Community leaders have applauded a decision by the city to abandon a controversial plan to widen Bronson Avenue.
Bronson Avenue is scheduled to undergo major construction this year to install new underground water and sewer lines. The original plan called for the roadway to be widened by 0.6 metres.
But after reviewing the project, city staff realized that with an already “constrained corridor” the current road width is “acceptable.” Moving hydro installations would also be too expensive.
The proposal was vehemently opposed by residents, community associations and local politicians.
For Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes and community organizations the decision is bigger than just the price tag for moving hydro poles – it’s a step closer to making the street safer.
“If you have some common sense you can see that narrow lanes mean vehicles go slower,” says Holmes.
In an email to Holmes, deputy city manager Nancy Schepers wrote that staff didn’t know the full effect of widening the road until recently.
Holmes says the plans were outdated and unsafe.
“There are engineering books and they say how wide lanes should be and that’s very old 1960’s thinking,” says Holmes. “We don’t want Bronson to feel like a provincial highway.”
Schepers added in the email that city council’s previous decision to approve street parking on Bronson Avenue persuaded city staff to change its plan.
Under normal circumstances, city guidelines dictate that vehicles can’t park on streets of Bronson’s width.
For others in the community, the battle is won, but not the war.
Robert Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, says he’s pleased, but this is a “partial victory.”
He says he would have liked the city to recognize the community’s concerns about safety in the email.
“But I’m happy for the people that live in that corridor,” he says
Now, they’ll fight for better bike lanes and a widened sidewalk. He also said members of the community want to see Bronson Avenue go on a “road diet” and be reduced to three lanes.
For Holmes the next step is making two major intersections on Bronson Avenue, one at Gladstone Avenue and one at Somerset Street, safer.
“We have seen collisions. People talk about near misses. If you live west of Bronson and you want to go to the wading pool at McNabb Park or take a course at the community centre it’s pretty difficult to cross,” says Holmes.
City staff is expected to present a new design for Bronson at an open house later this month.