county’s perspective, we don’t have jurisdiction. We lobbied against (the closure) for some time.

“Five or six years ago, we shared similar concerns to the private sector folks about the impact, the fact that there is nowhere for these trucks to be.”

Herzberg agrees that truckers parking options will be limited once the service road closes and some could end up parked illegally on other Gasoline Alley streets.

That is one of the reasons the county is moving ahead quickly on the development of a truck stop at Hwys 2 and 42 interchange east of Penhold.

Alberta Transportation is leasing a five-acre parcel from the county to build a paved parking area this fall for 40 to 50 trailer units with washroom facilities provided. Other amenities, such as restaurants, are expected to follow over time.

“It gives (truckers) a safe place to rest,” said Herzberg.

While the truck stop will likely draw off some business from Gasoline Alley, the highway improvements are expected to increase visits from other motorists.

An overpass that brings Gaetz Avenue traffic on to the highway through the slow lanes is an improvement and a new longer access to Gasoline Alley will reduce some of the last-second braking the old configuration created too often as drivers went from highway speeds to 50 km/h over a short distance.

This is not the first time, major changes have had an impact on Gasoline Alley businesses, said Simon, whose family has been feeding motorists since 1969. When an access to Hwy 2 was closed off in 1995, business dropped about 30 per cent in the first year.

However, it bounced back and Simon is hopeful that despite the aggravations he predicts, drivers will keep coming.

“I’m hoping people will adjust quickly and still come to our facility.”



pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

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