Raise the Hammer
By Bob Berberick
Published October 03, 2013
Councillor Lloyd Ferguson and Terry Whitehead are very concerned about automobile traffic slowdowns outside of their wards. They worry that their constituents will be severely impacted by two-way conversions and/or lane reductions, in spite of expert opinions to the contrary.
As you can see below, lower city automobile traffic volumes are down across the board.
| Location | 2000 Volume | 2010 Volume | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannon E of Sherman | 16,000 | 10,800 | -5,200 | -32.50% |
| Cannon W of Sherman | 11,000 | 9,100 | -1,900 | -17.27% |
| Cannon near James | 18,000 | 16,700 | -1,300 | -7.22% |
| Bay N of Main | 15,700 | 12,400 | -3,300 | -21.02% |
| James S of Herkimer | 30,000 | 18,700 | -11,300 | -37.67% |
| Main at Dundurn | 41,100 | 37,300 | -3,800 | -9.25% |
| Main E of Bay | 31,000 | 28,400 | -2,600 | -8.39% |
| Main near Kenilworth | 32,000 | 20,300 | -11,700 | -36.56% |
| Queen S of Charlton | 13,000 | 12,200 | -800 | -6.15% |
| Hunter W of John | 11,000 | 7,500 | -3,500 | -31.82% |
I lived in a suburban ward for 30 years. More recently I chose to move to the core and would not consider returning. I drive, walk, and cycle, and agree strenuously with two-way conversions and lane reductions.
Regularly traveling on Main and Queen streets, I honestly believe that the proposed changes will have almost no negative impact.
Councillors Ferguson and Whitehead both seem opposed to what their enjoy in their own Wards: two-way streets and nice bicycle networks. I would just like the lower city to enjoy what they have.
By Robert D (anonymous) | Posted October 03, 2013 at 23:00:13
Ryan, I seem to remember we had some numbers on mountain streets, for comparison to the downtown ones...showing, for example, that more people drive on wilson street in Ancaster than on King and Dundurn (if I recall my facts correctly).
Can you dig those up? They might be relevant to these recent articles on traffic volume.
By AnjoMan (registered) | Posted October 04, 2013 at 17:34:13 in reply to Comment 92906
Are you thinking of this article? Or maybe this one?
By Robert D (anonymous) | Posted October 04, 2013 at 23:25:51 in reply to Comment 92927
Yup, those, thanks!
By Steve (registered) | Posted October 04, 2013 at 06:34:55
Agreed Bob, I used to ride on lower city roads with no bike lane to Wentworth and then up the Radial rail trail, then connect to the bike lane on Stone Church and ride it all the way to Golf Links. That's right the bike lane runs all that way along Stone Church.
Then I'd ride without bike lane for a little bit and then connect to the Chedoke trail back to the non-bike laned lower city...
By Conrad664 (registered) | Posted October 07, 2013 at 08:35:26 in reply to Comment 92909
Srevs: i guesse you don`t bike much in the lower city ,there is a bike lane all the way in the east end that catches laurence road and Cumberland and Stinson and hunter going to the west end of the city then you hit the chedoke trail
By Core-B (registered) | Posted October 04, 2013 at 19:42:50 in reply to Comment 92909
Ferguson whined in the Council chambers that they spent a lot of time and money on the bike lanes in the meadowlands and he has never seen a bicycle in them. He concluded that even with bike lanes, nobody wants to use them if there is a lot of traffic. I think part of the reason is that the majority of people in that area are heading to the bog box stores and or they don't have a bike because they don't need one. Downtown is completely reversed. We have bicycles everywhere and the infrastructure is nowhere near as good as what he they have on the mountain and Ancaster. So I guess he concludes that they don't need them because they don't use them, it must be the same everywhere!
By conrad664 (registered) | Posted October 07, 2013 at 08:37:52 in reply to Comment 92928
i agree with you Cor-B
By thanks for your contributions (anonymous) | Posted October 07, 2013 at 10:55:25 in reply to Comment 92965
I don't think it's possible for anyone to contribute less to the discussion on this site than you do. Why even bother?
By Joshua (registered) | Posted October 05, 2013 at 20:35:53
Mohawk Road and Fennell Avenue need protected bicycle lanes.
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