03-09-2016, 04:06 PM
Thankfully, the meeting on the 30th is just on the sidewalks, and not on the other proposals. Those were covered by a meeting the other year and thankfully the city & council decided to take a wait & see approach instead of acting with no evidence. Living in the neighbourhood I saw most of the plans as being more inconvenience for residents, and there are no studies to show any traffic calming is needed.
As for sidewalks, I'm generally in favour of sidewalks. I'm primarily a pedestrian/cyclist/transit person. I know the traffic is usually not bad in theses spots, and I see plenty of people walking along Dawson, but I'm aware of a few close calls. Generally it's at night, since Dawson was really dark between Roslin & Beverly (they just added a new street light in January on the new hydro pole). Traffic does pick up for services at Our Lady of Lourdes and at the mosque at Erb & Westmount (people park along Dawson from Westmount to Roslin).
Talking with neighbours yesterday, the one-way section on Dawson might be a way to mitigate problems due to the grade in this area. One of the driveways is pretty steep going down into a garage, way too steep to be nice to walk on as a sidewalk. If the street remains 2-way, either the sidewalk would be uncomfortably slanted or that driveway would be a problem for vehicles. I'm not sure how the sidewalk will impact stormwater & drainage.
I haven't heard anyone against the plan, but as to whether sidewalks are needed it seems to be a 50-50 split.
As for sidewalks, I'm generally in favour of sidewalks. I'm primarily a pedestrian/cyclist/transit person. I know the traffic is usually not bad in theses spots, and I see plenty of people walking along Dawson, but I'm aware of a few close calls. Generally it's at night, since Dawson was really dark between Roslin & Beverly (they just added a new street light in January on the new hydro pole). Traffic does pick up for services at Our Lady of Lourdes and at the mosque at Erb & Westmount (people park along Dawson from Westmount to Roslin).
Talking with neighbours yesterday, the one-way section on Dawson might be a way to mitigate problems due to the grade in this area. One of the driveways is pretty steep going down into a garage, way too steep to be nice to walk on as a sidewalk. If the street remains 2-way, either the sidewalk would be uncomfortably slanted or that driveway would be a problem for vehicles. I'm not sure how the sidewalk will impact stormwater & drainage.
I haven't heard anyone against the plan, but as to whether sidewalks are needed it seems to be a 50-50 split.