Waggoners/Rookwood/Odell Park Improvement Project: Learn More and Ask Us Your Questions

The City is undertaking a major infrastructure improvement project in the Waggoners Lane / Rookwood Ave area and in a section of Odell Park this summer. This work will begin the week of May 31 and end in September. Major infrastructure projects are renewal projects that impact major roadways and last for several months (see our explainer video). With these projects, the City combines:

• underground water, sewer and storm pipes renewal
• road work
• active transportation updates (bikes lanes, trails and bus stops)

Doing all this work at once means the City shouldn't need to return to perform upgrades or disrupt this roadway and intersection for another 20 years.

What is being accomplished with the Waggoners / Rookwood / Odell project?

This project will benefit the community in many ways. We will be:

• replacing 70-year-old water, sanitary and storm sewer piping on Rookwood Avenue, from Woodfield Cres to Waggoners Lane. These pipes are at the end of their useful life and must be replaced to ensure clean drinking water, safe sanitary services and better water draining from rain events.
• adding a roundabout at the Waggoners Lane and Rookwood Ave intersection to make the area safer for drivers and pedestrians:
  • by drastically reducing the risk of right-angled collisions
  • by reducing vehicle speeds
  • by improving sight-lines for drivers
  • by creating shorter crosswalks thereby reducing the time pedestrians are exposed to traffic
  • by ensuring pedestrians need only cross one direction of traffic at a time
  • by enabling pedestrians to cross Waggoners Lane on either side of Rookwood as there will be crosswalks at all approaches.
  • by installing pedestrian-activated flashing lights with audible notification when flashing (similar to the lights at Victoria Circle) at the roundabout.
• extending the multi-use trail along Rookwood Ave connecting Odell Park to the Valley Trail. The section of the trail within Odell Park will be gravel and then switch to asphalt at the entrance at Waggoners. The section being built this summer will extend as far as Woodfield Cres but will eventually be extended as part of future phases linking to Wilmot Park and to the South Riverfront Trail (see the Odell Park Management Plan here).
• upgrading transit stops along Waggoners Lane adjacent to Odell park to make them fully-accessible and to serve bus drop-off/pick-up and serve as overflow parking for Odell Park.
• rebuilding Rookwood Ave pavement, curbing and sidewalk from Waggoners’ Lane to Woodfield Cres, with future phases extending to Woodstock Rd.
• Details of what is happening within Odell
  • Renewing and improving the storm water management system within the park
  • Removing the vacated caretaker’s residence
  • Adding a roundabout at the entrance of the park will make access safer for vehicles, pedestrians and trail users.
  • Modifying the Odell parking lot to allow for a safer traffic flow through the parking and to make room for school buses dropping children off for field trips.

What are the traffic and parking impacts?

• In terms of street construction, this project will happen in three main phases: Work on Rookwood Ave between Inglewood Dr and Waggoners, then later at the Waggoners and Rookwood intersection and finally back on Rookwood in the section between Woodfield Cres and Inglewood Drive. While drivers are encouraged to avoid this area during construction, detours will be in place.
• Pedestrian access to Odell will be maintained during construction however, the parking lot will be closed for a portion of the work and park users will be encouraged to use other parking lots such as those at Thompson Field and off Prospect St (see map).
• Local residents and businesses will have access to their homes throughout the project, except when construction is happening directly in front of their driveways. This may last for more than a day, but the contractor will make sure residents don’t get blocked in and will let them know ahead of time when they will be without access.
• Transit routes will be impacted: All transit stops on Waggoner’s Lane will be closed for the duration of the project. However, the nearby stops on Hanwell and Smythe will be available to serve users at the western and eastern ends of the street and a new temporary stop will be created on Saunders Street by the basketball hoops.
• The parking lot at the Waggoners entrance to Odell Park will be unavailable during construction so that the new storm water system to be located under the parking area can be built. Twenty or so parking spots will be created for July and August along the south side of Waggoners between Rookwood and Hanwell, immediately adjacent to Odell Park. People who park here can simply walk into the park via the large grass field there. We do, however, encourage drivers to discover other areas of Odell by parking at Tommy Thompson field off Smythe, Prospect Fields off Prospect, and at the Botanical Gardens off Cameron Court.
• *** During construction on Rookwood Avenue this summer, access to the City’s recycle bins at the Capital Winter Club will still be accessible. Please follow detour signage in place.

How will residents be able to enter Odell Park on foot during construction?

• Construction sites can be dangerous places, which is why we are discouraging residents from trying to access the park via the Waggoners entrance. Rather, we are asking residents to access the park at other entry points, either via trail entrances or via the other entrances with parking lots (see map for parking lots).

Why are we doing this now?

• The piping on this section of Rookwood is breaking down quite a bit, causing service interruptions. Replacing it now ensures continued clean water and a safe sewer system.
• Replacing the storm sewer system will drastically reduce area flooding during rain events, which has been occurring more and more in recent years.
• Currently there are delays for vehicles trying to turn from Rookwood or from the Odell park exit due to high traffic volumes on Waggoners Lane, and these delays are expected to grow considerably in the years ahead. Adding the roundabout will improve traffic safety and flow and, especially, pedestrian safety.
• Adding the trail upgrades and road work to the project creates value for money to residents and ensures we don’t need to go back to do upgrades for roughly 20 years.

Do any trees need to be removed?

• Four trees along the east side of Rookwood near Waggoners’ will be removed, 3 of them being ash trees that were already due to come down as part of the City’s program to manage the Emerald Ash Borer invasive pest.
• Two trees (one which is already in poor condition) will be removed around the intersection to make room for the roundabout.
• One maple near the entrance to Odell Park will be removed to accommodate a new and safer entrance to the maintenance depots.
• Six trees at the north end of the Odell parking lot must be removed to accommodate the new storm sewer management system. The existing system has overflowed at times even in minor storms. Because of this, the new system will sit underneath the Odell Park parking lot, which is the best place to slow down the storm water that flows from the parking lot to Waggoners Lane and Rookwood Ave. In order to work properly, the new system will need to come above ground in the area where the 6 trees are currently standing. This configuration was the best way our engineers found to ensure the new system works to mitigate the flooding that happens during minor rain events while also removing of as few trees as possible.
• The City's Parks & Trees Dept will be planting at least as many trees as we are forced to remove, likely more. We will have an exact number later this summer. The new trees will be a mixture of hardwood and disease-resistant species such as Maple and Oak.
• New trees will be chosen to be resilient in this area.

How is this project being funded?

• Water and Sewer Capital Fund
• Park Plan Implementation Fund
• City of Fredericton Budget: General Fund

To find out more about other construction projects at the City of Fredericton, please visit www.fredericton.ca/construction