By Sheri Monk

The town of Maple Creek is trying to keep people from walking dangerously close to a large construction project in the heart of downtown.
For months, workers have been busy at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Jasper Street, transforming the vacant lot into an impressive, two-storey brick building.
The eventual result will be the new home of Cypress Credit Union and the construction process is anticipated to take approximately one year to complete.
Meanwhile, the construction site is utilizing the pedestrian sidewalks adjacent to the property, which allows no room for foot traffic. To help control the flow of traffic during construction, a three-way stop sign was erected at the intersection. Town administrator Mark Caswell says walking next to the site, in the midst of traffic is dangerous on two levels.
“Initially, I think we had tried to maintain a bit of a walking corridor there for convenience’s sake. Initially, there wasn’t as much concern because there was nothing up high that has a risk of falling that could cause harm to somebody. But since they’ve erected the steel super structure of the building, they’re working up above things and it’s a real safety concern,” he explained.
In addition to the risk of falling materials from the construction site, walking on the road poses another hazard, paticularly in icy conditions or reduced visibility. A slip and fall could prove disasterous for a pedestrian walking beside moving traffic and poor visibility could prove tragic if a motorist doesn’t see an unexpected pedestrian in time.
“Because it’s extended the fence out into a traffic lane and it’s now slippery on the street, people would have to walk in a traffic lane to walk alongside the fence and people are doing that and it’s an obviously unsafe situation. People are walking in what is a vehicle traffic lane and that’s dangerous on dry pavement and paticularly so when it’s slippery and vehicles may not have as much control as they would otherwise. And the drivers of the vehicles may be distracted watching the construction site and not expect to see a pedestrian standing or walking in the street,” explained Caswell.
Caswell says the town has placed a visible crosswalk at Jasper Street, just south of where the construction site begins.
“Because the streets are covered on snow, we have no way of marking it on the street. For the time being, we’re asking people to please cross the street rather than walk adjacent to the fence. Cross the street to the other side and walk where it’s safe on a sidewalk that’s there and available and will be kept clear so people can use it safely,” Caswell said. “We would sure appreciate people’s co-operation on this. I know it’s a pain for people, but it’s a public safety matter and we sure don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”