Raise the Hammer

What about this? This is only an idea, but why don't we stop talking about converting Main and King and Cannon, and focus on the conversion of some smaller, less-used streets first. Like you, Keanin, I am a newcomer to town, so I don't know the story of how James and John were converted, but presumably at least part of it was because they are not the primary arterial roads, and so opposition was not as fierce.

I don't know why the James and John outcomes are not enough for a lot of people to accept that 2-way conversion is probably the way to go, but I expect it is because they never used John and James to get around, and do use Main and King (possibly the same reason proponents of conversion focus on Main and King- visibility). Using examples from my neighbourhood, I think quality of life and community would be greatly improved if streets like Herkimer and Charlton or Hunter and Bold (which mostly only have retail where they cross arterials, but are too fast for the charming residential neighbourhoods they cut through). These should be low-hanging fruit in terms of convincing council and others to give it a try. I really do think that, if we want Main converted, we stop talking about Main for a while. Instead, we should lobby to have small streets converted and, if the experience of those people inhabiting and using those neighbourhoods is positive, they will in turn support the conversion of more-heavily-trafficked streets like Queen and Bay, and so on.

This is only an idea, but I think that those of us paying attention view John and James as an unmitigated success (I agree with this), and are now gung-ho to take on the really big fish. The rest of the city doesn't feel this way (maybe doesn't even really know or remember that James was converted to two-way traffic), and needs more evidence before making big changes. We should determine what the next steps are, and take those, instead of just being frustrated with not being able to take the final step.