Project Update – April 20, 2020

Important Reminder About Drug Impaired Driving

Cannabis is one of the most widely used substances in Canada with nearly half of Canadians reporting having used it at some time in their lives. In October 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize the sale, possession, and non-medical use of cannabis by adults. Impaired driving laws were also amended to further safeguard Canadians’ health and safety.

The effects of cannabis on driving can be less visible than those associated with alcohol, but they are every bit as detrimental. The percentage of Canadian drivers killed in vehicle crashes who test positive for drugs now exceeds the numbers who test positive for alcohol.

Drugs impair your ability to drive by:

  • Affecting motor skills
  • Slowing reaction time
  • Impairing short term memory and concentration
  • Causing drivers to vary speed and to wander

Driving while impaired is a crime. Instead, you can:

  • Appoint a designated driver
  • Call a friend or loved one to pick you up
  • Take public transit, call a cab or ridesharing service
  • Spend the night where you are

Fast Facts

  • One study found that 13 per cent of nighttime weekend drivers have cannabis in their system; this is up from 9 per cent in 2007. (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)
  • The risk of impaired driving associated with cannabis in combination with alcohol appears to be greater than that for either by itself. (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)
  • In 2019, 13.2 per cent of cannabis users with a valid driver’s license reported driving within two hours of using cannabis. (Statistics Canada, 2020)
  • Approximately 1.5 million Canadians aged 15 years and older reported being a passenger in a vehicle operated by a driver who had consumed cannabis within two hours. (Statistics Canada, 2020)

Find out more about the impacts of drug impaired driving at beblunt.ca.

What’s Happening

Curtain walls enclose the substructure of a bridge, which includes things like girders and slabs.

Bowness Park and Pathway Re-open

Bowness Park will re-open to vehicle traffic tomorrow morning, as will the pathway on the west side of the bridge, connecting Valley Ridge to Bowness Park.

Thank you for your patience during this closure. The project team was able to successfully install the in-river berm. Bridge pier construction on the south side of the Bow River will now begin.

North Project

Girder Installations on Basketweave Bridge North of Trans-Canada Highway

There are three ‘basketweave’ bridges on the North project. Basketweave bridges are used to separate weaving traffic. Weaving is caused by vehicles merging and exiting in the same area which creates congestion. In this case, the traffic merging onto westbound Trans-Canada Highway is separated from the traffic exiting the Trans-Canada Highway to go north on Valley Ridge Blvd NW.

Gravel Removal South of Old Banff Coach Road SW

This week West Springs residents can expect to see a significant increase in construction activity within the Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC), south of Old Banff Coach Road SW. Crews will begin earthworks to remove topsoil and gravel, which will involve backhoes digging and trucks hauling material away. This excavation will lower the WCRR below neighbouring homes, reducing future noise and visual impacts.

Motorists should expect frequent, brief traffic delays on both eastbound and westbound Old Banff Coach Road SW for haul trucks to cross. The speed limit will be reduced to 50 km/h and construction flaggers will direct traffic.

This work will continue for approximately three months, with anticipated completion in late summer 2020. More details are available online.