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By kevlahan (registered) | Posted October 09, 2009 at 09:51:25
The final choice has still not been made, but King St is the preferred choice in the core because this solution maximizes traffic flow (i.e. motor vehicles).
Because this solution involves two-way conversion of both Main and King, it would still dramatically improve the streetscape of Main St by slowing traffic and making it less of a freeway through downtown.
In many European cities LRT travels through highly pedestrians narrow streets and squares in the core of the city. The King St route would follow the same pattern. The argument is that LRT meshes well with high pedestrian levels, and takes people directly to the pedestrian-friendly quarter.
Since the LRT would run only a block or two from Main St, it would still be convenient for riders to shop there.
Of course, in most other cities LRT is accompanied by a whole collection of pedestrian and cycle friendly initiatives: widened sidewalks, cycle lanes, more crosswalks. If we could see widened sidwalks on Main St as well as two-way conversion it would go a long way to reviving this barren stretch of downtown.
It's not clear to me that one choice is superior, but King St is a reasonable compromise given the competing demands of motorists and LRT. Even the fact we are considering LRT is a huge victory, and either choice would bring transmformative change to the City.
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