A proposal to transform Metcalfe Street into a two-way street has residents concerned about traffic in Centretown.
The change is part of a Centretown Community Design Plan that will be presented to the Planning Committee on Dec. 11.
The plan concerns transportation, land use, green spaces and building heights in the mid-Centretown area. It has been developed over the last three years in collaboration with various Centretown associations, including the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
The idea of turning Metcalfe Street into a two-way street is not very recent, says Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes. “That’s been talked about for many years, about 25 years actually.”
But CCCA vice-president Robert Dekker still isn’t sold on the idea.
“This is a concern to us because with one-way streets we can anticipate traffic but by making the streets two-way you’re actually going to create a busier street for a longer period of time,” Dekker says.
“We know that Metcalfe’s peak period is the morning when people are going into the city while O’Connor is going to be busy in the afternoon when people are leaving. Now what happens is that you’re going to have these streets busier throughout the day.”
He is also concerned that these changes might have an impact on other Centretown streets.
“Elgin is a good example of a street that moves traffic well, but is Elgin going to be affected because they are changing the way other streets change? Elgin can’t take much more traffic,” Dekker says.
The design plan outlines a way to create “a good balance between walking, cycling, public transit and vehicular traffic.” The idea is “to improve the streets environment for all users” and to “improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists” by slowing the traffic.
Holmes says she believes the change should be considered though it might be difficult to get people on board with the idea.
“People don’t like change, those who live on two-way streets want it to stay two-way streets and those who live on one-way streets want it to stay one-way streets so this would take a lot of public consultation,” she says.
Despite his concerns, Dekker says the plan would change the Centretown environment for the better.
“I think we are on the right track, I think the community design plan applies very nicely. What we want to see is the creation of a more mobile city whether it’s for transit or pedestrians or cycling while respecting that people still need their cars to get into town,” Dekker says.