Downtown Neighbourhoods Unite Against Dangerous Streets

Special Report: Walkable Streets

Downtown Neighbourhoods Unite Against Dangerous Streets

We, the residents of downtown Hamilton, have had enough. We demand safe streets. We don't want studies, we don't want excuses. We want safe streets now.

By Jonathan Dalton
Published June 04, 2012

this article has been updated

The following letter represents the efforts of downtown Neighbourhood Associations to establish a consensus on the issue of one-way streets in the downtown core.

Representatives from the Ward 2 Neighbourhood Associations of Durand, Central, Beasley, Corktown, North End Neighbours and Stinson have been meeting to discuss issues that are common to downtown neighbourhoods, and one of the most universally aggravating issues is the safety of our roads.

While Most favour the conversion of main arteries from one-way to two-way, all agree that our streets in their current configuration are unacceptable.

History of One-Way Streets

Downtown Hamilton began as a thriving business centre surrounded by diverse residential neighbourhoods home to people and families from all walks of life. A broad transportation system consisting of streetcars and later automobiles and buses carried people where they could not walk. Shopping, work and leisure were within reach of residents, whether by foot, car or public transit.

As Hamilton expanded in both population and industry, and our industrial wealth afforded more people the privilege of car ownership, there was great pressure to provide the infrastructure to move more cars throughout the city.

While cities throughout the world were building urban expressways and rapid transit systems, Hamilton investigated many such options and decided instead to use its existing network of roads more efficiently.

In 1956, Hamilton converted its entire lower city network of arterial roads to one-way traffic flow with synchronized traffic lights, achieving traffic flows similar to those of a divided highway.

While Hamilton's one-way street network was considered an engineering marvel, it cut through what were at the time prosperous business areas and broad tree - lined residential boulevards. Street side parking was taken away and local retailers felt the difference immediately, at times flooding City Hall meeting in protest.

Neighbourhoods that once enjoyed large front yards and safe roadways, found themselves divided by walls of high speed traffic. Heavy transport trucks traveled at high speeds through what used to be front yards.

Although the consequences of our one-way street system were immediate, little has changed in the decades that followed. Business declined, residents moved elsewhere, and millions of dollars of large scale renewal projects could not reverse the exodus of wealth from downtown Hamilton.

Even the industry that was originally served by our transportation system has long since declined. Steel mills that once employed tens of thousands now employ a few thousand. Yet the traffic continues, only now it mostly comes from elsewhere, and is destined elsewhere. Downtown Hamilton has become a traffic conduit from one suburb to the other.

Only Downtown Suffers From Fast One-Ways

Transportation is important, and every area of the city has street that move traffic. However, there is no reason downtown residents must be treated with specific contempt when it comes to balancing traffic flow with safety. Here are a few simple facts about the transportation network outside of downtown:

There are no synchronized one-way streets on the Mountain.
There are no synchronized one-way streets in Westdale.
There are no synchronized one-way streets in Dundas.
There are no synchronized one-way streets in Ancaster.
There are no synchronized one-way streets in the East End.
There are no synchronized one-way streets in Stoney Creek.

There are only synchronized one-way streets downtown. They run primarily through wards 2 and 3, which are also home to a high proportion of Hamiltonians that don't even own or drive cars. Home to some of the most economically disadvantaged residents, and most of our recent immigrants for whom English is a second language and therefore face difficulty getting their voices heard. Home to a lot of people who don't choose to raise their children here.

Streets More Dangerous Than Guns

Crime is often cited as a reason to avoid downtown, yet more people are killed annually by motor vehicles than guns or knives. Millions are spent each year to increase the police budget, yet our roads remain as dangerous thoroughfares, engineered to move traffic faster than the legal speed limit.

Solutions For Safe Streets

Cities all over the world have learned from our mistakes and their own, and have improved their safety, desirability and economies by engineering streets that are friendly to pedestrians while moving vehicular traffic safely. The answers are already there, and have proven themselves the world over.

We propose the following be adopted as best practices for the layout of arterial roads in downtown Hamilton:

No more than two active traffic lanes in the same direction should occupy the same roadway.
1. If a street is to be one-way, it should have no more than two active traffic lanes.
2. If a street is to be two-way, it should have no more than four active traffic lanes, two in each direction.
Sidewalks should be at least two metres wide where possible.
Traffic signals should be timed to discourage speeds of above 50 km/h.
Curbside parking should be present wherever storefront businesses or homes front onto the street. This provides parking for homes and businesses and forms a buffer between traffic and pedestrians.
Curb cuts for vehicle access (driveways and entrances) should be minimized. Where necessary or preexisting, they should be narrow enough that drivers must enter slowly.

These design principles have been agreed to by a majority of residents in the neighbourhoods represented by our associations, and as such, we expect our elected officials to implement them.

Downtown Demands Respect

Downtown residents refuse to be treated with the contempt that is clearly evident in the inhospitable and lethal design of our main streets. This city has turned the corner and people are moving back downtown. We value the character of old houses, the diversity of many cultures and the ability to walk where we're going.

We, the residents of downtown Hamilton, have had enough. We demand safe streets. We don't want studies, we don't want excuses. We want safe streets now.

Update: The list of neighbourhood associations was updated to include North End Neighbours. You can jump to the changed paragraph.

Editor's note: This essay is part of a series on the future role and design of our downtown streets. We encourage Hamiltonians to submit well-written, thoughtful and evidence-based essays that move the discussion forward. Please send submissions to editor@raisethehammer.org.

Jonathan Dalton runs a small music shop on a two way street in downtown Hamilton. He is a board member of the Durand Neighbourhood Association, and volunteers with Transportation for Livable Communities.

44 Comments

View Comments: Nested | Flat

Read Comments

[ - ]

By jason (registered) | Posted June 04, 2012 at 09:21:15

Well said!

Raise the Hammer

Special Report: Walkable Streets