Staff and supported individuals with Blue Sky Opportunities in Altona will soon have a conduit to safely travel between a pair of the organization's facilities.

A pathway is being constructed to connect the two-year-old recycling plant on 2nd Street N.W. (across the street from Bunge) to Blue Sky's main office about a block away on 10th Avenue N.W.

"If you're going down Third Street past our old recycling shop there's a sidewalk and then when you hit Tenth Avenue there's a 'T' in the road, so this path lines up perfectly with the sidewalk," explained General Manager Richard Neufeld. "So the pathway goes straight north then takes a turn to the east and then it takes another turn to the north and it will connect with the front area of our recycle shop parking lot."

With 8 to 10 staff splitting their time between the two buildings each day Neufeld says safety was the primary motivation for the path, which was part of the overall design and plan for the recycling facility from the beginning.

"Whether it's a person with a disability or not it doesn't really matter, to walk down that street when it's a heavy truck day (at Bunge) is just not a good idea. So we wanted to provide a safe alternative," he explained, adding there can be up to two hundred (semi) trucks travelling along the street on any given day.

The project is a joint effort between Blue Sky Opportunities and the Town of Altona. While Blue Sky is responsible for overseeing the construction process and covering the associated costs, the Town has offered up the land for the path and committed to its year-round maintenance. The Town will also paint a pedestrian crossing over 10th AVE. NW where the path transitions to a sidewalk on the south side of the street.

Neufeld says the initial hope was to spend between $12,000 and $15,000 on the project, however, the price increased to $29,500 when the Town required the path be hard-surfaced. He added the natural and more affordable option was asphalt. As a result, the two parties worked together to apply for a grant through the Government of Canada's Accessibility Fund in which they were successful in snagging $18,950. The remaining project cost will be covered with money generated through Ecole West Park School's 2018 annual Clean-A-Thon in support of Blue Sky Opportunities.

"We're really excited about the path being started and we're going to be even more excited when it's done. We're looking forward to keeping everyone safe," said Neufeld.