Quote:
Originally Posted by Hali87
I'm not really sure how that would be resolved directly. Over the medium-term, I'm cautiously optimistic that the situation will handle itself to some degree in that by adding a lot of mixed-use development in this area (which is already happening, and will probably spread to the Kempt Rd area as soon as some infrastructural limitations have been addressed) more people can go about more of their day to day activities within/near this neighbourhood and so each person on average has to drive less and traffic "balances" out (or so the theory goes). Better AT/transit and particularly pedestrian amenities would probably help tip the balance. The main arterial roads in the area could also be re-jigged to improve traffic flow (particularly turning) as new developments shift the area's "focal points".
|
Traffic flow and parking are often prime concerns brought up in public consultation sessions but when it comes to residential buildings on the peninsula the traffic studies usually reveal a lot less added traffic than people predict. Like, people will talk about how a new building will cause gridlock and the study will reveal that 5-7 cars an hour will come out of a parking garage entrance during rush hour. I remember this happening with the Fenwick redevelopment; people were doing back-of-the-envelope calculations assuming 1-2 cars per unit but the landlord pointed out that few people living in Fenwick own a car at all. Some of the new developments downtown, like 1488 Birmingham, have no car parking at all.
I think this is one of those behaviours split by demographic; the sort of people who show up to the consultations are the sort who drive a lot. They think people who buy the condos will be the same but they are not. People often seem to do a bad job of understanding these situations, so this is one of those times when forward-thinking urban planning based on real data (HRM by Design or the Centre Plan) is likely to be a lot more effective than community consultation (maybe we should call that "anxiety-driven" rather than "data-driven" planning).
It's also a bit counter-intuitive in that most of the car traffic on the peninsula is generated by people who don't live there. Because of the bridge this part of the peninsula even gets through traffic not destined for the peninsula. The current situation isn't at all caused by having too much density on the peninsula, and pushing people farther out might make it worse, even setting aside the idea of improvements for transit or active transportation that become possible at higher densities.
Prev
Linear Mode
