Grande Prairie Minute: Vegetation Management, Zipper Merging, and a Joint Public Hearing

Grande Prairie Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Grande Prairie politics

This Week In Grande Prairie:

• It’s Standing Committee Day again on Tuesday. The Public and Protective Services Committee meeting, originally scheduled for 9:00 am, is cancelled. The Strategy and Communication Services Committee will meet at 9:00 am, the Financial and Administrative Services Committee at 9:20 am, the Invest GP Committee at 9:35 am, and the Operational Services Committee at 9:50 am. Also on Tuesday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a City and County Joint Council Meeting for the purpose of a public hearing on the new Intermunicipal Development Plan.
  
  
• Starting October 15th, the City will implement zipper merging on 100 Avenue to enhance traffic flow during bridge construction. This change will affect westbound drivers, reducing traffic to a single lane. Zipper merging allows vehicles to use both lanes until reaching the merge point, where they will alternate merging one at a time while maintaining a steady speed.
  
  
• The City of Grande Prairie will initiate FireSmart Vegetation Management work on Tuesday, funded by a $200,000 grant from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. This program aims to enhance wildfire mitigation efforts by removing dead and fire-prone trees, as well as thinning dense vegetation in two designated areas from the 2019 South Bear Creek wildfire mitigation strategy. The first treatment area is near the Country Club West neighborhood and South Bear Creek Baseball diamonds, while the second is adjacent to the Aquatera Water Treatment Plant. The project is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Last Week In Grande Prairie:

• Council has approved an affordable housing project in the Smith subdivision, a collaboration between the Grande Spirit Foundation and BA Leasing Incorporated. The project will develop a 160-unit apartment building on approximately four acres of land near the Activity and Reception Centre, with 30% of the units designated as affordable housing. This initiative, which has been in the works since 2014, is expected to begin construction soon, as most planning and design phases have already been completed.
  
  
• The Grande Prairie Police Service reached a significant milestone as 12 recruits participated in their first driving training session at the NAPA Auto Parts Raceway in Beaverlodge. The recruits are currently in the fifth week of a 26-week training program, with plans for more hands-on learning as they advance. As the training progresses, the focus will shift to practical skill development alongside classroom instruction.
  
  
• Eastlink Centre has introduced a self-check-in process for gym users. The facility's glass doors will remain closed, and members can check in by scanning their membership cards at the second-level entrance. Those without their cards can check in at the guest experience desk near the aquatics center. Punch pass users can also scan their passes, but each scan will count toward their daily limit. Drop-in fitness users must check in at the west guest experience desk and consult staff if they wish to leave the fitness area. This goal of this new process is to allow staff more time for direct support on the gym floor.