Monday, 5 December 2011

I am glad to see some lively debate about traffic challenges and solutions around a redeveloped Lansdowne Park, and would like to clarify some of my comments about potential bus lanes as reported by the media.

The Dec. 1 Lansdowne traffic/parking meeting at the Glebe Community Centre was well attended but obviously frustrating for many people, who fear the City's approach to "Traffic Demand Management" should be called "Traffic Dream Management" or "Traffic Disaster Management".

Ottawa residents — not just in the Glebe but also Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East and further afield — are rightly concerned about what we can do to keep Bank Street from becoming a parking lot should the Lansdowne project go ahead as proposed. With gridlock, residents, commuters, and anyone driving to existing local businesses or to the new ones at Lansdowne Park will spend a lot of time spinning their wheels, so to speak. Our neighbourhood stores, restaurants and pubs will not get resupplied in a timely manner, and neither school buses nor the #1 and #7 OC Transpo buses will move as they should.

We also want to avoid turning Bank Street into a freeway, with motorists speeding through the neighbourhood, endangering pedestrians and cyclists but never stopping to shop or dine.

Under either scenario, we would be subjected to more noise and pollution, and risk destroying Bank Street's character as well as its economy, not to mention the fabric of the local community.

That's the context in which I speculated that the City may have to resort to temporary or occasional bus lanes on Bank Street as a potential solution to gridlock. After all, a bus can carry 40 to 60 people at a time, while a car usually only carries one or two.

Just to be clear, I did not advocate permanent, full-time bus lanes on Bank Street. I also wasn't proposing a lane dedicated to special shuttle buses rushing people from far away to and from Lansdowne — according to the current plans, these shuttles are already slated to take entirely different routes.

What I was mulling over was the potential to dedicate a lane -- only at certain times -- to increased and unobstructed OC Transpo bus service to benefit local residents, commuters and shoppers.

There's already a parking ban on Bank Street during rush hours. What if the #1 and #7 buses could move freely in that outside lane during rush hours and perhaps during major events? Not as shuttles, but as part of their regular, much-needed service to the community. Would that be a workable solution? Maybe or maybe not. It's just an idea.

So, now that the debate is in full swing, I invite you to share your ideas on how we can address daily traffic congestion, which is happening already regardless of Lansdowne's future. A redeveloped sports, shopping and entertainment facility will bring more traffic to Bank Street. Leaving it to stagnate won't help the situation.

What solutions do you propose? That's what I want to know. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to share your ideas.

Regards,

David Chernushenko