Council stresses need for YG to assist with slide mitigation
City council approved a $2.2-million amendment to its capital budget Monday for ongoing work related to the slide area along Robert Service Way.
City council approved a $2.2-million amendment to its capital budget Monday for ongoing work related to the slide area along Robert Service Way.
The money is to come from the city’s general reserve.
The major slide in the spring of 2022 closed the major artery for seven weeks.
A slide on April 8 of this year shut off the roadway again but for a much shorter duration because of the work the city had undertaken, says an administrative report prepared for council.
“Given the significant adverse impacts of closing a major arterial roadway to residents, administration is recommending the purchase of key equipment that will assist in mitigating the risks overall number of road closure,” says an administrative report prepared for city council.
The report notes preparations will include:
Completion of a conceptual planning study on the long-term solution;
Long-term rental/purchase of a slope scanner;
Purchase of barriers, portable traffic lights and message boards, and;
An allowance for monitoring and visual inspections for the spring melt next year.
The report says it’s estimated that the expenditures to respond to the 2023 landslide events, along with expenditures to prepare for the 2024 season, will total $2.2 million.
As part of the 2024 budget process, administration will also bring forward a proposed project to support detailed engineering and design of a long-term solution for the escarpment along Robert Service Way, says the administrative report.
While council approved the budget amendment, it also passed a motion by Coun. Dan Boyd to ask the Yukon government to provide additional financial support.
The Yukon government provided $2.3 million to the city last year to assist with the slide at Robert Service Way – but denied the city’s request this year for more financial assistance.
Council members were united in their position that the government should continue assisting the city with the cost of managing the slide area.
Mayor Laura Cabott was opposed to the motion, explaining the city should not have to pass a motion to ask the government for money.
There is an open door between the two levels of government, and sending a letter, as the city did last year, would suffice, she suggested.
Boyd said he is very disappointed that the government was not engaged financially in the slide issue this year.
The city, he said, is getting a little assistance, but there needs to be a lot more.
Boyd said Whitehorse can’t face this financial burden alone, and do all the work that has to be done.
It would be overwhelming for the city to face this alone, he said.
Boyd said there is a federal Climate Change Adaption program but he doesn’t believe they’ve seen any action.
“Certainly, it is not coming to Whitehorse from what we can see,” he said.
The city, the councillor said, has the challenge of facing climate change, and it has the escarpment.
“They have the airport and they own the land,” he said of the government.
“They have the airport and they have a lot of activity going on there.”
Some argue, and it has been suggested, the airport was a contributing factor to the slide, but when the city asked for more assistance, the government said no, he said.
“That is not an acceptable answer,” he said.
Boyd said he can understand if the government wants to defer a little because it wants to see what happens with the $50 million it has budgeted for financial disaster assistance.
Money from the fund could help with addressing the issues related to the slide, he said.
“So I am hopeful the Yukon government will come through,” Boyd said. “But I think it is incumbent on us to keep their attention on this file with us.”
Comments (5)
Up 2 Down 0
Guncache on Jul 6, 2023 at 6:35 pm
Why bother? Here's an alternative. Let's build a $33 million climbing wall and gymnastics centre that a handful of people will use. Are chimpanzees running the government?
Up 6 Down 5
Oya on Jul 5, 2023 at 3:05 pm
The slide that came down last year came from the side of the hill, not from the face of the hill. If the face comes down, and it surely will sooner or later, any vehicles or people in the way will get buried or driven into the river where the dirt will then pile on top of them.
Just think about how far that dirt last year traveled ending up in the river. Now look at the face of the bank and just imagine IT coming down. There will be 20 times as much material as last year's slide AND it will be a more direct "fall". Something MUST be done to make sure this does not happen.
Get some funding, spend the money and make it safe. Not just for a season, but for the very long-term.
Up 19 Down 6
My Opinion on Jul 5, 2023 at 2:28 am
Let’s not be ridiculous. That slope has sluffed every year. Scrape up the dirt, remove it and move on. Highways have slides all the time. Stop all the spending and fear mongering.
Up 0 Down 0
Jason on Jul 2, 2023 at 1:02 pm
So, if I'm reading this right, they spent 2.3M last year and plan to spend 2.2M this year and none of that money is going toward a permanent solution? How far would 5M have gotten us toward actually fixing it?
Up 1 Down 0
Nathan Living on Jun 30, 2023 at 6:49 pm
I am ok with the city using their reserve fund. The city has the equipment and personnel and they can work away at making the escarpment safe at Whitehorse taxpayer's expense.
Mayor and council should not always say the sky is falling and immediately go for Territorial and Federal handouts.