General Road and Highway Discussion

[the_conestoga_guy]

So I did finally get a reply from staff about my comments on the Victoria St. segment:

Good morning Daniel,

Thanks for your email and interest in the Victoria Street Improvements project. We have included your comments in the feedback we’ve received through the public consultation process. The Region is currently reviewing feedback from the community and staff have tentatively scheduled to take a report to Planning and Works Committee on June 4th. Once confirmed, a public notice letter regarding this report will be delivered to local residents, stakeholders and those who have expressed interest in the Victoria Street Improvements project.

Your comments were also brought up by other members of the public. Council approved the design concept for Victoria Street, between Fisher-Hallman and Lawrence Ave, in 2018.  Once we received approval, we started on the detailed design for the road. The revised design includes reducing the width of road lanes and boulevard space to convert on-road buffered bike lanes to raised cycling facilities between Westmount Road and Lawrence Avenue.

Future plans from the 2018 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) recommended the establishment of a transit corridor along Victoria. When putting in transit lanes on a four-lane roadway, existing curb lanes are often used. However, a future study on the Victoria Street corridor will establish the best use of the space for all users.

Regards,

I mean, I guess that's the answer: staff are still pretending that they will be widening Victoria St. west of West Ave...ironic given that they have basically offered to narrow Victoria St. east of King... (something that was on hold since the new highway to Guelph was on hold).

It's ironic that despite having a TMP they still have barely co-ordinated any plans...although I think possibly the start of the project for Victoria St. in the area (6 years ago) *might* predate the latest TMP or at least coincided with it.

But the fact that this project was "decided" 6 years ago, is another issue altogether.

The way I interpret it, the Region eventually hopes to have 2 lanes of car traffic and 2 transit lanes (LRT, BRT) along much of the length of Victoria. In this case, Victoria would see a "road diet" while also adding the transit lanes. In the mean time, they don't want to reduce lanes west of Laurence just to dig them up again in the medium term for transit lanes. It seems to be a bit of a patchwork solution, and is dependent on the construction of a mythical highway, but I can understand their rationale.

It does make me wonder how many properties between Laurence and West will need to be expropriated to make this happen, though.