cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/52317034
Take a moment to write a letter to express your thoughts in how to keep Yonge Street dafe for all!
Yonge Street was once one of the most dangerous streets in Toronto. But residents let City Hall know that wasn’t good enough. Millions of dollars have been spent to improve a large part of Yonge. And it’s worked! For the last five years, it’s been safer…for everyone. Whether they are travelling by car, bike, foot, or transit.
Narrowed vehicle lanes make it harder for cars to speed. Bike lanes provide a buffer between cars and pedestrians. More places for people to cross the street with full traffic signals. Advance signals protecting pedestrians from turning vehicles. Improved timing of stop lights help car traffic to move more smoothly. 24/7 parking and loading zones keeping the car lanes clear. This could all be gone by next year!
Premier Ford wants to ignore what our elected city councillors have done for us, and remove 19km of bike lanes in the city – including on the newly improved Yonge Street. This will make Yonge less safe, and less enjoyable for everyone.
The Ford government knows this very well. That’s why they amended their legislation (Bill 212) to remove all responsibility for your safety. The amended bill specifically says they can’t be held responsible if you are injured or killed as a result of these vital safety features being removed. Remember, these are the same folks who banned speed cameras!
Premier Ford says that it’s “common sense” to return Yonge Street to its dangerous past for driver convenience. But if you walk, bike, take transit or even drive, you know this is not “common sense.” Yonge Street will be less safe for those on foot or bike, will result in more people opting to drive, and will decrease opportunities for local businesses. And when more people decide to drive – guess what? Traffic congestion increases!
You can help stop Ford’s irrational plan and keep Yonge safe for all! Let Premier Ford know that you are not on board with his plan for Yonge Street.
Whenever I drive down any city roadway I always wonder why do these streets or roads get designed so wide?
For example a residential area has a street that's almost 4-5 cars wide. Both curbs are used for private parking almost full time. And the remaining 3 car widths are for 2 way travel. Repaving a street like this costs way more just because of the width alone.
I always figure why does the city not just maintain the "absolute minimum" roadway required for the particular roadway classification. For starters street parking should be separated from the street like shown in the image below.
This shrinks the roadways square footage that requires maintenance, such as repaving every few years. If dedicated parking areas are required at street level by a business or homeowner, this area should be maintained and cared for by those businesses/owners ideally, working directly with the city for proper specifications and maintenance details.
Residential areas could also benefit from shrinking street widths, I would almost say a car and a half width is more then acceptable. This benefits the area from a influx of thru traffic and from speeding on the area. It also provides more area on the street for green space, with benefits to health and air quality as well as potential benefits for rain water being absorbed back into the ground.
This would be a example of a narrower residential street that's about a car and a half wide, still allowing 2 way travel as cars need to slow down and squeeze past each other.
A street like this is a destination, not a thru-way.