So let's be careful out there. Easy fixes aren't available, certainly none to replace having more alert and safety-conscious motorists and pedestrians.
— Toronto Star editorial, November 5, 2012
Telling people to be careful is not effective. Humans are not reliable that way. Some are better than others, but nobody's perfect. You need a solution that's not about making people perfect.
— James Bagian, Astronaut, NASA Engineer & Safety Director
Traffic does not mean cars. It means people going somewhere.
A vehicle's energy is related to the square of the speed. When you double speed:
Vehicle Speed | Pedestrian Death Risk |
---|---|
Source: UK Department of Transport 1997 | |
32 km/h (20 mph) | 5% |
48 km/h (30 mph) | 45% |
64 km/h (40 mph) | 85% |
Our windows are no good nowadays, people have no time to stop and look. Nobody comes from the west end of the city any more. We would like to see King Street two-way once more.
— Ben Wunder, King Street business owner, May 1957
Try telling someone to find our store from the west end. It's a complex set of directions, wastes both time and gas, creates more travel and really thwarts our accessibility to customers. For a retailer, making it hard for a customer is never a good thing!
— Aaron Newman, King Street business owner, May 2012
Berkeley CA, Calgary AB, Cedar Rapids IA, Columbus OH, Crystal City VA, Danville IL, Denver CO, Fort Collins CO, Greensboro NC, Iowa City IA, Jacksonville FL, Louisville KY, Milwaukee WI, Minneapolis MN, Oklahoma City OK, Oregon City OR, Rochester NY, Sacramento CA, San Francisco CA, St. Catharines ON, St. Petersburg FL, Texarkana AR, Vancouver WA, Wichita KA, and Wyandotte MI
Today, Hamilton streets cater overwhelmingly to drivers:
Our transportation system improves community health by reducing the need for automobile use and making it easy and attractive to walk, cycling, skateboard or roller-blade.
Public streets are designed and managed to safely and comfortably accommodate public transit, cyclists, pedestrians and automobiles as complementary forms of transportation.
The efficient movement of traffic should not take precedent over other objectives.
The future downtown must be built on a human scale, with streetscapes offering comfort, access and safety for pedestrians.
Expand transportation options that encourage travel by foot, bike and transit and enhance efficient inter-regional transportation connections.
Design streets to support a pedestrian and transit-friendly environment.
Vision 2020, Downtown Ideas Charette, Smart Moves, Putting People First, Downtown Transportation Master Plan, Transportation Summits, Economic Summits, Pedestrian Summit, Pedestrian Charter, Durand Walk and Bike for Life workshop, Pedestrian Master Plan, On The Cusp...
Dan Burden, Dave Cieslewicz, Denis Corr, Storm Cunningham, Richard Florida, Richard Gilbert, Ken Greenberg, Christopher Hume, Peter Lagerwey, Christopher Leinberger, Eleanor McMahon, Donald Schmitt, Nancy Smith Lea, Bronwen Thornton, Paul Young
The vulnerability of the human body should be a limiting design parameter for the traffic system, and speed management is central.
— World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention
Ontarians not only need to walk, they need to walk safely. To do so, they need safe walking spaces.
— Ontario Coroner's Report on Pedestrian Deaths, 2012
Neighborhood walkability was inversely associated with the development of diabetes in our setting, particularly among recent immigrants living in low-income areas.
— Gillian L. Booth et al., Unwalkable Neighborhoods, Poverty, and the Risk of Diabetes Among Recent Immigrants to Canada Compared With Long-Term Residents, Diabetes Journal, 2012
One-way street residents were significantly more bothered by traffic (noise, volume, danger), less satisfied with their block (cleanliness, peacefulness, air quality), and therefore made more life-style adjustments (less use of front of house, rearranging use of rooms, installing buffers).
— Bernie Jones, One Way to Neighborhood Deterioration?, Journal of Planning Education and Research (April 1986)
Walkable environments should be viewed as economic infrastructure that attract employment and should be invested in accordingly.
— Walkability and Economic Development, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, 2012
Street Name | Target Date for Implementation in 2001 | New Target Date after 5-yr Review | Date Completed |
---|---|---|---|
James | 2006 | - | 2005 |
John | 2006 | - | 2005 |
York/Wilson | beyond 2006 | 2009 | 2010 |
King | beyond 2006 | 2010 (pending LRT) | X |
Bay | beyond 2006 (optional) | optional | X |
Hunter | 2006 | removed from list | X |
MacNab | 2003 | 2008 | outstanding |
Park | 2003 | 2008 | outstanding |
Hughson | 2004 | 2009 | outstanding |
Hess | 2004 | 2009 | 2004 (South section instigated by DNA, north extension outstanding) |
Caroline | 2002 | 2009 | 2012 (only from Main to King - York Street extension outstanding) |
King William | 2006 | 2010 | outstanding |
Rebecca | 2006 | 2010 | outstanding |