Council to revive two-way Queen Street debate

CONVERTING QUEEN Street to two-way traffic is now being pitched as a rare solution to concerns about both pedestrian safety and car congestion.

The Mountain-feeding commuter road would be the busiest north-south arterial converted to two-way traffic since James Street North in the early 2000s.

Two-way conversion proposals often spur disagreements between councillors over the perceived impact on commuter traffic versus road safety.

But Mountain Coun. Terry Whitehead said last week he wants to debate converting Queen “as soon as possible” in an effort to cut traffic snarls and commuter complaints he attributes to the recent addition of bicycle lanes to Bay and Herkimer streets.

He suggested the change would be a “win-win scenario” for drivers and walkers alike.

“Done properly, I think a twoway Queen would provide a safe, efficient alternative to aid the flow of traffic to and from the west Mountain,” said the Ward 8 councillor, who hopes to resurrect a debate on the proposal that was put off last June to allow politicians along the route to try to find common ground.

Whitehead argued the city should have made changes to Queen in tandem with new bikes lanes on Bay Street. He had hoped to bring forward a motion on Wednesday, but the city clerk’s office has suggested he wait until council meets on Nov. 8.

The two lower city councillors along the Queen Street artery, Jason Farr (Ward 2) and Aidan Johnson (Ward 1), have long called for a twoway conversion in the name of traffic calming along an artery notorious for pedestrian-car collisions.

All three councillors say they agree on the need for a two-way Queen Street — but not necessarily on the best way to go about it.

Whitehead said he would prefer to see a “reversible” centre lane of traffic used to smooth rush-hour traffic flow to and from the west Mountain at different times of day. Consultant AECOM said in a June report such a plan is technically possible, but not preferred.

That report instead recommended reserving two lanes for southbound traffic and one lane for northbound traffic between Herkimer and Main Street. (Traffic already moves in both directions between Herkimer and the Queen Street hill.)

City traffic experts also suggest delaying any Queen Street changes north of Main until the implications of a planned light rail transit line on King Street are fully understood.

Coun. Aidan Johnson called the two-way conversion a priority for his residents, noting he campaigned on such a change during the last election. “Right now, crossing that street as a pedestrian is dangerous and scary,” he said.

The city carried out a safety audit of Queen in 2014 that documented 19 serious pedestrian-car collisions over five years. Since then, the city has made targeted speed limit cuts and added a new pedestrian crossover at Herkimer and Queen.

But the street is still considered “a real problem” by Durand residents, said neighbourhood association president Frances Murray, who added the group has supported conversion of Queen for years.

Murray said residents hope a two-way configuration would calm traffic and discourage cut-through trips on residential side streets.

Johnson said he believes traffic engineers should guide the city’s decision on how to reconfigure the one-way artery. “But if for some reason the only way to do it was to have a reversible lane … then that is what we would have to do,” he said.

Farr said he’s “open to discussing” various options, but suggested a reversible lane would likely be more expensive than the consultant-recommended alternative.

City traffic experts said the recommended configuration would cost close $1.1 million, due largely to design costs and new traffic signals needed along the route.

The city would also have to remove a newly added pedestrian crossover and a traffic island, as well as adjust planned safety changes coming to the intersection of Queen and Aberdeen Avenue, said traffic engineering superintendent Dave Ferguson.

Those changes, however, would likely cost less than $50,000.

Even if council decides to forge ahead with a Queen Street conversion, the change would require time for design work and likely wouldn’t happen until 2019, Ferguson cautioned.

Councillors are also expecting the imminent arrival of a long-delayed transportation master plan update. That document — originally expected last year — is supposed to take a comprehensive look at the city’s evolving transportation network, including how changes like LRT and new bike lanes affect traffic movement.