Burns Lake council has allocated $6400 to repair the Pioneer Park’s sidewalk, which is cracking and in need of repair.
The concrete sidewalk, which measures 31 metres by three metres, will be replaced by paving stones as a solution to permanently repair the area.
The sidewalk has been reconstructed twice in the last few years, but the concrete work has failed both times.
According to a report prepared by Burns Lake director of public works Dale Ross, having cracked concrete sidewalks in the downtown core is not only aesthetically displeasing, but also a tripping hazard for pedestrians.
Ross says the paving stones will be tied into the existing paving stones located in Pioneer Park. However, he adds that it may prove difficult to match the new paving stones exactly to the old ones since the colours will vary and there has been some fading from environmental conditions.
In addition to repairing the sidewalk, the village will install underground electrical wiring junction boxes and a conduit at the site.
“Replacing paving stones in this particular area provides us with the opportunity to also run underground electrical conduits instead of overhead electrical wires,” explained Ross in his report. “This power supplies future events such as the Christmas light up at Pioneer Park.”
Councillor Kelly Holliday said she was concerned because the Pioneer Park sidewalk appears to be cracking because of incorrect drainage issues.
“I wonder how different that’s going to be if we don’t correct that issue and just put paving stones where the sidewalk is,” she asked during last week’s council meeting. “Would the paving stones perhaps crack?”
According to director Ross, paving stones can quite easily be lifted and the base refilled and set back down if any settling reoccurs. This would incur minimal costs.
The cost of new paving stones will be $6400 while the cost of underground electrical wire junction boxes and conduit will be $750. Total cost of the project is $7150.
The paving stones will be installed by the village public works crew and the job will take approximately five days to be completed.
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