"Governor's Road ConcernsOK, some nifty ideas, but the overall thrust is dealing with automotive traffic efficiency, and very little to address pedestrians and cyclists concerns.
Governor's Road from Main Street, westbound to Ogilvie Street:
1. Widen two bridges crossing Spencer Creek and intersection at Governors Road/Oglivie Street to accommodate one additional lane (use to be determined).
2. Add a 4 way, advanced left turn signal to the traffic lights at the Governors Road/Oglivie Street intersection.
Governor's Road from Ogilvie Street, westbound to Creighton Road:
1. Currently there are two westbound and one eastbound lanes on Governors Road...identify the middle lane as an additional eastbound lane during the morning rush hour and an additional westbound lane during the late afternoon/evening rush hour.
2. Investigate the possible need for traffic lights or a pedestrian-activated crosswalk at the Governors Road/Overfield Street intersection.
Governor's Road from Creighton Road, westbound to Pirie/Wainwright Drive:
1. Add an advanced left turn signal to the traffic lights at the Governors Road/Creighton Road intersection for eastbound/westbound traffic along Governors Road.
2. Widen Governors Road to accommodate an identified left turn/holding lane from Creighton Road to at least Davidson Boulevard.
3. Install traffic lights or a roundabout (includes a pedestrian-activated crossing signal) at Davidson Boulevard.
4. Install a pedestrian-activated crossing signal at the corner of Governors Road/Huntingwood Drive.
5. Post school crossing guards at the Huntingwood, Castlewood/Bridlewood and Davidson pedestrian crossings.
6. Extend the sidewalk on the north side of Governors Road from Davidson Boulevard to Pirie Drive.
7. Install a flashing “Speed Reduced to 40 kph” for the area bounded by the east/west boundaries of the three schools. This is programmed to be activated during morning and late afternoon/evening rush hours.
8. Continue to lobby for a crossing guard at the Governors Road/Bridlewood /Castlewood Drive intersection.
General:
1. Conduct a comprehensive traffic audit to identify contributing factors.
2. Enhance public transit frequency along Governors Road during rush hours on weekdays.
3. Review signal synchronization for eastbound/westbound traffic at Main Street, Oglivie Street and Creighton Road.
4. Perhaps the school boards could review their starting/finishing times to reduce pedestrian traffic during rush hour (maybe stagger the starting/finishing times amongst the three schools to lessen the focused impact time slot).
5. Perhaps the School Boards should rationalize their individual busing services and possibly consider merging into a single provider…this may actually reduce the number of buses on the road with a corresponding reduction in operating costs.. "[end of quoted text]
While most of the above ideas are acceptable, there are a couple of big bad ideas that stand out - like number 2 under" Governor's Road from Creighton Road, westbound to Pirie/Wainwright Drive:" widening Governor's Road?! Perhaps middle turn lanes at school entrances, but the entire length of Governor's? This type of engineering would induce traffic speeds and make the crossing wider for pedestrians.
Besides, there is no mention of bicycle lanes, although the city's transportation master plan has Governor's Road marked for them along the entire stretch. There's not a lot of room for widening, so the extra traffic lane would likely be at the expense of cycling lanes. Rather than traffic calming by lane narrowing and providing a buffer between cars and pedestrians by providing space for cyclists, road widening just makes it more dangerous for every user.
While this is about a kilometer west of the area we have been dealing with, the bridge widenings at Ogilvie and Governors fail to mention the need for wider sidewalks, the current sidewalks are horribly narrow on Governors, and only on one side of Ogilvie.
And why aren't we talking about traffic calming here? Think boldly: eliminate one bridge (on Ogilvie, north of Governors) and open Spencer creek to view (currently encumbered with bridges and sewer pipes): it would certainly make the intersection more beautiful, not to mention safer (drivers have alternative options a half block away at Main.)
As far as increased transit, there is a need for transit on weekends (there is currently no weekend service, meaning the nearest bus stop on weekends is at least one kilometer away, more like three for others on this route.)
So clearly there is room for improvement on this list of suggestions. I don't know how or when the list got made, but there it is. I certainly wasn't consulted, as the councillor suggested in a previous newspaper column, nor to my knowledge was Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) approached, though they sent a letter on the topic to the councillor December 2006.
