Response from City to Ward One Cycling improvements letter

Our letter to the city regarding some improvements to cycling infrastructure in Ward One got a quick response from the councillor, followed shortly by this response from city cycling staff:

TLC, 

Thank you for these ideas, much appreciated. 

The City is currently updating the Cycling Master Plan/Transportation Master Plan so I have shared your original attachment with Steve M who is managing this update.  Bike lanes on Emerson St have been added to the list of ideas.  Also, we are currently adding additional route signage along some of these connections mentioned, so some improvements are already underway. 

Finally, McMaster University is reviewing their Master Plan as well, so we will share any of your relevant connectivity suggestions with them. 

Regards, 

Daryl Bender B.E.S.
Project Manager, Alternative Transportation
Public Works, City of Hamilton
905-546-2424 x 2066
www.hamilton.ca/Cycling

So, what do you think?

Ministry Bridge Response

Ministry of Transportation

Office of the Regional Director

Central Region

2^nd Floor, Bldg. D

1201 Wilson Avenue

Downsview, ON M3M 1J8

July 6, 2011

Thank you for your email of June 27, 2011 to the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Transportation regarding construction and bike lanes on the King Street and Main Street bridges over highway 403 in the City of Hamilton. I have been asked to reply on behalf of the ministry.

The ministry is currently in year two of a three-year contract to repair a number of bridges along Highway 403 from York Blvd. to Aberdeen Ave. in the City of Hamilton. Construction began in 2010 and is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2012. The contract has been set up so that construction does not occur on all the bridges at the same time. As you note, construction is currently underway on Main Street and King Street along with the corresponding on and off ramps. The ministry is committed to providing a safe and efficient transportation network for all travelers. As a result, construction staging has been designed to balance construction duration, costs and impacts to the travelling public while at the same time providing a safe environment for both the workers and the public.

Ministry staff worked closely with City of Hamilton staff during the design phase and our staff continue to work with City staff during the construction phase to ensure safety to travelers and to minimize overall construction impacts. Enhanced signing, barriers and two lanes of traffic at the request of the City [emphasis added] have been maintained on both King Street and Main Street.  A bike lane cannot be safely accommodated on King St. within the space available, but a narrow bike lane has been accommodated on Main Street.

Construction along King Street is anticipated to be finished in the fall of 2012. I have asked ministry staff to look at reinstating a bike lane during the winter shutdown period, if it can be done safely and does not impact the City’s snow removal operations. Construction along Main Street is anticipated to be finished this fall at which point the bike lane will be reinstated.

Once construction is complete on all the bridges, bike lanes that existed prior to construction will be reinstated. It is the City of Hamilton’s responsibility to develop, construct and maintain a continuous bike lane network in the City [emphasis added] and I encourage you to speak with City staff about this.

In closing, I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding while construction proceeds and I thank you for bringing your concerns to the ministry’s attention.

Sincerely,

Lou Politano, P. Eng.

Regional Director

University Plaza adds some bike parking

While TLC never heard back from RIOCAN about the lack of adequate bike parking at University Plaza in Dundas, there have been two new racks installed on the south section of the plaza! It would have been nice to have them communicate with us about the style of racks to use, the ones they chose not being the best from a security standpoint. Preferable would have been the style that was previously the only rack at the plaza, where cyclists can easily lock their bicycle frame to the rack with an u-lock.

 This rack is placed by the Toy Store, and some vacant stores. You can see how the rack provides limited opportunity to secure a bicycle frame to the rack with a u-lock.

Disappointing Dundas TMP

Transportation for Liveable Communities Hamilton

PO Box 19, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton ON L8S 1C0

905-525-9140 ext. 26026

tlchamilton@gmail.com

tlchamilton.org

Ms. Diana Morreale,
Ms. Christine Lee-Morrison
Public Works Dept.
City of Hamilton

January 22, 2010


RE: Comments on the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan, Class EA report

Dear Ms Morreale and Ms Lee-Morrison,

I am writing on behalf of Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) to comment about the class EA for the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan (DDTMP).

TLC members have followed closely the long process of the Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan, attended the public open houses and commented on the process over the past two years.

We found it extremely frustrating that the recommendations included in the DDTMP are not in keeping with the Vision 2020, GRIDS and Hamilton TMP principles that supposedly guide the process."expand transportation options that encourage travel by foot, bike, and transit and enhance efficient inter-regional transportation connections" Rather, we see changes that would increase the volume and speed of automobile travel in Dundas are prioritized over the stated goal of "[a] better choice of integrated travel modes, emphasizing active transportation and public transit." (Dec. 9, 2009 www.hamilton.ca/CityDepartments/PublicWorks/CapitalPlanning/StrategicPlanning/StrategicEnvironmentalPlanningProjects/Downtown+Dundas+TMP.htm)

TLC feels that the plan, with its current emphasis, places pedestrians, cyclists, and the small town character of Dundas, in jeopardy.

Importantly, the DDTMP bluntly violates the 2007 city wide Transportation Master Plan's calls for identifying policies that reduce automobile trips, promote walking and cycling, and encourage use of public transit and ride sharing.

Our concern is based on the fact that all the outlined short term action plans in the DDTMP include road changes like widening that promote increased automobile trips and speed and that not one of the short term projects address the immediate needs of pedestrian, cycling and transit improvements. Indeed, the alternative transportation components that are included in the DDTMP are presented as vague suggestions for future studies, and, at best, minor tweaking and subtle dismissal of residents’ expressed desires and concerns.

We focus here on three key issues.

First, the DDTMP fails to develop a transportation vision which recognizes and enhances Dundas' strengths, such as natural features and a compact and walkable heritage core. By prioritizing automobile "improvements" like road widening and adding vehicle lanes, not only are pedestrians and cyclists further endangered, the Valley Town risks losing its unique identity which sets it apart from surrounding suburban sprawl. The plan should closely examine the origins and destinations of current automobile, pedestrian, bike and bus trips, and then delineate the desired modal split for the area following city guidelines (e.g. Vision 2020 and the citywide TMP). Where Dundas deserves a clear and distinctive vision for achieving such goals, the plan takes a passive, reactive attitude, against city policy, by obsessively focusing on, assuming, and providing for, increased automobile traffic.

Second, we are disappointed that the DDTMP further delays the promise of the visionary “Urban Design Study for Hatt Street in Dundas”. The 2005 study, which was supposed to guide future development of the Hatt St area, highlighted the need for strengthening pedestrian connectivity and accessibility. Unfortunately, the DDTMP fails to accommodate that practical need and leaves it to a still future study. Moreover, the 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.

Finally, the DDTMP does not provide the necessary global vision for pedestrian traffic issues on King St. Currently, King St is optimized for serving as a highway even though it is the commercial and social heart of the Valley town. The DDTMP must consider it and provide explicit immediate plans for improving safe pedestrian movements along and between the north and south side of King St. Although two new pedestrian traffic lights were installed recently at Ogilvie St and Foundry St, they were rendered ineffective by programming the signal response times to prioritize automobiles movement over the need of pedestrians. Compare this ill advised approach to the visionary leadership of neighbouring councillor Brian McHattie and responsive city public works dept staff, who optimized the pedestrian operated traffic light at Cootes Drive near McMaster. While the light is synchronized with the nearby light at Main St and is slow to respond to pedestrian needs during rush hours, it provides almost instantaneous green pedestrian light on demand at off peak hours. Hence pedestrian can cross the street always safely and quickly much of the time. This compromise approach, which is also used widely in other Canadian cities, should be adopted in downtown Dundas as well.

There are many more specifics we could include, but suffice to say we think that the DDTMP requires substantial revision and intend to take immediate further actions to ensure that the Valley town receives the transportation master plan it deserves.


Sincerely yours,

Reuven Dukas
For TLC

FRID REPLY

The City of Hamilton response to TLC concerns about transportation issues associated with the McMaster Innovation Park development.

RE: City of Hamilton
Frid Street, Schedule C
Class Environmental Assessment

Dear Mr. Dukas:

On behalf of the City of Hamilton, we would like to thank you for providing comments to PIC #2 for the above-noted study.

During and following PIC #2, the following comments were noted from the public:

• Improve accessibility for pedestrians;
• Consider “Safety First”;
• Provide for designated bicycle lanes;
• Provide landscape/urban design boulevards;
• “Do it right the first time”; and,
• Retain and provide accessibility for Historic Power Plant.

In response to these comments, the City of Hamilton indicated that the preferred design alignment and cross-section for the Frid Street extension be modified to take into consideration comments provided by the public during the Public Consultation process.

For the existing section of Frid Street between Main Street and Chatham Street, the 23m right-of-way (ROW) identified in the Kirkendall Neighbourhood Traffic Management Plan (TMP) remains as this is an existing developed area.

For the new section of Frid Street between Chatham Street and Longwood Road, the City and landowners have agreed that 26m right-of-way be provided to incorporate designated bike lanes, sidewalks on both sides and wider boulevards as requested by the public.

In the Schedule C Environmental Study Report (ESR), the following typical cross-section for the existing section of Frid Street between Main Street and Chatham Street (23m ROW) is as follows:

• 2 wide travel lanes at 4.25m per lane to accommodate a signed bike route;
• 3.5m centre-turn lane providing safe vehicle access/egress to businesses;
• 3.0m boulevard, both sides, allowing snow storage and separation between pedestrian and vehicles;
• 1.5m sidewalks, both sides; and,
• 1.0m available for urban/design landscaping treatment to be determined during detailed design.

For safety purposes, the preferred alignment does not provide for on-street parking.

Pedestrian access/crossing will be provided at intersections.

The following typical cross-section for the new section of Frid Street between Chatham Street and Longwood Road (26m ROW) is as follows:

• 2 travel lanes at 3.5m per lane;
• 3.4m centre-turn lane;
• 1.8m designated bicycle lanes on both sides;
• 1.5m sidewalks on both sides;
• Minimum 3.0m boulevards on both sides; and,
• Curbs and property buffers.

It is noted that the centre-turn lane is provided for safe access/egress to proposed development and in the case of the section between Longwood Road and the McMaster Innovation Park (MIP) access road; back to back left turn storage is provided.

No on-street parking is provided along this section of the Frid Street extension unless it can be aesthetically provided within urban design techniques approved by City of Hamilton staff.

Similar to the northern portion of Frid Street, pedestrian access will be provided at all intersections.

In order to provide protection and access to the Historic Power House, the edge of the road right-of-way is located 4m south of the Historic Power House south wall. This roadway grade at this location will require a retaining wall to be constructed at the edge of the road right-of-way. The retaining wall height provides the opportunity for a pedestrian access from Frid Street to the second storey of the Power House connection to a proposed tourist catwalk system within the Power House.

From the Kirkendall Neighbourhood TMP, this project was identified as the “Frid Street Extension”, in which this project name has been carried forth.

For further detail on the Project Team’s review of the comments provided by you are provided on attached Table 1.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself at 905-546-2424 Ext. 2732 or lskrypni@hamilton.ca or Jack Thompson, MRC at 905-823-8500 or jthompson@mrc.ca

Yours truly, Lorissa Skrypniak, MCIP, RPP
Public Works Senior Project Manager

cc. Randy Kay, TLC Jack Thompson, Project Manager