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Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker
Great call on Open Line from Dave Lane. He advises against making Water Street one way. It increases speeds, discourages pedestrian street life, etc. he wants to see a pedestrian mall. Paddy agreed. Another called phoned in to agree. Said imagine 8th in Calgary or Sparkes in Ottawa in our downtown. It'd be great.
Exciting times. And good to see the conversation starting early. Whatever we decide to do, all of it will be done in three years.
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I have to admit that this whole Water St. tear up thing really scares me. Think back on how all the other “major projects” undertaken by the City in recent years have gone. Portugal Cove Rd.? Bonaventure Ave.? Harbour Drive? The Riverhead Wastewater plant itself? Road improvements in Kilbride? Have they been on time and on budget without any undue disruption?
Perhaps the best thing for the City to do with regards to Water St. is to stay out of it as much as possible. Hire the consultant, let them handle it 100% and give them the cheque at the end of the day.
The first thing I would question is the timeframe. Does it have to be three years or can it be done in two? I can appreciate that the flow of funding is a factor but for something this big all consideration should be given to shortening the timeframe if at all possible.
I’ve been to other major cities where massive roadwork projects have been underway yet as a pedestrian it was hardly noticeable other than barricades and of course the noise.
The City only gets one chance to get this right, let’s hope they pull it off.