08-04-2020, 08:44 AM
(08-02-2020, 01:03 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: Yes, I think we disagree about how busy Queen is. The section that was reconstructed carries between a third and a tenth the traffic of Westmount Rd according to regional and city data.
Now I know that traffic on Westmount is not a third of what it was last year, yet it is functioning well without turn lanes. So I am telling you, that roads with no turn lanes can handle more traffic than you believe. I too was surprised by this. I assumed it would be more problematic, but based on my rush hour observations, the main effect on Westmount, seems to be to slow down traffic rather than cause congestion.
Efficiency should only be the goal when moving as much traffic as possible is the goal...this isn't the goal everywhere, and I don't believe it should be the goal in our downtown core. Frankly, empty pavement in downtown is a good thing, and it is those very gaps in traffic which allow turns to proceed without turn lanes.
Thanks for the traffic level update. I didn’t realize Queen had such a low level of traffic (although I’m not surprised to hear it’s significantly less than Westmount). I agree that if waiting for turning cars just slows down vehicles, that’s fine in a place like Downtown. I just object to having to wait for multiple cycles of a traffic light not due to overall high traffic levels but just due to one or two people wanting to turn. It sounds like that would be unlikely to be a problem on Queen.