Traffic flow plan opposed
Published Wednesday August 25th, 2010
Queen Street | Councillor, business group concerned about proposal to change block to two-way traffic
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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
A Fredericton city councillor says he'll be calling for the status quo when a traffic bylaw amendment comes before city council soon.
Traffic moves past the new convention centre on Queen Street between St. John Street and Regent Street on Tuesday. The city wants to make that section of Queen Street open for two-way traffic.
City council this week approved the drafting of a bylaw that would turn Queen Street into a two-way street - not for its entire length - but for the distance of one block.
Coun. Jordan Graham said it's premature to make the traffic change and the city should wait for the dust to settle before it makes haste to alter traffic directions.
When the bylaw comes before city council in September for first, second and third reading, he'll present his motion to try to freeze the plan for a year.
Downtown Fredericton Inc. president Linda Dolan agrees. She said the change isn't warranted at this time and will have negative consequences on downtown parking and business.
Queen Street has been one way for years, but with the construction of the downtown convention centre, government office building and parking garage, the city's public works and engineering division has recommended that one section of the road be converted to handle two- way traffic.
It also obtained advice on traffic patterns from ADI Ltd. when it updated the capital city's traffic study.
"Staff is of the opinion that the removal of Queen Street from St. John Street to Regent Street as a one-way section and the installation of traffic signals at Queen Street and St. John Street are considered critical to the success of the east-end development project," said a report that was handed to city council this week.
But Graham, who represents the downtown east end of Fredericton, said he's talked to ADI about the proposed Queen Street traffic direction change and the expected gains are marginal.
"We haven't had any public debate on this yet," Graham said. "Traffic flow can't be the only consideration down there."
During the closure of the Princess Margaret Bridge, the city removed parking at the bottom of Regent Street to improve traffic flow, but making it easier for vehicles to speed through the downtown area isn't a solution for anyone, Graham said.
"On-street parking is one of the most effective traffic calming devices and tools we have," Graham said.
"Numerous studies have shown that street fronts where there's on-street parking have greater pedestrian circulation because people feel safer with that buffer (of a parked vehicle) between them and the sidewalk."
Pedestrian counts on Regent Street have dropped since parking was removed, Graham said.
While city traffic engineers hope to reduce traffic tension on Regent at King and Brunswick streets, Graham said he's going to propose that the city implement a moratorium on the proposed traffic change for one year and then review it.
"We should at least have the benefit of being shown that there is an issue," Graham said. "We grossly overestimated the impacts of the Princess Margaret Bridge being closed. What if we're doing the same for the downtown?"
The proposed change to Queen Street may only be helpful during rush hour, he said.
"We're altering the design of the downtown ... because of two hours a day," Graham said.
Downtown Fredericton Inc. has already had chats with Mayor Brad Woodside and some city councillors to voice its concerns.
Downtown business people don't want Queen Street altered to a two-way in the block near the convention centre and it doesn't want any further elimination of downtown parking, said Dolan.
"When they first came up with the traffic study, there were several assumptions that are no longer valid," said the president of Downtown Fredericton Inc.
"As well as the new conference centre, they assumed that the Hilton Hotel would be up and running and that the Centennial Building would be in use again." Dolan said renovations to the Centennial Building may not be tackled for eight to 10 years and the new downtown hotel is at least two years away from construction and completion.
"When you take those factors out, the need to accommodate increased traffic is significantly reduced. We feel, as a group, that those recommendations are not as valid as they used to be," Dolan said. "We're not asking that they throw the whole plan out the window, just defer it for a few years and see how things go."
Even though the city is constructing a parking garage adjacent to the convention centre, Dolan said it's human nature to want to park close to the business you are visiting.
"Especially the elderly and disabled, it makes a huge difference in where they're going to choose to conduct business," she said.
Moncton and Bangor, Maine, were two communities that removed downtown parking only to find that their city centres were suffering and are trying to reverse trends.
"Having on-street parking slows traffic down. If you take the parking meters away, it's been documented that drivers speed up," she said.
A committee of the downtown business improvement area has been formed to map out the group's concerns in order to present them to city council as a whole, she said.
"It will be a huge impact on our downtown. It will change the landscape," Dolan said. "The gain in traffic flow will be so minimal that it doesn't justify the impacts that are going to come from this."
City council has approved a $1.2-million tender to undertake road work, curb and sidewalk reconstruction, add decorative sidewalk and street light installation on the streets surrounding the development.
At the time the contract was awarded, Sean Lee, the city's manager of engineering services, said making Queen Street wider and turning it into a two-way between Regent and St. John streets will facilitate drop off and pick up at the convention centre.
The city is proposing to install traffic signals at St. John and Queen Streets and at St. John and King streets, he said.
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