Comment 28758

By jason (registered) | Posted February 17, 2009 at 15:59:57

Rusty, sadly my kids face those prospects everyday when they're playing outside. Not only is York a highway, but the side streets have these nascar style wide curving ramps allowing someone to scream down York at 70k and be able to rip around a corner onto Strathcona or Locke at 40.
We've had times when we're crossing the street (sidestreet that we live on) with no cars in sight. Halfway across the street a car rips around the corner off York and has to wail on it's brakes to stop and of course, scares the crap out of us all in the process. The folks at Bay/Aberdeen had the city take out their highway style ramp and turn the intersection into a normal city intersection, but all along York we have this dangerous design.

I recall a couple of years ago, I helped lead a charge for a pedestrian light at York/Strathcona as a safe way of connecting Dundurn Castle to Victoria Park as well as the bus stop on York to the seniors building and other residents on the south side of York as well as creating a safe connection between the north and south side of the neighbourhood. The city person that did the study came by on a cold, rainy day, saw only a handful of pedestrians attempt to cross York in a 1-hour period and determined that there wasn't 'sufficient need' for a light.

I told them to come back in the summer and see how many pedestrians try to make this crossing, as well as to watch all the seniors who refuse to get off the bus there because they know they have no chance of crossing York.
I was sent some babble of a form letter and that was that.

Without a doubt, there are some good things happening in Hamilton but make no mistake about it - the car IS still king, even at the expense of child/senior safety (I mention those groups specifically, because an average able-bodied adult can run for it, like I always have to when I cross York - kids and seniors can't).

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