Comment 89572

By Simmons (registered) | Posted June 17, 2013 at 13:23:29 in reply to Comment 89569

Beckett Drive is a heavily used roadway and is a valuable Mountain access for those from the West Mountain and Kirkendall/Durand; who use public transit and travel by car, alike.

Businesses, mostly small, and employers in both parts of the city rely on this road tremendously and I'm sure this three-month period will hurt those groups to some degree. These include but are not limited to Mohawk College, Chedoke Hospital, Hillfield, Upper Paradise, Locke St., Dundurn Ave. and Queen St. As well, some students use this access to travel to schools that offer French immersion (e.g. Westdale).

Think of Beckett less as a Mountain access, and more as a continuous street from one part of Hamilton to the next.

So, rather than arbitrarily closing a heavily used roadway and valuable mountain access, perhaps we need to look at calming traffic up/down the hill and along Aberdeen:

  • narrow Aberdeen to two lanes for cars
  • install bike lanes and street parking from Queen to Longwood on both sides, as well as up and down the hill
  • have a stronger police presence along Aberdeen and on Queen from Aberdeen to Amelia
  • do not allow left hand turns, at any time, onto Glenfern from Beckett
  • do not allow left hand turns, during morning rush, onto side streets when heading west along Aberdeen; Dundurn and Studholme being the only options to do so.

These are five measures that would provide enough disincentive for people looking for a quick commute. Plus the traffic lights along this road are adequately unsynchronized, unlike Main or King St.

Other than making Hamilton's most valuable properties more valuable, what benefit is there to closing this road?

Comment edited by Simmons on 2013-06-17 13:27:47

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