Comment 84637

By sselway (registered) | Posted January 02, 2013 at 15:21:52

30K All the Way. We DO have 30K. Just not on James and Burlington!

I have read the OMB decision and attended the OMB hearing on behalf of North End Neighbours. NEN welcomes the findings of the OMB that we are a vital family oriented neighbourhood and that traffic can have a major impact on the health and safety of our families and particularly on the lives of our children.

The City's version of the Traffic Management plan DOES put 30K in our neighbourhood but did not include Burlington E. and James Street N. Page 55 of the City of Hamilton North End Traffic Management Plan states "Implementation of a 30k speed limit on all neighbourhood streets in the study area, supported by physical traffic calming measures."

So we WILL get 30K on the residential side streets in a 5 year pilot project. Our goal was never 30K by "enforcement" but slow streets by DESIGN.

The safety and vitality of our entire neighbourhood is paramount, and the exclusion of Burlington Street and James Street from the 30K plan will have a real impact on our community.

But, there are some positive points in the decision.

The OMB decision states efforts should be made to improve streetscaping and signage AS SOON AS POSSIBLE “to create the atmosphere of a child and family-friendly community.”

The OMB decision also states in its conclusion that “It is appropriate that traffic calming and management measures be implemented in the Neighbourhood as a pilot project for a period of five years. This will provide time for these measures to have their full effect, for analysis and modifications. However, it is important to START AT ONCE to implement selected measures in order to convey to drivers that they are entering into a different environment where slower speeds and deference to pedestrians is required. Drivers must be given the message that they are potentially in conflict with children and that they must drive in a slower and more cautious manner. Drivers should be induced to feel they are participating in protecting the safety of pedestrians, especially children.”

Hamilton has a great opportunity to move ahead in the vanguard of Canadian communities that understand how streets impact our daily lives. We look forward to working with the City to begin implementing the traffic calming measures that will ensure the safety of everyone in the neighbourhood.

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds