Peace and Environment News * April 1996

Centretown Traffic Calming Due for Public Review

by Nancy Mitchell

The Centretown-Kent Street Traffic Calming Plan is now in its final stages, with public review scheduled for May 14.

The Traffic Calming Plan is a response to issues raised for many years by Centretown residents about speeding, pedestrian safety and the volume of non-neighbourhood traffic in the community. Since the 1960s, many Centretown streets have become heavily used by cars, trucks and buses, often at speeds well beyond the legal limit.

A member of Friends of the Market prepares to pull a produce cart in a plant and produce porter service demonstration project last September in the Byward Market. The Friends of the Market are looking for volunteers to help them continue this project, which they hope will help reduce car traffic in the Market. If you are interested, please call 237-1549.

The key idea of traffic calming is that the street is space to be shared by many users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, residents, and businesses, in a balanced fashion. Traffic calming helps restore the balance. Traffic calming does not discourage vehicle traffic but, instead, encourages drivers to operate safely with due consideration for others on the street.

The Plan was developed through a series of workshops held in November and December, in which participants applied magic markers to large-scale maps and designed their own streets. Nine workshops were held, including four specifically for various business interests in and around Centretown. In general, recommendations are relatively modest, and proposed street designs meet the interests of both residents and local businesses.

Some of the traffic calming measures proposed in the Plan are:

• Introducing parking on both sides of Cartier Street, as well as raised intersections;
• Reducing the speed of traffic on side streets between Elgin Street and Cartier Street north of Gladstone Avenue and supporting businesses on Elgin Street by creating angle parking where possible;
• Improving the safety and character of Gladstone Avenue west of Bank Street by re-aligning the Bronson Avenue intersection and providing outer boulevards, parking on both sides of the street, and a raised intersection at Percy Street;
• Introducing full-time parking on the west side of Lyon Street south of Gladstone Avenue, narrowing Lyon Street at Gladstone Avenue and providing speed humps at intersections;
• Reducing the impact of non-neighbourhood traffic on Flora Street and Arlington Avenue between Kent and Bank Streets by introducing a two-way section on Flora Street at Bank Street and speed humps and staggered parking on Arlington Avenue;
• Installing speed humps on City streets north of Gladstone Avenue and west of Kent Street;
• Reducing the speed of traffic on Metcalfe Street through raised intersections, widening of the outer boulevard, and installation of a visual focal point, such as a huge muskox, at the Metcalfe Street and Argyle Avenue loop;
• Providing parking on both sides of residential streets between Bank and Elgin Streets; and
• Lifting parking restrictions on Somerset West and Bank Streets, thus reducing traffic speed and at the same time supporting businesses on these streets.

Three options were developed for a maximum speed of 50 km/hr on Kent Street: a two-lane and a three-lane option, as well as the existing four lanes. All the Kent Street options recognized the need to create a psychological entry point on Kent at Catherine Street to ensure that drivers coming off the Queensway recognize that they are entering a community. And finally, a big priority is to plant more trees throughout Centretown.

Everyone is invited to attend the Open House and Presentation on the Plan on May 14 at McNabb Community Centre, 160 Percy Street at Gladstone, from 4-9:30 P.M. There will be a presentation on the Plan at 7 P.M.

If you have questions or comments, please call John Braaksma at 723-1264 or Nancy Mitchell at 234-3413.

Converted April 11, 2000 - Lg

To follow up on this article, contact the author or the organizations/individuals mentioned; do not contact the Peace and Environment Resource Centre - we cannot provide follow up or contact information. This article is an archival copy of the printed one in the Peace and Environment News (PEN). Viewpoints expressed should not be taken to represent the opinions of the Peace and Environment Resource Centre, the PEN, or our supporters.

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