Raise the Hammer

Sorry if I misinterpreted "must" (although I still don't quite understand why you must drive your kids in, even sometimes).

When I ride my bike there, I stay in the lane of traffic ("take a lane") and don't pass by the side. I also was taking the 6 bus for several weeks during the very cold weather at the same time, and there were never any problems. 8 light cycles is extreme and would only occur if there is an accident, or extreme traffic due to a blockage on the 403. Before the CP trail was built I cycled or took the bus on Longwood virtually every weekday morning and evening during rush hour from 1998 to 2010 and it was rare to have severe slowdowns. It did happen (especially due to accidents or severe weather), but was not a real problem.

I agree that the design should be improved for drivers: maybe a right turn only lane, a straight ahead lane and a left turn lane would work. But there are other options than taking Longwood. I guess, what I still don't understand is that if you find Longwood between Aberdeen and Main St so frustrating, why don't you just take Main St? Or have your kids take the bus?

When you say " If the current design was to discourage people from driving down Longwood, it has more than done it's job in my view." this is like saying "the restaurant is so crowded no one goes there any more". Some drivers may complain, but obviously most still aren't bothered enough to actually take another route (or walk, cycle, take transit or travel at another time).

Longwood between the rail bridge and Main St is clearly not residential now, but many students walk along that narrow sidewalk to and from Westdale High School. More importantly, the goal that the Innovation Park will be developed as a walking and cycling campus, which means the street must be designed to be comfortable, safe and convenient for pedestrians and cyclists (which it is not now). Redesigning it with an additional turning lane does not solve the "choke point" at the bridge (for either cyclists or drivers), makes the street anti-pedestrian and cyclist, encourages more driving.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2014-01-15 10:55:22