The town didn't receive any petitions or negative feedback on its proposed borrowing for a project largely aimed at reducing congestion on the Hwy. 1A and Centre Ave. interchange and to prepare the town for the upgrade of the Hwy. 22-1A interchange.

Last night, the debenture borrowing bylaw received the blessings from council is in what clearly a joyous occasion for many town councillors, including Alex Reed, Patrick Wilson. and Mayor Jeff Genung.

The town will be borrowing $2,453,869 for the $12.9 million in upgrades. The provincial municipal stimulus program will provide $3,480,131 and $6,966,000 will be raised through transportation off-site levies.

The town will not need to borrow the funds until the project nears its completion. The funds will be borrowed over a 15-year period at an interest rate of no more than three per cent. It's estimated to cost ratepayers $205,000 annually.

Reed beat Wilson to the buzzer to give the bylaw second reading.

"I'm excited about the possibilities of this moving forward," said Reed. "It has been three-and-a-half years of heavy slugging, and while we talked a bit earlier about how transportation has been our number one priority, and the number one concern of our community, I think this is apropos in terms of being able to do that."

Wilson was able to give the borrowing bylaw and "enthusiastic" third reading. The need to address congestion was the major plank in his 2017 election campaign and he's addressed the issue several times over his term.

Earlier in the meeting, he called it a problem that has existed during his entire lifetime in Cochrane.

"Our capital project list, I'm absolutely optimistic. I think it's fantastic. I love exactly where we've landed with our traffic improvement. I think we've accomplished things that Cochrane has been waiting for my entire life living here."

While councillors all agreed transportation is the number one issue of residents and supported the project, there was some concern expressed that it may impact the town taking on other major capital projects.

Additionally, Councillor Marni Fedeyko was concerned with how it will correspond with the unknown timing of the Hwy. 1A-22 interchange project of the provincial government. She says she won't believe that project is happening until shovels hit the ground. Should the two projects occur simultaneously, she foresees traffic congestion become a short-term nightmare.

Showing signs of fatigue from a daily onslaught of comments from residents on traffic, Mayor Genung says there was no question that the project needed to proceed and was relieved to see the funding move forward.

"I'm really excited that we've made a significant shift in how we're approaching this infrastructure need in our community. I'm looking forward to shovels in the ground in the spring and seeing some traffic congestion alleviation following that."

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