Pedestrian Issues

[UrbanWaterloo]

Pedestrian Issues in Waterloo Region

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[UrbanWaterloo]

Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee
http://www.together4health.ca/workgroups/pedestrian-charter

http://www.together4health.ca/files/imagecache/logo/logos/pedestrian.jpg

Who We Are
We are a citizens' group. We encourage and monitor the implementation of the Pedestrian Charter in the local municipalities in Waterloo Region.

Our activities include reviewing regional and municipal policies, advocating for pedestrians in the media, and making public presentations to municipal councillors, staff and relevant community organizations.

What Is a Pedestrian Charter?
The Pedestrian Charter is a set of principles about the value of walking.
Click here (http://www.together4health.ca/files/upload/pedestrian_charter.pdf) to read the full Pedestrian Charter as adopted in Waterloo Region.

Why Have a Pedestrian Charter?
Municipalities with a Pedestrian Charter know that walking is important for health and the environment. The charter helps city and regional councils, staff, and citizens think about how to encourage walking. The charter calls for infrastructure and policies that support walking.

Who Has Adopted the Pedestrian Charter?
In 2005, the Region of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener and the City of Cambridge adopted the Pedestrian Charter. In 2008, the City of Waterloo adopted a customized version of the Pedestrian Charter.

Why Does Walking Matter?
Many people rely on walking to get around. Even many car and transit trips begin and end by walking. A walkable city is safer and makes it easier for people to walk more. And the more people walk, the healthier they are - and the cleaner our air is. Walking is also an important option for people who can't afford a car.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Rallying call: Take back the streets from automobiles
April 21, 2008
Terry Pender, RECORD STAFF - WATERLOO REGION

http://media.therecord.com/images/5c/58/4ccc5b864809b77ede5c127dcf79.jpeg
Barry Wellar says municipalities should put pedestrians comfort ahead of driver comfort.


Barry Wellar is helping pedestrians, cyclists and transit users take back their streets.

For too long, city governments have catered to drivers of privately owned vehicles, sacrificing the safety of pedestrians and the environment, according to Wellar, professor emeritus, department of geography at the University of Ottawa.

These days, he is an expert witness in cases where people sue municipal governments after slipping and falling on sidewalks, or after pedestrians are hit by cars.

He was in Waterloo recently speaking to a citizens' group -- the Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee -- about how to get municipal governments to make cities more pedestrian-friendly.

The steering committee wants the cities of this region to implement the principles of the Pedestrian Charter, which is sort of a bill of rights for walkers and cyclists.

The charter has been adopted by Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo Region. The City of Waterloo is thinking about it. Other cities, such as Toronto and Ottawa, have adopted the charter.

"The walkability of a community is an indicator of the quality of life of that community," Jennifer Robertson-Wilson of the Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee, says.

And Wellar has lots of advice for improving the quality of life in our cities.

A municipality, he said, should not receive any transportation-related funds from Queen's Park or Ottawa until it has a plan for increasing walking, cycling and the use of public transit.

Climate change, increasing oil prices, traffic congestion and poor air quality will force changes on city governments and individuals.

"If walkability doesn't become a major part of transportation planning in the next 10 years, I think you are in trouble," Wellar says.

A quick look at some of the municipal budgets in this region shows there is no balance to transportation spending. Roads get the overwhelming amount of taxpayer dollars; sustainable transportation -- walking, cycling and transit -- get comparatively little.

This year, Kitchener will spend $17.2 million on roads, $1.6 million on sidewalks and $486,000 on paths and trails.

Cambridge will spend $10.3 million on roads, $225,000 on sidewalks, $204,000 for on-road bike lanes, and $35,000 for off-road trails.

In Waterloo, roads will get $6.9 million, sidewalks $254,000 and bike paths $250,000.

"Let's be honest, the vast majority of money goes into roads," Wellar says.

Waterloo Region is the only municipal government in this region that approaches balanced spending between infrastructure for roads and sustainable transportation -- at least for 2008.

Waterloo Region will spend $92.5 million this year on roads. But it will also spend $81 million on Grand River Transit. It will also spend $1.6 million to build 108 kilometres of sidewalks and bike paths.

Municipal governments must do a lot more to get people using sustainable transportation, Wellar says.

"We are talking about simul-taneously increasing walking, biking and transit and at the same time decreasing the use of the private automobile," Wellar says.

Data on sustainable transportation from the most recent census shows that pedestrian advocates have a lot of work to do when it comes to changing the behaviour of people in the cities of this region. For the first time ever, the 2005 census asked people how they get around -- driving a car, riding in a car, walking, cycling or transit.

In Cambridge, 60,560 use private vehicles, 2,190 use transit, 2,020 walk and 565 cycle.

In Kitchener, 104,750 use private vehicles, 6,445 ride buses, 4,870 walk and 1,360 ride bikes.

In Waterloo, 49,530 use vehicles while 2,270 use transit, 3,740 walk and 1,525 ride bicycles.

Such numbers don't discourage Wellar, who says cities must spend more on sustainable transportation before more people walk, ride bicycles or use transit. In short, stop treating pedestrians like third-class citizens, he says.

"If you want to encourage walking, you don't want people standing in snow, standing in slush, standing in water," Wellar says.

Wellar is scathing in his criticism of cities that do not plow sidewalks in the winter. The cities in this region plow some sidewalks in their downtowns and some public property. But city crews do not remove snow from the overwhelming majority of sidewalks and bus-stops.

"I don't believe it. Wow! It seems to me there is some money to be made here. This is shocking," Wellar says.

He testified recently in a lawsuit where a Toronto man sued the city after slipping and falling on a winter sidewalk. The man broke his knee. That case is still before the court.

Wellar was also an expert witness in a slip-and-fall case in Ottawa where a woman broke her ankle. She was awarded thousands of dollars.

"If I was going to be an expert witness at a trial I would love to do it here. If a municipality defaults snow clearing to citizens it is a recipe for disaster," Wellar says.

The cities of this region require property owners adjacent to city sidewalks to clear the snow within 24 hours after the end of a storm. Other cities, such as London and Guelph, plow all city-owned sidewalks.

Priority for snow-clearing should be transit routes and sidewalks, not roads, he says.

Municipal governments are willing to see citizens get hurt, and then make payments in slip-and-fall cases, rather than clear sidewalks of snow, Wellar says.

"That strikes me as pretty disgusting logic," Wellar says. "You have to be concerned that bean counters are calling the shots."

Over the past nine years, the cities of this region paid about $1.5 million in claims after someone slipped on a public sidewalk.

In Cambridge, the payouts totalled $192,542 since 2000. The worst year since then was 2007, when payments totalled $130,550.

In Kitchener, the payouts have totalled $1.1 million since 2000. The worst year since then was 2003 when the city paid out $205,442.

In Waterloo, the payments totalled $234,906 since 2000. The worst year since then was 2003, when the city paid out $81,578.

When it comes to treating pedestrians as third-class citizens, Wellar traces the problem to a book called the Highway Capacity Manual, Bureau of Public Roads, in the United States. A Bible of sorts for traffic engineers.

The first order of business, according to that influential tome, is the convenience, comfort and safety of drivers.

Wellar developed the walkability security index for the City of Ottawa more than 10 years ago, subverting the principles used by traffic engineers in the manual.

This was done, in part, to counter the arguments of traffic engineers at hearings of the Ontario Municipal Board -- a provincial tribunal that rules on land-use disputes.

City governments should be increasing the safety, comfort and convenience of pedestrians with every street, sidewalk, intersection, roundabout, trail, bike path and set of traffic signals, Wellar says.

Currently, traffic signals are used at intersections to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, not the safe crossing of pedestrians.

And the expansion of intersections usually spells disaster for walkers.

"What is our legal liability here?" Wellar says.

A walkability test should be applied to all transportation projects, every city's Official Plan, amendments to those plans, each application to change land use in a municipality, and site plan agreements for individual developments.

Wellar says sidewalks and pedestrian paths should be designed and constructed to serve and promote community and neighbourhood walkability.

While increasing expenditures on infrastructure for walking, biking and public transit, city governments should stop widening roads. Parking lots along King Street should be zoned out of existence and replaced with high-density housing because it is well served by public transit.

"You are not dependent on an automobile if you can walk, ride a bike or take transit. So it is a choice. It is a proclivity. It's just proclivity. It is not dependence at all," Wellar says.

The numbers
214,840 - People who rely on vehicles to get around, according to the 2005 census, in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo.
10,905 - People who take transit in the three cities, according to the 2005 census.
3,450 - People riding bikes to get from place to place.
34.4 million - Spending in dollars on roads this year by Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo
2 million - Spending on sidewalks this year by Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo
1.5 million - Payments over nine years by the region's cities because of claims by people who slip on sidewalks.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Group seeks a pedestrian-friendly Waterloo Region
By Terry Pender, Record staff
February 11, 2010
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/669028

http://media.therecord.topscms.com/images/f9/e0/8b8e0fea4200b9636631602810d1.jpeg
Joyce Padington, a crossing guard at Victoria St South and West Forest Trail, tied balloons to her stop sign for Crossing Guard Appreciate Day, Wednesday.

WATERLOO REGION — A citizens’ group that aims to make the cities of this area pedestrian-friendly wants to hear from residents.

Later this month, the Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee will give a public presentation on how other cities became walkable and welcomed pedestrians. The presentation will be followed by a discussion on the next steps that are needed to make Waterloo Region more walkable.

“It is important we get feedback from the larger community,” Rob Martin, acting chair of the Pedestrian Charter Steering Group, said.

“We don’t want to tell people what they need, we want them to tell us and then we will advocate,” Martin said.

The public meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25, at 7 p.m., in the Schneider Room at the main branch of the Kitchener Public Library on Queen Street.

“For me, it’s about the desire to have a friendly, safe community and the way to do that is have people out on the streets,” Martin said.

“If people are out you get to know each other, they will talk more and visit. I think it deters crime to have more people outside,” Martin said.

Between 2005 and 2008, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Waterloo Region adopted the Pedestrian Charter’s guiding principles to support and encourage walking.

The Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee works to have municipal governments implement the charter and make the area more walkable.

Antonio Goméz-Palacio is a leading authority on walking in cities and has a lot of advice for residents and municipal councillors in this region. Goméz-Palacio is a principal with the Toronto-based urban design and planning firm called Office for Urbanism.

Goméz-Palacio said to make the transition from a car-dependent city to a walkable city, every department at city hall must be involved.

High-density, mixed-use developments are key. Complete communities are needed where everyday needs can be satisfied within one square kilometre. Buildings should come right out to the edge of sidewalks, which are wide and shaded by trees.

Sidewalks are needed on both sides of the street and there should be crosswalks that make people feel comfortable and safe.

Such streets become destinations and can be viewed as part of the city’s collection of open spaces, Goméz-Palacio, said.

“If it is a beautiful, gorgeous street you will want to walk it, you will want to congregate and linger and meet people, and have your children walk up and down the street,” Goméz-Palacio said.

Pedestrianism is a worldwide trend, he said.

“People have recognized that pedestrian environments are linked to quality of life,” Goméz-Palacio said. “So think about the best places you can imagine in the world and they are all pedestrian-oriented.”

He added: “The highest quality of life is always in and around environments that are pedestrian- oriented.”

In some ways, this area is going backwards when it comes to walkable urban environments.

Years after municipal councils adopted the Pedestrian Charter, Veronica Walsh, 51, was killed on Victoria Street North in January. She was crossing midblock because there are no sidewalks on that stretch of Victoria Street.

Walsh was in a wheelchair and would have had to roll down the multi-lane roadway to the nearest intersection at Frederick Street to cross at a traffic signal.

Walsh was the second woman killed trying to cross that stretch of road within the past two years.

As some residents advocate for better walking conditions, the City of Kitchener is going in the opposite direction in some cases.

Kitchener has committed or earmarked about $70 million for the construction of parking garages in and around the downtown. This is happening while Waterloo Region lobbies for up to $800 million for light trail transit through Kitchener and Waterloo.

The City of Kitchener also fell way behind on the construction of trails in suburban neighbourhoods. Even after doubling the amount of money in the 10-year capital budget for new trail construction, it will take 15 to 20 years to catch up.

The construction of the Walter Bean Grand River Trail has been stalled for years, even though all of the money needed to pay for it has already been raised. The biggest gaps in that river-side trail are in Kitchener.

[Spokes]

Giving pedestrians more right-of-way

March 10, 2010
By Terry Pender, Record staff

WATERLOO REGION — Bob Henderson wants the province to take a close look at giving pedestrians more rights.

Henderson, the region’s manager of transportation engineering, wants the province to consider changes to the Highway Traffic Act that would require vehicles to stop for pedestrians who are standing beside a cross walk that is not controlled by signals, lights or signs.

“If it is just a marked cross walk on the pavement and someone is standing there waiting to cross the road, the driver must yield the right-of-way,” Henderson said of his proposal.

It will be considered by a special steering committee of traffic engineers and planners from around the province that is looking at changes to the Highway Traffic Act.

Henderson said Nova Scotia and British Columbia have had this in place for years.

“This is a big one, this is a paradigm shift,” Henderson said. “It is instilled in Ontario culture that vehicles have the right-of-way over pedestrians at uncontrolled locations.”

Cities everywhere are trying to become more walkable in an effort to reduce traffic congestion, ease air pollution and create vibrant streets.

Henderson’s proposal would make it much easier for pedestrians to cross busy streets that have no signals.

“If you see someone standing at the side of the road, you now automatically drive right by them,” Henderson said. “That’s our culture in Ontario right now, so we are talking about a big change.”

Walking in Waterloo Region can be risky. Each week, on average, two people are struck by a vehicle.

Vehicles killed four pedestrians here last year and three the year before that.

So far in 2010, two pedestrians died after being struck by vehicles, including a woman in a wheelchair on a stretch of Victoria Street North that has no sidewalks.

Henderson has carefully studied the data for the years 2004 to 2008. He’s found several trends:

The number of pedestrian collisions each year ranged from 109 to 119.

Between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of pedestrian collisions occur at signalized intersections when the pedestrian has the right-of-way.

Most often, the driver is turning left against oncoming traffic and is watching for a chance to turn. After committing to the turn, the driver plows into a pedestrian who is stepping off the curb to cross with the signal.

Other times, the driver is looking for a break in the traffic in order to make a right turn and plows into a pedestrian crossing with the walk signal.

“I can’t accept that as being a good track record,” Henderson said.

Roundabouts are much safer for pedestrians than signalized intersections, Henderson said.

The region’s first roundabout was built in 2004 at Ira Needles Boulevard and Erb Street West. The region now has 13 roundabouts open to traffic and more than 15 others are planned.

Between January 2005 and March 2009, there was only one pedestrian struck by a vehicle in that first roundabout at Ira Needles Boulevard and Erb Street West. It was minor and the pedestrian walked away from the mishap.

Henderson said that roundabout was compared to 158 signalized intersections with similar amounts of vehicles and pedestrians.

There were 63 pedestrian collisions at those signalized intersections during the same period.

Roundabouts are built in areas that do not get a lot of foot traffic, so Henderson refined his analysis further by comparing that first roundabout to signalized intersections that get an average of only 34 pedestrians a day.

In that category there were 15 pedestrian collisions compared to one at the Ira Needles-Erb Street roundabout.

“When you look at data and research around the world on the subject, it is no different than ours, it supports the fact that roundabouts are remarkably safer for pedestrians than traffic signals,” Henderson said.

tpender@therecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/682318

I'm all for giving pedestrians the right of way, its important to protect them so that people will walk more. One thing that frustrates me sometimes is when pedestrians think they can do whatever they want. There are crosswalks for a reason, to allow a safe place for pedestrians to cross, but when they just wander out into the street wherever they want, its no wonder why people get hurt.

[mpd618]

One thing that frustrates me sometimes is when pedestrians think they can do whatever they want. There are crosswalks for a reason, to allow a safe place for pedestrians to cross, but when they just wander out into the street wherever they want, its no wonder why people get hurt.

Actually, pedestrians are in more danger at crosswalks. The reason for crosswalks and for the popularity of the popular and legal term jaywalking is to facilitate travel by automobile. See Tom Vanderbilt's defense of jaywalking (http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/).

[Spokes]

Actually, pedestrians are in more danger at crosswalks. The reason for crosswalks and for the popularity of the popular and legal term jaywalking is to facilitate travel by automobile. See Tom Vanderbilt's defense of jaywalking (http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/).

Hmm thats an interesting article. A lot of good points I hadn't thought of.

That being said, I still think a lot of pedestrians don't use common sense when it comes to crossing a busy street. You can't just wander out into the street.

[smably]

This seems like a good time to link an awesome article on Gordon Price's blog, about motordom:
http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/motordom-in-saskatoon/


Before the city could be reconstructed for the sake of motorists, its streets had to be socially reconstructed as places motorists belonged.

Before the 1930s, children were free to play in the street and people could cross wherever they wanted. By the 1930s, motordom managed to convince people that the pedestrian, not the car, was the interloper and had to be restricted. The pejorative “jay walker” was introduced and public safety programs “educated” pedestrians to use signals and crosswalks.

They convinced the public the automobile should be accepted as the dominant user of the street, says Price.

I am all for taking streets back from cars, one jaywalker at a time.

[IEFBR14]

I generally cross streets when it's safe to do so irrespective of traffic signals, crosswalks and other pedestrian "safeguards." I've seen too many instances when pedestrians have almost been taken out by negligent bozos, er, car drivers to trust my life to the Highway Traffic Act and/or local bylaws. So before I cross, I look in all directions to ensure that there are no cars (or bikes <ducks> ;) ) within striking distance, and then I cross, red lights be damned.

As for the pedestrian charter, pardon my cynicism but there's no political will to tackle the problems we pedestrians have faced for decades in K-W. Let me give a simple example. Waterloo has several walking/cycling paths that lead to uptown including one that follows Laurel Creek from City Hall out to Hillside Park and beyond to Manulife out in the 'burbs. The problem is that to get from one end of the trail to the other you have to cross several major arteries like Bridgeport Rd, University Ave. and Columbia St. These crossings aren't signalled or crosswalked or even signed for the attention of car drivers. They're all located a couple of hundred meters from the nearest "safe" crossing point at an intersection. Now all of these are roads are multi-lane, traffic moves on them well in excess of posted speed limits and traffic is particularly heavy on them at times when pedestrians would want to cross them on their way to/from work. You don't need to be an junior traffic engineer to appreciate that this situation, which has been the status quo for years, discourages people from walking (or cycling) to work. The situation is similar along the Iron Horse trail in Kitchener and although the streets aren't as wide, there are more of them to cross.

Now politicians and traffic engineers in Waterloo Region appreciate this situation, yet with the sole exception of the Erb St crossing, they've done nothing about it in the past several years even with input from the Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee. They seem to have no trouble finding $millions to build new roads for car commuters but not even a fraction of that to make our urban trails a more practical, greener and safer alternative.

[Spokes]

I think you got it dead on, cross when it's safe to do so, not when there's a car directly in front of you, its just a matter of making smart decisions.

As for political will, as a result of the two incidents early on in 2010 I wouldn't be too surprised to see it come up amongst election candidates.

[IEFBR14]

While the article appears in the Toronto Star it's just as valid in Waterloo Region: Pedestrians are the city's orphans (http://thestar.blogs.com/yourcitymycity/2010/03/pedestrians-city-orphans--we-can-call-it-the-baby-stroller-effect-when-a-mom-pushing-a-stroller-was-killed-by-a-car.html)
We can call it the “baby stroller effect”; when a mom pushing a stroller was killed by a car, it made the front page of all papers; much time in TV news was focused on it and everyone became concerned. Now pedestrian deaths are back on the forgotten pile...

We seem to justify pedestrians killed as a normal part of everyday city life in the 21st century; we blame it on the fact that he or she was “talking on the cellphone” or “listening to the i-Pod” or “probably jaywalking” or just “not paying attention.”

This common attitude might lower our concern and anxiety, but it is wrong. None of those actions justify getting killed! It is people like us, like our children and parents, our neighbours and friends, who are killed while they walk to their normal activities.

Everyday a Canadian is killed while walking (average last five years, StatsCan). Last year a pedestrian was injured by a car in Toronto every six hours (TO Police). There are more than twice as many pedestrians killed in Ontario as there are homicides by firearm.

Walking can and should be made safe for ALL. Period...

What are our political candidates saying about this? Who is the “champion of the pedestrians”? Who is willing to propose a one-line policy on the first day at work that “in this municipality pedestrians are first”? It would send a clear message to all stakeholders, municipal staff, developers, citizens, that everything that takes place in our communities should have pedestrians as a priority...

Make sure that your politician makes a commitment to do whatever is necessary to make walking a normal part of everyday life, and to make it SAFE for ALL.

Are there any regional or municipal politicians or candidates that have done more than pay lip service on this issue?

[mpd618]

Are there any regional or municipal politicians or candidates that have done more than pay lip service on this issue?

Regional Coun. Jean Haalboom, together with staff, is working to get the Ontario Highway Traffic Act to give pedestrians legal right-of-way at crosswalks. I'll add other specifics when I think of them.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Council Enquiries And Requests For Information: Planning and Works Committee
http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/8ef02c0fded0c82a85256e590071a3ce/66C2C3E2820B34638525770E0055FB98/$file/trackinglist.pdf?openelement
As of ROW:Planning and Works Committee April 27, 2010 Meeting (http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/8ef02c0fded0c82a85256e590071a3ce/66c2c3e2820b34638525770e0055fb98!OpenDocument)

Meeting date | Requestor | Request | Assigned Department | Anticipated Response Date

11-Aug-09 | Committee | Staff report on local pedestrian/cyclist injuries | Transportation Planning | Near Future

01-Dec-09 | P&W | Staff report on obtaining changes to Highway Traffic Act to give right of way to pedestrians | Transportation and Environmental Services | Sep-2010

[IEFBR14]

[Do we need a separate thread on accessibility issues?]

Walk highlights urban accessibility issues (http://news.therecord.com/printArticle/705469)
There was a telling moment during a Sunday afternoon walk that illustrated just how difficult it can be for someone like Edward Faruzel to get around.

Co-hosting a Jane’s Walk about downtown accessibility, Faruzel was manoeuvring his wheelchair outside the Boathouse in Victoria Park when he rolled into a depression in the interlocking brick.

Something that was nearly imperceptible to the walkers in the area proved potentially hazardous for Faruzel, who lives with cerebral palsy. And although Faruzel is the first to say that accessibility is improving all the time, it was proof that challenges still abound.

Faruzel and his friend Jeff Kratky guided small groups through the downtown core on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, one of the series of walks dedicated to urban writer and thinker Jane Jacobs.

Travelling along city streets and through Victoria Park, the pair highlighted several examples of thoughtful consideration for those with physical challenges — and noted other places that would remain off-limits.

“When I was young, there were no ramps anywhere,” said Faruzel, board chair for Kitchener-Waterloo Access-Ability. “Now, people are getting older … It’s just getting better for everyone.”

But for every fully-accessible business or well-designed intersection, it’s not that difficult to find obstacles like stairs or uncut curbs.

“We’re not consistent with what he needs,” noted participant Dianne Arndt.

And it’s not always an all-or-nothing situation, Kratky pointed out. The city-owned Boathouse, for example, is fully accessible through the external washroom doors — which proved fine during a visit once by Faruzel, until city staff locked those outside doors later in the evening.

With no Boathouse employees in possession of a key, Faruzel was essentially marooned inside the venue until some patrons jury-rigged a ramp out of some scrap wood.

“You have to be able to improvise. Things may not be exactly 100 per cent perfect,” Faruzel said.

“I was happy that there was awareness being raised for some of these issues,” said participant Irene Metzger, whose son faces accessibility challenges.

Metzger said she shares Faruzel’s belief that, for the most part, the situation is improving. When Metzger raised concerns, for example, about a sidewalk problem near her home, city staff were quick to respond.

“Some people move here because this city is more accessible,” she said.

[Spokes]

[Do we need a separate thread on accessibility issues?]


I think for now this is the right spot for this. Fits here better than the Jane's Walk thread because it's about the issue of accessability rather than the walk itself.

[Urbanomicon]

Do we need a separate thread on accessibility issues?

I'll keep it here for now. If we end up with so much information that it derails the pedestrian safety portion of this thread, I'll move the accessiblity posts into a new thread.

[IEFBR14]

City trail plan wins high praise (http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/753452)
A proposed plan that calls on the city to close the many gaps among its 175 kilometres of existing trails is getting high praise from an internationally renowned expert on livable cities.

Gil Penalosa, the executive director of the Toronto-based organization called 8-80 Cities, said connectivity is more important than kilometres.

“People want to use trails that go from one place to another,” he said during a telephone interview from his Toronto office.

Penalosa’s group works with city planners, councillors and citizens’ groups to design cities for everyone — from eight-year-old children to 80-year-old seniors.

He was reacting to the proposed parks master plan that was prepared during the past year and calls on the city to increase spending on its parks, trails and natural areas in the next 10 years.

“I think it would be really, really good if they invested the money to connect the trails,” Penalosa said.

Previous master plans prepared in 1972, 1990, 1995 and 2005 all placed a high priority on trails.

[And how did those plans pan out for pedestrians and cyclists?]

Penalosa disagrees with one of the recommendations in the proposed master plan — that trails be formally classified as either transportation or recreation.

Presumably the transportation trails would get a hard surface and year-round maintenance, although that is not spelled out in the proposed master plan.

“As for being recreation or transportation I think at the end of the day they end up being for both,” he said.

With increasing energy costs and a warming atmosphere, trails are more important than ever, Penalosa, a senior consultant for Gehl Architect in Copenhagen and the former commission of parks for Bogota, Columbia, said.

Walking and cycling on trails reduces the green house gas emissions that cause climate change, help people stay active and fit, and knit together a city like nothing else, he said.

The proposed parks master plan, which is available on the City of Kitchener’s website for public comment until late September, notes that previous trails plans were not implemented.

“As a result there are several challenges associated with the trail network,” says the proposed master plan.

The plan says walking is the No. 1 leisure activity in the city. The public use and popularity of trails has consistently grown.

The plan says the community’s priorities include:

Closing the gaps among the existing trails.

Raising the standards of trail development and maintenance to support more recreational users, active transportation and making the trails accessible to everyone.

Provide access to natural areas while minimizing impacts.

Links to the downtown core from existing trails and newer subdivisions.

The proposed parks master plan recommends the city increase the spending on trails by $1 million over 10 years. If adopted, the city would spend $5.3 million over the next 10 years on community trails.

That would see Kitchener spend an average of $530,000 on trails annually during the next 10 years.

While that sounds like a lot the city has a huge backlog of trail construction in newer subdivisions.

[A lot? An increase of a mere $100k per year? How much do we spend on roads? And if "walking is the No. 1 leisure activity in the city" How does the city's expenditures on trails compare with expenditures on other, less popular leisure activities?]

Bob Mcmullen is a veteran trail advocate in Cambridge and he sees a critical flaw in the proposed master plan — the plan does not recommend the establishment of a citizen’s advisory committee for trails.

“There are no public-once-a-month-meetings-with-minutes. That, I think, is the flaw. Even Waterloo went to advisory committees,” he said.

An advisory committee of informed citizens and trails users can monitor city council’s spending and implementation of the master plan, Mcmullen said.

Kitchener has a dodgy record on trails, he said, and the city is behind both Cambridge and Waterloo when it comes to completing the Walter Bean Grand River Trail and the Trans-Canada Trail.

“Kitchener’s Trans-Canada Trail link from the Iron Horse south is in worse shape than it was in 2000,” Mcmullen said.

Matt Tiessen, the chair of the Pedestrian Charter Steering Committee, applauds the city for having the master plan prepared and hopes city council follows through with it.

“It’s a huge publication, gees, if they put as much effort into the trails as they did into the publication that would be terrific,” he said. “It is a great initiative and it is certainly needed.”

He said benches should be built along trails and lights installed above the gates on the Iron Horse Trail near Victoria Park. A cyclist died after plowing into the gates in the dark a few years ago.

Trails should not be viewed as luxuries, but a critical part of modern cities that want to provide clean, quiet, safe and reliable transportation routes for cyclists and walkers, Tiessen said.

“I think that connectivity is really really important,” he said. “Connectivity will create the sort of circumstances where people will be using these things for transportation.”

Even the proposed spending on trails—$5.3 million over the next 10 years—is a small fraction of what the city spends on roads, parking garages and taxpayer-subsidized parking spaces in the core.

“If you think about the amount of money that goes into supporting people in their little cars, really the discourse has to shift. These trails are not luxuries these are bargain basement deals,” Tiessen said.

[KevinL]

Definitely good news, Kitchener's trail record is abysmal. Far too much of the existing network is poorly maintained (and much of it is still stone dust, not asphalt; rollerbladers are fully excluded, and cycling isn't fun when it's been wet), the network has poor interconnections, and the online coverage is very spotty.

Waterloo and Cambridge are no saints in this area either, but they have much better maintenance and overall quality in comparison.

[Greg Moore]

I have never understood why there isn't a good consistent trail along the creek from Uptown to Bechtel Park. There are trails, but they are inconsistent and you wouldn't think of walking them to get Uptown right now. The area from city hall to Moses Springer Park could be a really nice walk with not a lot of money spent imo.

[IEFBR14]

The area from city hall to Moses Springer Park could be a really nice walk with not a lot of money spent imo.
To get to Moses Springer Park you have to cross Erb St, Bridgeport Rd and Weber St. Only Erb has a traffic light for pedestrian crossings. Bridgeport has no nearby crossing and requires you to wait for a safe break in 4 lanes of, usually speeding, oncoming traffic. There's a traffic light at Weber and Lincoln, but being a main entrance to Bridgeport Plaza, it's often unsafe for pedestrian crossing even when you have green lights.

Where's the money, let alone political will, to address those sorts of issues going to come from when (for example) Kitchener considers a $100k/year increase in their trail budget to be a big deal?

BTW that trail, along Laurel Creek continues to the Manulife parking lot at King St and the Conestoga Parkway. It's a beautiful walk to be sure. It would also be ideal for people who live in the nearby residemtial areas to use to walk/cycle to work in the Uptown core. But again, using that section of the trail requires cutting through a townhouse development, crossing University, Lexington, etc. That's hardly pleasant, let alone safe, especially during rush hours.

[IEFBR14]

When it comes to traffic solutions, choose safety over symbols (http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/785860)
ROAD AHEAD COLUMN BY JEFF OUTHIT
Painted bicycle lanes and signalized crosswalks symbolize the friendlier streets we want. They are not always practical traffic solutions.

Designated bicycle lanes tell cyclists they belong on the street. They tell motorists to share the road. Crosswalk signals tell pedestrians when to walk or stay. They tell motorists to watch for pedestrians who share the intersection.

These are important statements. I understand why some people want to make them.

But the reality about painted cycling lanes is that many residents feel unsafe in them. So they stay out of them, turning them into wasted space.

When planners surveyed 2,337 local cyclists in 2008, they found most prefer to ride off the road, even on streets with designated bike lanes. Most cyclists favour sidewalks or boulevards where they feel more comfortable.

The practical solution to encourage cycling is to separate bicycles from cars. This means installing curbs or barriers, building wider shared sidewalks, pursuing segregated cycling paths and developing a network of cycling trails. It means putting bicycles somewhere else than on our busiest streets.

Signalized crosswalks are often touted to make pedestrians safer. The reality is they can be very dangerous places.

Too often, careless motorists or careless pedestrians misread signals or fail to notice each other during a right or left turn. As intersections get bigger, crossing distances get longer, adding to pedestrian risks.

This is partly why roundabouts make practical sense. Some critics complain the circles can’t be safe for pedestrians because no signal tells a driver to stop. There’s concern for students who will cross at busy roundabouts coming to three high schools in Kitchener and Cambridge.

But pedestrians aren’t made safer by signals. They’re made safer by reduced speeds, shorter crossing distances, and attentive drivers. Roundabouts provide this without the false security of a signal.

Planners recently compared 81 traffic signals to 11 roundabouts over multiple years, with similar traffic and pedestrian counts. Pedestrians were hit 25 times at the signals and only once in a roundabout, when someone wrongly crossed through a central island and stepped into a driving lane.

The early calculations, though based on very small data, suggest pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit at signals.

I get the symbolism in painting more bicycle lanes and adding crosswalk signals. I lean more to traffic solutions that may actually work.

[mpd618]

The point about roundabouts needs to be considered in context: roundabouts in the Region of Waterloo have only been placed in suburban areas that have few pedestrians.

[UrbanWaterloo]

http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/646992a6b2d4dea085256e590071a3e9/7e204d6a133c61af852577b2004d4280/Body/0.921C!OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/646992a6b2d4dea085256e590071a3e9/7e204d6a133c61af852577b2004d4280/Body/4.2CE2!OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif
Get Your Feet On The Street for International Walk to School Month!
October 4, 2010 | http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/$All/7E204D6A133C61AF852577B2004D4280?OpenDocument

International Walk to School Day (IWALK) will be celebrated around the world this year on October 6, kicking off a month which focuses on increasing everyday walking, both to school and at school.

Schools across Waterloo Region will join over 3 million children from over 40 different countries, on six continents, from India to Italy to South Africa, who are participating in Walk to School Day.

IWALK is an opportunity to focus on the many benefits of safe and active travel to and from school. Walking to school as a family provides parents with opportunities to teach children important street safety skills, and more “eyes” on the street makes our whole community a safer place.

Here are ten good reasons to walk to school together:

It’s fun
It’s healthy
It’s non-polluting
It helps polar bears
It’s economical
It reduces stress
It’s a chance to teach and learn road safety skills
It’s educational
It’s a great way to meet new friends
It’s a way to make streets safer

For more information on International Walk to School Month, or to register a school, visit www.saferoutestoschool.ca.

*Active and Safe Routes to School is a program that promotes safe, walkable communities. It engages both schools and the community to work together to make safe walking routes a reality for all children.

[Urbanomicon]

Cities for people, not cars: Former UW instructor pushes new approach to urban planning

October 15, 2010
By Terry Pender, Record staff
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/794009

TORONTO — A couple of week before the Oct. 25 municipal elections one of the world’s leading architects and urban designers gave voters a lot to think about — cities for people not for cars.

Jan Gehl, a world-renowned architect based in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, says when cities are made friendly for pedestrians and cyclists four important objectives are quickly achieved:

• Streets become livelier.
• Safety increases because more people are around.
• The city becomes more sustainable — both financially and environmentally.
• The city becomes healthier because the air is cleaner and residents more fit.

Gehl gave public lectures in Toronto and Ottawa last week to promote his latest book, Cities for People, that sums up the major lessons and insights from his 50-year-long career in architecture and urban design.

Gehl, who taught at the University of Waterloo school of architecture in the late 1970s, has helped cities big and small become pedestrian-oriented, cycling-friendly and transit-supported.

Gehl’s comments are especially relevant in this region where a proposed light rail transit system has emerged as a major-election issue and where mayoral candidates are asked what they will do for cyclists.

Waterloo Region has the second-highest rate of car dependence in the country with about 400,000 registered vehicles for 535,000 people.

The City of Kitchener has committed or earmarked $70 million for parking garages in the core area. The interest payments alone on the parking garage at Benton and Charles streets in downtown Kitchener is about the same that Kitchener plans to spend on cycling infrastructure over the next 20 years — about $6 million.

Becoming cycling-and-pedestrian friendly starts with a change in perspective
Gehl says the perspective of the pedestrian moving along a street at five km/h is the most important when new developments are planned and approved.

In the past 10 years, the paradigm has shifted from city building for cars to cities for people, Gehl says.

Cars started crowding into cities in the mid-1950s and since then architects, planners, developers, landscape architects and traffic engineers have failed people, Gehl says.

“The biggest city planning problem was to find capacity for more cars,” Gehl says. “We have spent so much time trying to make the cars happy.”

Traffic planners and traffic engineers always have the latest statistics on cars, but what city has a department for pedestrianism? Gehl asks.

“None of us were trained to look after the people,” Gehl says. “This is a dimension of architecture and planning that has been overlooked for 50 years.”

Gehl’s work has helped transform Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, Melbourne in Australia and New York City, which has added 300 kilometres of bike lanes and trails in the past two years.

In the early 1960s, all of the 18 public squares in Copenhagen were parking lots. Now, they are for people and cars are not allowed.

Cyclists make up 37 per cent of commuters. And, by 2015, that should be up to 50 per cent, Gehl says.

Parking spaces in Copenhagen are being phased out at a rate of about three per cent a year.

“We have less car traffic than any city in the Western World of a similar size,” Gehl says.
“You can easily live in Copenhagen without a car.”

Bike lanes are plowed first in the winter. The bikes lanes are often separated from the traffic by a row of parked cars.

“Parked cars are used to protect cyclists in Copenhagen, cyclists are not used to protect parked cars,” Gehl says.

When a city seriously invites people to walk and cycle, the city itself becomes a destination with sidewalk cafés, benches and crowds of people, Gehl says.

The City of Vancouver was selected for the fifth time this week as the Best City in the Americas by the Condé Nast Traveler’s 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards. Vancouver was named as the most livable city in the world by The Economist last year and it is consistently ranked in the top three by the United Nations.

Gehl loves Vancouver’s approach to transportation planning where pedestrians are ranked at the top, cyclists are number two, public transit is third, followed by cars and then delivery trucks.

“Welcome to the 21st century, cities for people,” Gehl says.

[Spokes]

He's got lots of great things to say, hopefully many of them get implemented.

[bcwessel]

"Becoming cycling-and-pedestrian friendly starts with a change in perspective. Gehl says the perspective of the pedestrian moving along a street at five km/h is the most important when new developments are planned and approved."

It's amazing that this is a radical idea. Also amazing: Jan Gehl. My new hero.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Don’t miss the Walkable, Bikeable Waterloo Forum
February 22, 2011 | City of Waterloo | Link (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=78&mid=526&def=News%20Article%20View&ItemId=1488)

The City of Waterloo, with support from the Region of Waterloo, is hosting a public forum in March that will encourage residents to join the conversation about making this city a livable community for all, including pedestrians and cyclists.

The Walkable, Bikeable Waterloo Forum
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011
Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Forum runs from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Location: Waterloo City Hall, in council chambers, 100 Regina St. S.
Cost: Free

This event will be facilitated by Gil Penalosa of 8-80 Cities, a Canadian not-for-profit organization focused on creating people friendly cities. As former Commissioner of Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogotá, Colombia, Gil’s team initiated the “new Ciclovia” – car-free Sundays – which today is an internationally recognized program that sees more than 1.3-million people walk, run, skate and bike along 121 kilometres of Bogotá’s city roads.

Participants must register by Monday, March 7, 2011 by emailing roads@waterloo.ca or calling Helen at 519-747-8620 and providing their name, organization, phone number and email address.

For more details on 8-80 Cities, visit www.8-80cities.org.

[IEFBR14]

<rant type=ot>

visit www.8-80cities.org.
I really wish that webmasters would test their work using more than just Internet Exploder.
</rant>

[WaterlooNative]

I can't remember if it was this same Walkable Waterloo initiative whose survey I completed last year, but I was struck by how clearly biased it was. Throughout all the questions, I remember the common thread was clearly, "arterial and cul-de-sac suburbs bad; grid and dense areas good." I wrote in the comments section that they had missed one clear point: regardless of what we think of suburbs, we are not going to bulldoze them overnight. In fact, we will likely still have many of them many decades from now, if not forever. We need to figure out low-cost and low-impact ways to adapt our current neighbourhoods.

Planners need to consider how to move pedestrians, cyclists and other trail users through a suburb without merely marching them around the periphery next to the arterial roads. I'm glad to see that local municipalities are beginning to publicize their trails. I know that Waterloo has published a trails map that includes all the trails between streets as well as the marquee trails like the TransCanada Trail for nearly a decade. I wonder how soon before the major map apps include trails in their online directions rather than simply routing pedestrians along road ways?

[mpd618]

I wonder how soon before the major map apps include trails in their online directions rather than simply routing pedestrians along road ways?

Waterloo Region's trail information is already in Google Maps: just bring up the bicycling layer (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.429985,-80.443268&spn=0.190485,0.441513&z=11&lci=bike) or ask for walking directions. The future is now!

[IEFBR14]

Car-free Sundays coming?
05Apr11 | Waterloo Chronicle | Link (http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/232781)
City councillor Melissa Durrell is proposing that the city adopt car-free Sundays, an idea that has been adopted at more than 800 cities around the world.

“It’s just a seed of an idea right now,” said Durrell, Waterloo’s uptown Ward 7 councillor.

“I just think this would be a great opportunity to do something a little different.” Council unanimously supported Durrell’s motion Monday night, directing city staff to work with their counterparts in Kitchener and the region on an open streets initiative and report back on the feasibility of the project on May 16.

Durrell decided to explore the idea after a presentation by Gil Penalosa of 8-80 Cities at the Walkable, Bikeable Waterloo forum.
But, but, but... Brenda Halloran already committed to making it so. Why do we need more studies, cooperation with Kitchener, bureaucracy, ask the BIA, etc?

Don't just sit there. Get up and do it!

After all, that was Gil Penalosa's main message.

[mpd618]

But, but, but... Brenda Halloran already committed to making it so. Why do we need more studies, cooperation with Kitchener, bureaucracy, ask the BIA, etc?

Because there are still rules that have to be followed (or loopholes to be found). You need stakeholders (i.e. the BIAs) for it to be more successful, but more importantly, you need the police/fire/EMS to let it happen at all, and without it costing a fortune.


Don't just sit there. Get up and do it!

The next meeting on planning this will be next Tuesday at 4pm at Waterloo City Council chambers. Please consider coming.

[IEFBR14]

Because there are still rules that have to be followed (or loopholes to be found). You need stakeholders (i.e. the BIAs) for it to be more successful, but more importantly, you need the police/fire/EMS to let it happen at all, and without it costing a fortune.Why not start with something like the Busker festival as a model from which to extrapolate what resources are needed and how much they'd cost. Use that for perhaps one Sunday a month in June, July, August and September including the festival. See how that goes. I doubt that would "inconvenience" the BIA or affect their bottom lines in any meaningful way. (Most of them are closed on Sundays anyway. For those that are open, e.g. restaurants, it will probably increase their business.)


The next meeting on planning this will be next Tuesday at 4pm at Waterloo City Council chambers. Please consider coming.What do I have to do, apart from show up? Register? Make a submission? ???

[ViewFromThe42]

There are probably many community groups who would enjoy having the street open. A juggling club, perhaps, or some other group that wanted to take advantage of high numbers of pedestrians to be spectators or participants. I certainly think it could be a really great opportunity.

[mpd618]

Why not start with something like the Busker festival as a model from which to extrapolate what resources are needed and how much they'd cost. Use that for perhaps one Sunday a month in June, July, August and September including the festival. See how that goes. I doubt that would "inconvenience" the BIA or affect their bottom lines in any meaningful way. (Most of them are closed on Sundays anyway. For those that are open, e.g. restaurants, it will probably increase their business.)

The current discussion is about King Street being closed in and between uptown and downtown, hence the difficulties! The BIAs are probably OK with it, the bigger impediments are the resources required for street closures in midtown and by the hospital.


What do I have to do, apart from show up? Register? Make a submission? ???

Just show up and bring your ideas.

[IEFBR14]

The current discussion is about King Street being closed in and between uptown and downtown, hence the difficulties!
The Chronicle article begins, "Imagine a wide boulevard where people can walk, cycle, rollerblade or pull a wagon full of toddlers without fear of traffic. That could be King Street through uptown Waterloo this summer..."

ISTM that's far easier to accomplish, at least initially and for the purposes of a pilot. That's also along the lines that Gil proposed and Brenda seemed to be in favour of. It avoids the difficulties you describe. It's patterned after the Busker festival so we know it's doable because it's been done several times already. Let's do that first, then expand towards Kitchener.

BTW one way to bypass "street closures in midtown and by the hospital" would be for Kitchener to do their own car-free Sundays in downtown, then later once we have people in both communities on board, we can "meet in the middle."

[mpd618]

The Chronicle article begins, "Imagine a wide boulevard where people can walk, cycle, rollerblade or pull a wagon full of toddlers without fear of traffic. That could be King Street through uptown Waterloo this summer..."

That's certainly one way to do things, but that's not what the main discussions have been about.


ISTM that's far easier to accomplish, at least initially and for the purposes of a pilot. That's also along the lines that Gil proposed and Brenda seemed to be in favour of.

Ciclovias do not tend to be only three or four blocks long. That's hardly enough space to really enjoy your street.


BTW one way to bypass "street closures in midtown and by the hospital" would be for Kitchener to do their own car-free Sundays in downtown, then later once we have people in both communities on board, we can "meet in the middle."

Midtown is definitely an issue and leaving that for later may make sense, but we already have both communities on board. Both Kitchener and Waterloo councillors are helping to organize this.

[WaterlooNative]

I'm not sure how much farther south you could stretch a car-free zone from Uptown Waterloo. Currently, when the section from Erb to William is closed to road traffic, vehicles are routed along Caroline and Regina. At most, you could route traffic along Caroline as far south as John or Allen.

As well, a car-free zone would really only work where there are some form of amenities for the public to enjoy. This could range from store-fronts, public greenspace or a dedicated (or temporary) space with a stage or some other attraction. Once you reach Union street, there really isn't much else unless you turn the SunLife parking lot into a temporary festival space, or invite picnicking on the SunLife lawn.

And dare I ask how this project would work once you have an LRT line running through the middle of it? It would make it rather awkward for the busker, the kiddie rides and the hoards of people you might expect to see packing the street in a car-free zone. Has a car/traffic free-zone operated elsewhere with a trolley route running down the middle of it?

[BuildingScout]

I'm not sure how much farther south you could stretch a car-free zone from Uptown Waterloo. Currently, when the section from Erb to William is closed to road traffic, vehicles are routed along Caroline and Regina. At most, you could route traffic along Caroline as far south as John or Allen.

Sorry but this is just not so.

I'm not advocating we close King any farther South than William, but in terms of the statement above we can easily reroute down Park all the way to Victoria St if we wanted too.

[KevinL]

And dare I ask how this project would work once you have an LRT line running through the middle of it? It would make it rather awkward for the busker, the kiddie rides and the hoards of people you might expect to see packing the street in a car-free zone. Has a car/traffic free-zone operated elsewhere with a trolley route running down the middle of it?

I don't know any specific examples, but I can't see why the LRT lines would be in the way. You'd stop the trains, of course, and cut the voltage on the overhead; all you'd then have is the (non-live) wires, the slight curb that separates the LRT lane(s), and the rails themselves, being different from what exists today. I doubt that's a real problem for performances (if they need overhead room, move them to the square) and the taller (non-bouncy castle) kiddie rides can be put on William or another free space.

[IEFBR14]

we can easily reroute down Park all the way to Victoria St if we wanted too.
Not this summer. Park is currently closed at Allen for who knows how long. Maybe starting next summer?


And dare I ask how this project would work once you have an LRT line running through the middle of it?That depends on what you do with the street. Pedestrians can still walk on the roadway. There would only be one LRT every 5 or 10 minutes so it's not as if it would be disruptive. The LRTs could slow down during car-free Sundays. Etc.

[metropolis]

And dare I ask how this project would work once you have an LRT line running through the middle of it? It would make it rather awkward for the busker, the kiddie rides and the hoards of people you might expect to see packing the street in a car-free zone. Has a car/traffic free-zone operated elsewhere with a trolley route running down the middle of it?

In Vancouver Granville is a pedestrian/cycling only street with the exception of busses on multiple bus routes up and down the road at regular intervals (i.e. a lot more often than every 10-15 minutes). I've never seen an issue there though I have been there quite a bit since the Olympics.

[metropolis]

Someone might have posted this in another thread already but as proof that people adapt whether its LRT or cars, you can have vibrant street life even with some traffic present.


http://newurbannetwork.com/video/13700/introduction-shared-space-1-2

[IEFBR14]

Just received by e-mail
Linda Vandenakker <Linda.Vandenakker@waterloo.ca>
Tue, May 10, 2011 at 10:39 AM
Sent on behalf of Councillor Melissa Durrell:

Square2Square is a go!!! The first Car Free Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, June 19, 2011.

Let's get together on Friday, May 13, 2011 at Kitchener City Hall (Council Chambers) at 4:00 p.m. to brainstorm the following:
• Our next goal: to have 10,000 people participating … how can we accomplish this?
• What fun stuff can we have happening?
• Opening ceremonies?
• Sponsorships

See you there!

Uptown Melissa and Downtown Dan

[IEFBR14]

King Street to be focus of car-free Sundays
May 10 2011 | Terry Pender, Record staff | Link (http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/530277--king-street-to-be-focus-of-car-free-sundays)
King Street between the downtowns of Kitchener and Waterloo will be filled with vendors, performers and human-powered traffic on Father’s Day when the two cities launch their first car-free Sunday.

The June 19 event, the first of four planned this year, is modelled after car-free events that have been held in 800 cities worldwide. Organizers hope that 10,000 regional residents will come out to walk, inline skate, bicycle and skateboard: becoming a mobile audience for street musicians, artists and vendors.

Waterloo Coun. Melissa Durrell said in an interview Tuesday that King Street West will be closed to cars from Kitchener City Hall to Victoria Street for the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. event. In order to allow easy vehicle access to Grand River Hospital, only one lane of King between Victoria and Union will be closed to traffic. From Union to Erb Street, all lanes of King are again closed to cars...

A letter will be distributed to all business and residences along the route. A website — www.square2square.ca — should be up and running in a few days and volunteers are being recruited. Anyone interested can send an email to Melissa.durrell@waterloo.ca or check out the Facebook page: Car Free Sundays Waterloo Region...

The four dates scheduled are June 19, July 17, Aug. 14 and Sept. 18.

For the July and August dates, the car-free zone may be expanded north to Central Street in Waterloo and south to the Kitchener Market at King and Cedar streets.

[IEFBR14]

A website — www.square2square.ca (http://www.square2square.ca) — should be up and running in a few days...
It took more than a few days and there's still not much to see, but at least now there's a there there ;)

[/URL][URL="http://www.square2square.ca/"]http://1dl.us/kJk.jpg (http://www.square2square.ca)

[IEFBR14]

Perhaps someone can explain the rationale for the different types of median islands installed on these recently or currently being reconstructed street segments:
1. On Park between William and Allen there are no pedestrian median islands.
2. On Park between Allen and Union there are median islands but they're not "depressed."
3. On Caroline between Erb and William the median islands are "depressed."

1. makes it more difficult for people who need extra time to cross because there's no median to split the crossing into two stages. It's more dangerous for everyone because they have to wait for traffic in both directions to clear.
2. is much better but it's still useless for people who use rollators or wheelchairs as well as cyclists because of the curb.
3. is the best solution. Presumably it's also the most expensive, but surely not that much more especially during road reconstruction where concrete and labour are already there.

Why the different treatments for three segments of adjacent streets?

P.S. Here's what I mean by depressed median island:

http://1dl.us/mgb.jpg

[mpd618]

2. On Park between Allen and Union there are median islands but they're not "depressed." ... 2. is much better but it's still useless for people who use rollators or wheelchairs as well as cyclists because of the curb.

To me it seems those are not intended to help with crossing, but rather to calm traffic. Maybe I am misjudging the location.

[IEFBR14]

Fair enough. But why wouldn't people also want to cross Park along that section, especially considering that the Iron Horse Trail crosses there?

[Osiris]

I may be way off, but in my head as I'm picturing the areas, an obvious answer appears to me - and it has to do with that car culture we love so much, and perhaps a bit of favouritism?

Specifically answering:

1) No parking garage/lots in this section
2) Parking garage/lots, but they're Sunlife's and the City generates no revenue (I'm guessing?)
3) City administered lots.

Voila.