Smithers town council has approved wording on the Subdivision Servicing Bylaw when looking at a cash-in-lieu system for sidewalk development.
“If it is determined that it’s not practical to build a short section of sidewalk, the developer can instead provide the town with money equivalent to the cost of that sidewalk,” explains Mayor Taylor Bachrach.
“The town will hang onto the money until a future date when it’s more practical to build it.”
This is not a kneejerk reaction says Bachrach, although the current system has seen an influx of criticism of late.
“Sidewalks have been a bit of a sticky issue in our community and the system we’ve been using for decades to ensure that infrastructure gets built has come into question recently.”
Bachrach says he hopes the new system will give developers more options when it comes to infrastructure in the future.