Gloves off on Hatt?

Collision reignites calls for Hatt improvements

Recommended traffic calming study has not yet started


Craig Campbell, Dundas Star News Staff
Published on Jun 24, 2010


Calls for a Hatt Street traffic calming study recommended in the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan are being renewed after a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured in a collision last week.

But it's not clear when work will begin on calming Hatt Street traffic and making the Dundas route safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as local residents have been demanding for more than three years.

Hamilton police say the driver of a Ford F-150 pick-up truck that struck the boy on Hatt near John Street on June 17 will likely not be charged.

“It appears the child ran into the road,” Detective Hendrik Vandercraats of the collision reconstruction unit said.

The boy’s condition was downgraded from critical to serious, according to Vandercraats.

Police reported last week the truck was heading eastbound on Hatt and had just passed John when the boy ran from the south sidewalk into the side of the vehicle.

The injuries were originally described as “life-threatening”.

“He’s not critical anymore,” Vandercraats said Monday. “He still has serious head injuries.”

The final report of the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan, dated November 2009, recommends a traffic calming study on a 750- metre stretch of Hatt Street, between Market and Ogilvie, “to reduce vehicle speeds and provide additional pedestrian crossing spaces (if warranted)."

But the recommended study, which would include the area around the Hatt and John intersection, has apparently not started.

Randy Kay, of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group Transportation for Livable Communities, encourages walking and cycling and traffic calming. He said some sort of traffic control at a mid-point along this uncontrolled stretch of Hatt Street would fit with TLC's goals.

"Without knowing all the details of this (accident), it's safe to say that traffic calming on Hatt is way overdue," Kay said. "That there are still no bike lanes on the street -itself a low cost traffic calming measure -speaks to an inertia to complete even fairly simple projects. It should be a no-brainer."

He said a growing retirement community along Hatt Street, and the presence of children in family townhouses and homes, both support a growing demand for safe and comfortable walking and cycling routes along Hatt.

Although Hatt Street pedestrian issues were a big concern among residents who participated in the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan, safety improvements and traffic calming measures were not addressed.

No suggestions included

Residents suggested a pedestrian crossing at Hatt and Sydenham, bike lanes along Hatt, measures to address speeding and street racing on Hatt, a stoplight on Hatt between Ogilvie and Market, a pedestrian island in the middle of Hatt and a four-way stop at Hatt and John.

None of the suggestions were included in the final transportation master plan.

Several residents have continued to express concerns about traffic calming and pedestrian improvements along Hatt Street since the master plan was completed.

Kay, and TLC, have contributed suggestions on many aspects and intersections reviewed in the master plan process -including Governor's Road and Ogilvie Street. But he points to Hatt as the most significant area.

"I think of all the traffic projects in Dundas, the Hatt Street study should be a top priority, and should have been a top priority when the study was first published," Kay said. "Why it is not moving forward, I would only have to guess. It’s certainly not for lack of trying on TLC’s part."





http://www.dundasstarnews.com/news/article/213894

uncontrolled problem on Hatt Street

TLC has noted the lack of controlled crossings on this long stretch of Hatt Street in our comments to the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan:

[T]he DDTMP dismissed resident calls for improved pedestrian crossing along the Hatt St section between Ogilvie St and Market St. This ~1500 m stretch of six city blocks currently provides no protected pedestrian crossings. The DDTMP notes that the stretch does not “warrant” a protected pedestrian crossing, but we find this conclusion misleading.

First, the DDTMP is supposed to provide for increased pedestrian traffic into the downtown core rather than observe current traffic and then conclude that it does not warrant safe pedestrian crossing. Second, a perceptive look at the character of the Hatt St area, including the 600 new housing units at the newly developed Creekside area and the newly developed commercial area just west of the new development, would indicate that there is a substantial opportunity for diverting automobile trips by creating opportunities to support an increase in pedestrian traffic in this area.

There may be better responses than a four way stop sign, it would be nice to have an insight into the traffic study the councilor alludes to in the article. Making Hatt Street more than a mini-arterial for moving motor vehicles is a priority long delayed.

Dundas rallies after boy hit by pickup truck TheSpec.com - Local - Dundas rallies after boy hit by pickup truck

Nicole O'Reilly, The Hamilton Spectator

DUNDAS (Jun 19, 2010)

An 11-year-old boy is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a pickup truck Thursday afternoon.

The Dundas community is rallying since the accident on Hatt Street, arguing that something needs to change on the busy street with few controlled intersections.

Police said the pickup was travelling east on Hatt Street just past John Street when the boy ran from the sidewalk into its side around 1:30 p.m. He was taken to hospital where he remains in critical but stable condition.

Kenna Martin lives on Hatt Street and was home at the time of the crash. She heard it, but figured it was just a fender-bender, which she claims have become an almost monthly occurrence on the street.

A few minutes later she walked outside and realized it was worse.

Neighbours said the boy was there visiting a nearby facility.

"It was the worst thing I've ever seen," Martin said.

She said the many collisions that have occurred on the street in the two years she has lived there should have been a warning that something like this was possible.

There are no stop signs or traffic lights for a long stretch along Hatt Street. There is a stop sign on John Street but not Hatt Street.

So she has created a petition calling for a four-way stop at the spot.
Neighbour Pauline Hall, who has lived on the street since 1968, said she has been pressing the city for years to do something about the street and that intersection. But nothing has happened.

The J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena, the Dundas Lions Club pool and the Dundas Little Theatre all exit there, she said. It's a truck route and emergency vehicle route.

Area Councillor Russ Powers said Hatt Street is a target in a recent downtown Dundas transition strategy.

"Hatt Street has been identified as an area of concern," he said. A traffic study is under way. It will look at various solutions and should be complete in the fall, Powers said.

Community children have volunteered to collect signatures and most Dundas businesses, including Martin's Kids Gear at 134 King Street West, will have copies of the petition to sign.

Witnesses are asked to contact Detective Constable Hendrik Vandercraats of the collision reconstruction unit at 905-546-4753.

noreilly@thespec.com
905-526-3199