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General Road and Highway Discussion
I don't always agree with the suggestions/viewpoints of danbrotherston, but I imagine he'd point out that this intersection would be a lot safer without so rounded of a corner encouraging really fast turns. And I'd agree with him.
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@ MidTowner

Yes, I believe you're correct with the circumstances of this most recent incident. And in fact, that is the same scenario I meant to describe in my own harrowing experiences. Pedestrians have the right-of-way crossing Weber, and driver's turning right off Lincoln going without looking/stopping/caring for the pedestrians crossing.

I think this intersection needs something to be done that would make it more safe.
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Reducing the turn radii as Sammy suggests would probably be productive to reduce the instances of right-turn conflicts. Or an advance signal for people crossing on foot- the movement that I've had the most near misses with has been left-turning motorists from Lincoln westbound to Weber southbound without giving the right of way to people crossing in the southern crosswalk.
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@SammyOES2. Took the words right out of my mouth. Smile
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But would revamping the corners in such a way impede the bus (#12) that turns right onto Weber from Lincoln?
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(04-24-2017, 10:08 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: Butt would revamping the corners in such a way impede the bus (#12) that turns right onto Weber from Lincoln?

If the bus doesn't fit, the left turn lane from Weber onto Lincoln could just be moved back and it would work.
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I find that with the bus stop near the intersection and the number of pedestrians that tend to be waiting to cross Weber at peak times it can be difficult to tell if anyone is trying to cross Lincoln when there is a green on Weber. Obviously this just means drivers need to use more caution, but it can definitely be a bit stressful if someone is following close behind you and you decide you need to slow further to asses if someone is about to step out.
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We don't need costly infrastructure changes... we just need a willingness to look a little less pretty for the sake of safety / experimenting with different traffic management techniques.



[Image: traffic-pole-250x250.jpg]
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Lincoln does not have the pedestrian volume to justify a scramble.

When the Laurel Trail crossing island is installed on Weber (just north of Lincoln) this summer, it should help provide a slight calming effect on Weber St traffic. Right now, the road is rather terrifying.
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I've said it before, the speed limit increase from 50 to 60 at Allen northbound on Weber (when drivers are already naturally going faster down the long hill) makes no sense coming into a high pedestrian stretch. You could probably make a case that Weber should be 50 from Lobsinger or Northfield south.

Similar high pedestrian stretches of University, King, Columbia, Erb, Victoria, etc. have their limits lowered to 50.

If you map the speed limits Weber stands out as an anomaly as there are basically no streets in the area bordered by Westmount, Columbia, the expresway, and Fairway with limits higher than 50.

Here is a quick map using data from the Open Data portal where green = <60, orange = 60, red = >60:
   
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Waitwaitwait. Weber is getting a crossing at the Laurel Trail?!?!?!?!?

(Probably should reserve this excitement for the "Trails" thread, but this sounds too good to be true!)

Edit : oh, wait. You said "island." Sigh

I had a discussion with my other half here this weekend past and we were trying to figure out how to make the crossing safer. We just walked our bikes down to Lincoln (past the crash scene Sad) and crossed there. Adding a crosswalk light probably isn't going to happen given the already high number of lights in the area.

When is the Pepler light moving?
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Pheidippides, you're exactly right that there is no cause for Weber's speed limit to increase from 50 to 60 in Waterloo. I'd never thought about what a rarity 60 really is within our built-up areas until you just laid it out like that.

Unfortunately, I don't think traffic on Weber is any slower between Allen and (say) Victoria than north of Allen, as a result of a lower speed limit. Motorists almost seem to drive faster through that stretch in Kitchener, since there's often not very much traffic relative to around Erb and Bridgeport.

Reducing the speed limit might help make Weber less unpleasant, but it won't fix things entirely. There are definitely intersections along Weber that need to be made friendlier for people who aren't in cars.
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Signs went up recently in Cambridge; Speedsville Road is closed at some point between Eagle and Maple Grove. Does anyone know exactly where, and when, and how closed this closure is? ie, is it just closed to cars, but bikes could get through? Or is it something super-major? And how long will it last? Thanks in advance.
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(04-25-2017, 07:45 PM)Canard Wrote: Signs went up recently in Cambridge; Speedsville Road is closed at some point between Eagle and Maple Grove.  Does anyone know exactly where, and when, and how closed this closure is?  ie, is it just closed to cars, but bikes could get through?  Or is it something super-major?  And how long will it last?  Thanks in advance.

They are paving apparently
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(04-25-2017, 04:12 PM)Canard Wrote: I had a discussion with my other half here this weekend past and we were trying to figure out how to make the crossing safer. We just walked our bikes down to Lincoln (past the crash scene Sad) and crossed there. Adding a crosswalk light probably isn't going to happen given the already high number of lights in the area.

When I ride the trail I get off at Brighton and head north to Marshall and cross Weber there at the lights.
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