Editor:
In addition to the points made by Iris Christou in her letter published in the May 2 edition of The Crag regarding the sewage bridge the Town has planned for the south end of Muskrat Street, please consider the following:
In an article entitled ‘Residents fighting bridge construction’, published in the March 29 edition of the Rocky Mountain Outlook, Cathy Ellis wrote “Aging sewer pipes, installed some time before 1968, carry all sanitary waste from the north side of town under the Bow River from the south end of Muskrat Street to Glen Avenue. An investigation in late 2010 showed the pipes must be replaced as soon as possible, leaving the Town of Banff worried raw sewage could spew into the River should an aging sewer pipe break.”
“…the pipes must be replaced as soon as possible…” appears to contradict a Town of Banff document entitled Condition of Infrastructure which was revised October 2011. You can find Condition of Infrastructure at http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Maps+PDF/infrastructure-map.pdf
This document describes the condition of streetlights, sidewalks, road pavement, and sanitary main (sewer lines).
There are five condition categories: very poor, poor, fair, good, and very good. The condition of the sewer pipe extending under the Bow River from the south end of Muskrat Street is described as ‘fair’. It seems to me that if “…the pipes must be replaced as soon as possible…” that their condition would be described as ‘very poor’ or ‘poor.’ A section of the Otter Street sewage pipe, between Moose and Wolf Streets is described as ‘very poor,’ as is the section of Bear Street in front of the Bear Street Parkade.
The Smiths, the Christous and other Banff citizens living in the vicinity of the proposed sewage bridge could be labelled as NIMBYs. While many residents may not share their NIMBY-related concerns, all permanent residents should share the other concerns of Mrs. Christou regarding the Town’s plan to build this sewage bridge.
As a Banff resident stated at the April 10 Town council meeting, “From where we sit, this project is being over-engineered to justify a bridge the majority of residents would prefer being placed in another location or even not built at all.”
Numerous issues surrounding this project smell – and it’s not from the sewage that will be flowing through these pipes.
Iris Christou is right – let’s have a democratic vote.
Jon Whelan,
Banff
