The City of Brandon’s plans for reconstructing 26th Street will include bike paths, the replacement of sidewalks and some traffic signals, as well as repairs to underground water services.
Four potential options have been proposed, three of which include dedicated bike paths and another that includes a multi-use path. Those first three options would see just one lane of vehicular traffic going each way instead of two.
In a statement release Thursday (July 18), Brandon School Division (BSD) said “the school communities most impacted by the redevelopment are J. R. Reid School and Vincent Massey High School. Brandon School Division has communicated parental concerns and operational considerations to the City and has shared future enrolment projections and the potential impact on traffic in the area of Vincent Massey High School.”
The parental concerns and the Division’s operational considerations include:
-potential loss of parking on 26th Street that will impact parents and delivery vehicles servicing J. R. Reid School
-impact on 25th Street and College Avenue residential parking and bus loading zone if parking is redirected from 26th Street to 25th Street
-traffic implications in the J. R. Reid school zone if 26th Street is restricted to one lane
-potential need for additional traffic control measures at McDiarmid Drive and McTavish Avenue, as well as McDiarmid Drive and Victoria Avenue, resulting from redirected traffic to Vincent Massey High School due to -the restricted access of Balsam Crescent from 26th Street
Brandon School Division has offered to examine potential changes to the J. R. Reid School parking lot if this would be of assistance to the City. BSD also said it values its relationship with the City of Brandon and is committed to supporting the City’s planning.
