BIG CITY, BIG EVENTS, BIG AMENITIES, BIG FUTURE PROGRESS 2019  Page 4


Facelift recommendedfor LethbridgeAirport terminal TheWSP report broke down the $35.5


Tim Kalinowski LETHBRIDGE HERALD


tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com I


t will likely cost about $35.5 million over the next 20 years to modernize and upgrade the Lethbridge Airport, and cost over


$2.6 million a year to operate, but the City has willingly accepted these costs as it prepares to formally take over ownership of the facility from Lethbridge County on July 1. City councillors ratified both the


Lethbridge Airport’sMaster Plan and its 2019 operating budget at its final council meeting inMay. Prior to that, the Community Issues


Committee of city council was given a preview of the Lethbridge Airport Master Plan onMay 20, as presented by consultantsWSP Engineering.


million in necessary spending into short-term, medium-termand long- termspending, with the consultant advising the City it should consider spending about $14 million on necessary upgrades to the passenger terminal itself as soon as practical. “Froman infrastructure perspective


there are definitely some low-lying fruit opportunities within the terminal building to improve passenger experience,” saidWSP project manager Stephane Leclair, “and to help the overall retention of passengers, which is critical to the success of the airport. The short-term(priority) is an aesthetic update for washrooms on the air side and general facility improvements before the larger decisions are made for a larger investment in the future of that facility.” These aesthetic considerations


should include installing bathrooms on Major sporting events keep city buzzing  CONTINUED frompage 1 Creating a buzz among the local


curling fans was Canada’s representative was fromjust up the road in Calgary as the Kevin Koe rink donned theMaple Leaf. Koe and his rink of third B.J.


Neufeld, second Colton Flasch and lead BenHebert advanced to the gold medal game, but a world title on home soil wasn’t in the cards as Sweden’sNiklas Edin repeated as this year’s champions with a 7-2 win. Sweden led the round-robin at 11-


1, while Canada, Switzerland and Japanwere 9-3. Koe settled for silver, but his in-off


shot against the USA in the round- robin not only lit up the Enmax Centre, but found its way onto many highlight reels.YutaMatsumura captured the bronze medal with an 8-4 win over Japan. The nine-day event boasted an attendance of 69,077.


In late-June last year,Mackenzie


Tour—PGATOUR Canada brought an up-and-coming field of golfers to southern Alberta. Fittingly, fans who lined the


fairways and greens got a little extra on the final day asMountVernon, Ohio’s T.T. Crouch claimed his first win on theMackenzie Tour following a three-man playoff with ZachWright and ChrisWilliams. A playoff almost wasn’t neccessary


as Crouch’s third shot fromthe bunker on 18 nearly found the cup for a birdie afterWright had to settle for par on the final hole in the previous pairing. Wright and Crouch birdied the first


playoff hole whileWilliams’ par eliminated him. Crouch made the green in regulation on the second playoff hole and whenWright’s par putt came up short, rolled in a six- foot putt for the win. The Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open returns June 20-23.


the loading side of the facility so passengers who pass through security can wait in comfort, an improved seating area and amenities added such asWi-Fi, explained Leclair, to keep the momentumthe airport has had in the past year. WSP reported passenger numbers


flying in and out of Lethbridge reached 87,302 in 2018 with the commencement of new airline services fromWestJet and Air Canada. This was up from57,419 in 2017. While the 2018 numbers are good,


saidMayor Chris Spearman, who also sits on the airport committee, they are still some ways off Lethbridge’s historical highs in terms of passenger usage. In 1990, the airport saw115,000 passengers come and go. And they also pale in comparison, he


added, to air passenger traffic in similar-sized cities like Charlottetown andMoncton. “We heard passengerswere about


59,000 a year and itwent up to over 80,000 (in 2018), and that sounds like a tremendous success,” stated Spearman.


“That is until I tell you that the Charlottetown passenger load is 325,000 passengers a year, and in Moncton it is close to 700,000. Moncton serves an area of 140,000 people. Charlottetown serves an island of 140,000 people.Our passenger base area (in Lethbridge) is close to 180,000 people.We have a huge potential.” Spearman said the upgrade of the


airport terminal to help retain local passengers for the major airlines, who have made nowstrong commitments to the city, should instill council with a “sense of urgency” when it comes to budget discussions and the fierce pursuit of provincial grantmoney to do the necessary upgrades. “Clearly the message today (from


WSP) was the terminal that was built in 1979 really hasn’t changed,” stated Spearman. “Sowe have a 40-year-old terminal, and ifwe want to attract modern air passengerswe need to upgrade that terminal as a priority.We need to provide themodern services that are available in every other airport.”


Herald photo by Ian Martens


The Lethbridge Airport is set to undergo a long-termmodernization and upgrade as the City formally takes over ownership on July 1.


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