Municipal District of Taber Synchronized With The Alberta Township System The Alberta Township System The Alberta Township System is another Name for the Dominion Land Survey System that was developed in the 0 s. The development of this system was before Canada adopted the metric system; therefore parcels of land have been created with the imperial system. Breakdown of a Township A township of land is made up of 36 sections. Sections can be broken down into quarter sections or legal subdivisions (LSD) ( equal parts). LSD can be further broken down into quarters of the legal subdivisions. (See diagram below) Township Range 3 Breakdown of a Township Map Produced By: Cale Leishman Understanding the Numbers Basically the longer the number the smaller parcel of land you are describing. - 3 - - 3 W describes from left to right the subdivision - second the section - third the Township - forth the Range - and lastly the W describes what meridian you are west of. This legal description is seen in the Breakdown of a Township diagram (highlighted in green). Variations of this description exist depending on how detailed you want to be. You are probably more familiar with SW 3 3 W which also describes the location with less detail describing a 0 acre location rather than a 0 acre location. An example of the most detailed description possible would be SW--3--3-W describing the small black square in the diagram above at acres.
Road Allowances Road allowances are surveyed areas that separate sections and provide the blue print for a network of roads. In addition to road allowances blind lines are incorporated for further separation. Blind Lines provide for potential virtual roads to be forced between sections of land. An example of a road network within a township of land is shown on the Township / Range Roads diagram on the next page. The network of roads is named according to the Township Range Road naming system in Alberta. Due to the sequential nature of Township Range Road naming traffic can be easily routed throughout rural Alberta. Using Township/Range Roads Daily The Municipal District of Taber has recently installed Township Range Road signs throughout the area. These signs have been installed to provide rural residence and industry a valuable tool for directing travel in our rural areas. Combining our knowledge of Legal Land Descriptions from the Township System and utilizing Township Range Road descriptions traffic can be directed efficiently throughout the area. Road s that run east to west are called Township Roads or abbreviated as TWP RD. Road s that run south to north are called Range Roads or abbreviated as RGE RD. The numbering system is consistent increasing in a north direction for Township Roads and a West direction for Range Roads. The two or three digit number can exist throughout Alberta as either a number or a series of two numbers separated with a dash. Both are exactly the same. The number will appear with two or three digits where the last number on the right is always the road number increasing within a township or range from 0 to by the mile. The other number represents the Township or Range the road is in. The concept described is illustrated in the diagram on the next page. The numbering scheme can be is applied throughout Alberta s rural roads. The Municipality of Taber has two correction lines to watch out for. The first separates Township ten and eleven, the other separates fourteen and fifteen. These lines are in place because the curvature of the Earth creates smaller sections as we go north. The Range Roads on these lines are displaced west in order to keep sections of land equal in size. Please continue to the next page for an example of directions using the Alberta Township Systems Roads. If you wish to learn more about the Alberta Township System some helpful websites are: http://www.alsa.ab.ca/system.htm http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/gis/ats_gis_conversion_explanation.html http://www.landsurveyinghistory.ab.ca/ www.mapquest.com accepts legal descriptions as part of its search for driving directions as well as maps.
Township / Range Roads Diagram Legend Road Example of Directions Using the Township Roads diagram on the next page, an example of written directions is described in the points below, and arrows depict the directions on the diagram. You are situated at the intersection of TWP RD -0 and RGE RD - and needed to get to NW W. There are many routes to follow but one example using the ATS naming convention of roads is seen below: ) Go West on TWP RD -0 2) Turn North on RGE RD - 3) Turn West on TWP RD -0 ) Look for an approach on the South side of TWP -0.
G2 G F HAY RD 0 N 2 BOW 2 RIVER Hays Road Sign Locations HAYS ROAD NAMING CONVENTION HAYS RD G N 2 3 2 F2 3 2 2 A 6 2 26 TWP. 3 RGE. 2 2 23 A 3 HAYS RD F N 3 33 B A 36 HAYS RD 0 N C 30 6 2 A 3 UV HAYS RD E N B 2 3 0A 0B 33 3 60 6 66 6 HAYS RD 30 N 2 0 UV 2 6 62 HAYS RD D N 6 6 HAYS RD N 63 2 3 3 6 2A 2B 0 B 3A 3B 6B A 3C 2 HAYS RD C N 6 6 2 A HAYS RD B N BOW HAYS RD N C D TWP. 3 RGE. 3 B RIVER 30 302 303 30 30 0A 0B 2 3 2 HAYS RD A N 306 02 RESERVOIR NO. HAYS RD 0 S 3 2 6 HAYS RD B S 2 30 30 30 3 A 3 0A 0 06A 0 0 HAYS RD A S HAYS RD 0 S 03 06 0 33 3 3 HAYS RD E S 3 A 3 3 36 2 2 2 TWP. 2 RGE. HAYS RD 0 S HAYS RD E S 26 HAYS RD 0 S 23 0 2B UV 2 2 6A 6B 23 260 26 A 2 23 22 23 2 236 23 2 2 2 2 20 2 23 23 20 26 26 A B HAYS RD D S 3 3 2 3 3 TWP. 2 RGE. 3 26 2 HAYS RD 60 S HAYS RD C S 23 2 3 30 3 TWP. 2 RGE. 2 0 HAYS RD G S HAYS RD 30 S 2 A B 2 2 2 3 26 2 26 26C 26B 2 26A 2 266 262 263 2 2 2A 26 2 2 2 2B 26A 26A 6 3 2 2 IVER 33 A 6A 233 26 HAYS RD F S 26 23 20 33 3 3 2 23 23 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 HAYS RD S 30 2 2 2 HAYS RD S TWP. RGE. A 3 230 OLDMAN 2 RIVER 0A 0B 02A 02B 03 0A TWP. RGE. 3 SOUTH SASKAT 3 0B NOTE: Road naming conventions are based upon a North and South division line at highway 2. All roads with an East West tendency are name with numbers (ie. HAYS RD S) and roads with a North South tendency are named with letters (ie. HAYS RD E S).
Municipal District of Taber s Rural Addressing Project Background & Introduction The Municipal District of Taber has continued to develop tools to aid in the efficient routing of traffic within the rural areas. Further development on Township Range Road signage includes the adoption of a provincial standardized rural addressing system. Rural addressing has complete integration with the Alberta Township System and Township Range Road signage. Rural addressing is the next logical step in developing accurate locations of residences residing on rural Township or Range roads. An understanding of Township Range Road Signage combined with a rural address will allow for routing traffic to a precise location along any rural road down to a 0 meter interval. These intervals will accommodate the development of future residences within the Municipal District of Taber. The Municipal District of Taber will be installing 2 X 2 addressing signage at the access to all residences within our boundary. These signs will be reflective blue with white lettering. Plans with respect to the installation of the signage will take place during the spring of 06. Rural Addressing Benefits Rural addressing has become a standard routing mechanism used by many types of applications. Applications that will benefit include: Municipal Infrastructure Management Agricultural deliveries including goods and services Personal mail as well as parcel delivery Routing of emergency services Oil and gas field work Personal travel plans Applications will benefit in a number of areas including: Increased efficiency of travel Reduced fuel consumption Reduced vehicle wear and maintenance Reduced road travel and wear Potentially lower cost in deliveries Increased time efficiencies And overall increased profits by reducing some unnecessary loses A simple five or six digit number combined with a road name will identify the location of the unique access to your residence.
Assigning Addresses The Municipal District of Taber has undergone steps to assigning its rural addresses. The addresses are five or six digit numbers. The left two or three digits are allocated for the Township or Range reference road. The right three digits represent the interval number and is always three digits. An example of an address is 3 0 0 2 RGE RD 3. The first three digits of this particular address represent the Virtual Township road south of the access (reference road). TWP RD 3- Hint :- If your access falls upon a Township road your reference road is the Range road east of your access point - If your access falls upon a Range road your reference road is the Township road or Virtual Township road south of your access point. The last three numbers of the six digit address indicates the interval number based on 0 meter segments along the RGE RD that the access connects to. 0 0 2 Intervals start in the far southeast section corner. For the purpose of addressing virtual township roads exist between all sections whether an actual road exists or not. Hint: - Odd numbers indicate the access is South or East of the road whereas even numbers indicate you are on the North or West of the road. (An example of an access is 30 meters north of TWP RD 3 and connects to RGE RD 3 the address would be 300 RGE RD 3 or 30 RGE RD 3 based on if the access is on the east or west side of the RGE RD.) The final digits represent what road your access connects to. RGE RD 3- This example is seen below: An example of the addressing template for a standard address is seen on NEXT PAGE.
Addressing Template Address Rules -The left two or three digits are the reference road -The right three digits are the interval number -The RGE or TWP road is what road the access road connects to.