cmh blog 10 2005

Here’s my third (and final) letter to the city giving feedback on their third (and final) open house on the Bank Street reconstruction project. (I have also posted my comments about the first and second open houses.)

I’ve been pleased with this process, the people working on the project have been friendly, approachable, and they really do seem to care about getting a design that is functional, balances the concerns of the residents, and that will be something to be proud of.

Dear Mr. Holder,

This letter is to comment on the third open house regarding the Bank Street reconstruction project. I am sorry that this letter is a day late, and I hope you will be able to consider my comments anyway. My comments are focused on your southern region.

I am generally pleased with the plan, although I wish we had been able to maintain more space in the outside lanes to facilitate safe exit for patrons parking their cars when visiting local business.

Here are five specific concerns that I have after seeing your open house.

1. SIGNALLED CROSSWALK AT CENTRAL PARK

Your most recent drawings do not indicate a signalled crosswalk at Central Park. Currently, residents (especially children) cannot safely cross at the park, which makes the park more like two parks. Other parks in the city benefit from signalling for pedestrians including Major’s Hill (at the stairs to the market) and Confederation Park (at the crosswalk to city hall).

I believe that the signal that is currently at Strathcona should be moved to the park (near Powell) to unify the two sides of the park by providing for a safe crossover. Your preferred plan even has inviting semi-circular sidewalk layouts that would be perfect for the ends of this crosswalk. Even if the crosswalk must be at a slight angle it should be implemented. I see little purpose for the signals at Strathcona, and great potential for them at the park.

If the crosswalk is placed more towards the North side of the park, then the park entrance design should be modified to create inviting entrances at the crosswalks (just as Confederation park has an inviting entrance across Laurier from city hall).

2. PROJECT PHASING

I am concerned by your plan to involve the Glebe in two years of construction, regardless of whether they are consecutive years or not. We spoke about this at the downtown open house and you indicated that plans had already changed for the phasing that would see the Glebe under construction in 2006 and again in 2008.

I am of the opinion that the impact on local businesses will be felt regardless of where the construction is between the Canal and the Queensway. I value the Glebe-ish owner-operated small businesses, and I think these businesses will be extremely vulnerable if the city tears up their street twice.

I would like to see all work completed between the Canal and the Queensway in a single year. You indicated that other projects in the city, of comparable length, have been completed within a year, and that contracting issues were of concern but were not insurmountable. We discussed that construction traffic routings would not be greatly affected.

At the meeting you seemed to think this was a plausible suggestion. I strongly urge you to revise the schedule to do the area between the Queensway and the Canal in a single year.

3. HYDRO LINES

Although my first letter to you indicated that I did not object to hydro poles, your selection of independent poles for street-level lighting mean that there will be too many poles. You should remove the hydro lines and bury them. My focus, of course, is in burial from the Canal to the Queensway, but likely all the wires should go underground. If we do not do this now it seems infeasible that it will get done at all.

4. BANK STREET PARKING

Parking should be returned to a free state along bank street, with maximum parking length of 2-3 hours. See my previous letters for my arguments for this point.

5. LANSDOWNE PARK

If there is any way to squeeze more greenery and landscaping into the Landsdowne area that would be highly desirable. This area has the potential to look like a grey concrete jungle due to the design of the stadium and the large paved staging and parking area around it. Pack that green in there…

Also, I find the north pedestrian crossing at Landsdowne to be too long. Is it possible to extend the median on the north side further south into the intersection? This would route the pedestrian crossing over the median to provide a safety zone in the middle? People often seem to try to cross late in the cycle during busy events and providing a refuge in the middle would make sense in this case.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this open house. Please contact me if there is an additional opportunity to comment. I would be pleased to continue to be involved in the process.

Regards,
Colin Henein