Transportation Master Plan Recommends Major Traffic Change On 9th Avenue NW Hill

The Transportation Master Plan (TMP) was presented to Council on Monday afternoon.

The TMP - conducted by the consulting firm KGS Group at the cost of $250,000 - is an extensive study of the City’s present transportation infrastructure as well as opinions from local transportation users.

The TMP contains a series of recommendations and proposals in a prioritized order to guide Moose Jaw into the near and not so distant future of transportation in the city. The City does not have to implement any of the proposals in the TMP it is a guide only.

Likely one of the most controversial proposals in the TMP is converting 9th Avenue NW from Caribou Street West to High Street West.

The recommendation is listed as a high priority in the TMP.

A diagram from the Transportation Master Plan showing the proposed conversion of the four lane 9th Avenue NW to three lanes.

The conversion, if approved, would be the same traffic configuration as 1st Avenue NW from Manitoba Street to Oxford Street.

“On 9th Avenue NW we’re recommending a four lane to three lane conversion. With the center lane acting as a two way left turn lane to help provide access to the residential areas,” Destiny Piper from KGS Group told Council.

“This organizes traffic and prevents weaving along the corridor. It also provides additional right of way to the east for a potential pathway when the road is reconstructed,” she said.

It needs to be remembered the TMP, although an extensive review of transportation in the city, only provides proposals and recommendations the City does not have to adopt.