Get moving on Main St. conversion
It is only one step, but it’s a big one.
Hamilton city council’s endorsement of a plan to convert oneway Main Street to two-way is the right thing to do. It was going to happen eventually, with the city’s transportation planning moving away from the 1950s/1960s mindset of putting cars and convenience ahead of all else, including community quality of life and pedestrian safety.
What this does is slap a new “urgent” label on the matter, which is entirely appropriate given the growing tide of accidents, pedestrian injuries and deaths along what amounts to an inner city highway.
So full marks to Coun. Maureen Wilson, who brought the motion forward, and the other 11 councillors who supported it. As noted earlier, it is only one step, and it is not one that can be implemented overnight. The trick now for councillors and city staff is to move quickly on doing a range of incremental things that might at least help make pedestrians safer. Things have a way of moving slowly when city staff are directed to come up with a full plan on an issue like this. Public consultations don’t happen quickly. It’s not a simple matter.
But it would be as mistake to hold off taking actions quickly that can help. Wilson’s motion anticipates that reality, which is no doubt why language like this is included:
“That staff identify actions that can be taken immediately to improve safety for all users along Main Street and King Street such as expanded and enhanced pedestrian space, temporary lane reductions, removal of parking restrictions, reduced speed limit, synchronized traffic signal options, no right turn on red restrictions at intersections, and leading pedestrian intervals ...”
While we don’t pretend to have traffic engineering expertise, some of these things just make sense. Reducing the speed limit and using various tools to step up enforcement will help given that collisions at lower speeds are less deadly than ones at higher speeds. And it’s time that traffic light synchronization put pedestrian safety ahead of motorist convenience. Eliminating red-light right turns and creating more safety zone space for pedestrians can also help.
Any incremental measures that can help reduce injury and death should be priorities, and that is what Wilson’s motion calls for.
Other language that promises great long-term impact is equally encouraging. The motion says: “That the conversion of Main Street from one-way to two-way be approved as an immediate safety intervention and that an implementation plan be developed for the conversion of Main Street from one-way to two-way that integrates a Complete Streets redesign that will enable safer use for all people who need to use the streets including public transit riders, pedestrians, motorists and cyclists and that these spaces also contribute to climate resilience by providing shade trees and permeable surfaces ...”
Are there cons as well as pros? We would argue no, at least there are no cons that come close to matching the pros of pedestrian and resident safety. Which isn’t to say that everyone will love the idea, by any means. The two councillors who voted against this motion are in that group, and there are many citizens who will agree to one degree or another.
Consider some of what Coun. Lloyd Ferguson had to say: Many drivers “who pay a lot of taxes because they go to work every day ... We’re going to get a lot of criticism from them because it’s going to inconvenience them.” (Coun. Maria Pearson was the other naysayer on the matter.)
Yes, no doubt some motorists will be inconvenienced. Also considerably inconvenienced are all the pedestrians and their families who have been injured. And the families of the people who have been killed have suffered quite a lot of inconvenience as well.
Of course, it will take longer to get to Stoney Creek from Ancaster for people choosing an inner city route as opposed to the QEW or Linc/Red Hill options. From our vantage point, as people who drive as well as walk, that is a price worth paying, and we think most reasonable Hamiltonians will agree. Let’s get moving on making Main Street safer for everyone.