mailphoto by Patrick Kolafa
At the Monday, April 8, Regular Council Meeting, Drumheller Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski presented council with a Request for Decision to approve changes to the Flag, Pole Banner and Decorative Trail Policy INF-C-01.
In the beginning of March, issues arose regarding the current Pride Crosswalk located by Town Hall. There were concerns the Town wanted to remove the crosswalk, leading to backlash against the town on social media and the news for not being inclusive.
At the following Monday, March 11 Committee of the Whole Meeting, Mayor Heather Colberg expressed to the town council had no intention to immediately ban the crosswalk.
She asked the Administration to review the Bylaw to gather information because the cost of maintaining, and constantly repainting, the crosswalk was the main concern for council.
The new Policy INF-C-01, removes “Decorative Crosswalk” and brings forth the new “Decorative Trail” portion.
There is a proposed section of a walking trail where 20 metre strips of asphalt will be made available for designs to be painted on. The surface of the asphalt will allow for better wear of the paint overtime, unlike the current crosswalk.
Drumheller won’t be the first municipality to stop painting on high-traffic volume areas.
“Crosswalks tend to get a lot of use and abuse. Most municipalities are not using them anymore,” explains CAO Drohomerski. “We have identified an area in Midland, near the hospital, where there is very good asphalt. When paint is applied to it, it will last for a year at a time.”
There were many town officials involved in creating the new policy, with a lot of input from the community. However, there is still a process to apply for decorative trails to be approved.
“One thing that I mention when we are doing Policies and Bylaws is that they are not written in stone,” says Councillor Tom Zariski during the discussion part of the meeting. “I think this is a very good policy but as with every Policy and Bylaw, we will be looking at it to see what works and what doesn’t, and then we can review it again.”
“I hope this reaffirms Council’s support for diversity and the strength of our community,” adds Councillor Patrick Kolafa, who is in agreement with the rest of council that the proposed Decorative Trail has the potential to be a great attraction for residents and visitors. “Thank you to the community who provided input. It is important we have these voices heard.”
Requests for a 20 metre portion of the trail will be made through CAO Drohomerski when the policy is in place. The Town already has plans to include the dino logo in a border type fashion along the strips.
