Comment 89879

By ScreenCarp (registered) | Posted July 02, 2013 at 21:47:00 in reply to Comment 89862

We're on the same side here. We both want safe, complete streets. That includes arterial roads that move traffic, as well as folks who come and go. Perhaps you have a different point of view than I do, but gridlock and slow traffic are awful for the environment and spirit of a community. Idling traffic is bad, steady traffic at 40-60 is good. Two way streets force drivers to make left hand turns against traffic and increase the risk of head on collisions. Once again, I'll point out that residential and commercial centres should be centred around pedestrian/bike. Close King, Hess, Augusta, Locke and James North to cars if you like! 30km speed limits and speed bumps on side streets! Bike lanes everywhere! You need arterial roads even more to take up the slack.

Yes, lots of folks work jobs downtown. Yes, many of them live there and already walk/bike/transit to work. And the other 70,000 folks who move in and out of Hamilton twice every day? We need to maintain capacity for them, as well as what's left of our industry. Burlington Street takes much of the brunt of this, but some trucks still have to move west to the 403. Deliveries into the core still need to happen. The longer they take to happen the more expensive goods get. Oh, and that's not why Hamilton's roads are bad. Fast, heavy traffic is not the reason I have lake sized potholes on my tiny, quiet urban side street. It's also not the reason Beasley and Landsdown have had a tough time. Charlton runs through Durand and Corktown, and it wasn't so long ago the highway free North End was no mans land.

What streets are you willing to sacrifice to accommodate fast through traffic?

Main, Cannon, York, Wentworth, Victoria in the core. I'm not suggesting you should travel from Westdale to Eastgate quickly, these routes should take you west to the 403 and north to Burlington from the Core. Certainly there are lots of opportunities in central Hamilton to slow traffic along King and Barton, but at some point they'll need to be the arteries moving East to the Red Hill. Move people in and out from the highways.

In another life I ran a store downtown. I lobbied for two way streets and traffic calming in the hope it would slow down traffic and bring more business into the store. Change came slowly, and folks found it easier to go to the local mall. Now after moving back downtown after 10 years in the country, I'm amazed and impressed by how much progress we've made.

Comment edited by ScreenCarp on 2013-07-02 21:48:52

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