Herkimer - why is it one-way?

[coalminecanary]

Every day, my list of "Hamilton's most absurd one-ways" gets shuffled around and another street lands on top.

Today: Herkimer.

Herkimer is functionally one travel lane for its entire length except the 2 blocks between Locke and Queen.

Between Queen and James, it is absurdly wide, but the parking and lane configurations only allow one travel lane.

This street could easily be two way for its entire length, and still accommodate the same amount of eastbound traffic. It would still have room for parking. And it would allow for a lane of westbound traffic too. Most of its length would even have room for bike lanes after all that.

Who benefits from it being one way? Residents? Commuters? Pedestrians? Cyclists? Terry Whitehead? If anyone can come up with a single road user who benefits from it, I'd be interested to hear that perspective because I can't think of anyone.

Instead of putting random pedestrian crossings along its length, why not just repaint the damned thing. It only has two stoplights along its entire length (not counting the pedestrian signal), and only ONE of those would need a new east-facing light.

Next up: John south of Burlington, the 3 blocks of King WIlliam that prevent it from being a viable cycling alternative to king, catharine, mary, bay, the one block of young west of victoria.... UGHHHHHHHHHQHAWHAWEKJDHAKFSJHSDKLjfhLSKDJf

[interr0bangr]

Why is anything one way? Makes zero sense. Come check out our four beautiful 4-lane highways (Cannon, Victoria, Wellington, Wentworth) in Lansdale when you get a chance if you want a laugh.

[Jon Dalton]

Yeah we've been putting up with this shit for way too long. Now they're going to put bike lanes on Charlton and Herkimer that won't even help. They will still be one way and that is the biggest problem.

[HillStreetBlues]

Herkimer is one way because Charlton is one way. Charlton has to be one way because, if it were two ways, motorists coming down the mountain access in the morning might theoretically be delayed a couple of minutes while they travel through residential neighbourhoods to get to their jobs downtown, in the west end, or to the 403 via Durand and Kirkendall.

They need Charlton (and they need it to be fast) because the city has a terrible dearth of expressway infrastructure serving its suburbs. Ask anyone: taking the Linc onto the 403 is just madness because it’s only (!) one lane merging eastbound. So they have to come down the mountain to travel west, but downtown is “a traffic nightmare” (actual quote by someone who feels entitled to go fast down the residential Charlton to get to his job in West Hamilton from his residence in far-south Glanbrook), so they have to avoid King (‘cause it’s so slow, and has now lost a lane to taxis or something to boot), and Charlton is a perfect way to do that.

There are only a few stop signs and lights, between which one can go as fast as one likes (you get a double wide lane to yourself, proving that your ability to get somewhere as fast as possible is of critical import). If you’re going far enough, you can pop out at Dundurn without watching for children who might be walking to Earl Kitchener, and you’re not interrupted by any impediment until Main. Well, except maybe other motorists turning onto Frid, but the city has installed a bike lane so you can zip around them.

Anyway, that’s why Herkimer is one-way, because it’s one half of a pair that gives a small benefit to the most important constituency in the city (people who are mathematically challenged, and so drive vast distances to get to jobs from their insane places of residences at the far edge of the sprawl). Putting bike lanes in will make it worse, as it will diminish hope that these two entirely residential streets will ever be reconfigured to a form that shows some respect for the people who actually live on them.

[fuller]

That's half the reason why Herkimer is one way.

The other, highly important but top secret reason is that Charlton and Herkimer together with a bock of Queen serve as a giant 13-block-long queue for three 'mountain accesses'.

The velvet ropes are invisible but this concoction, including the deadly slip lanes and island at Queen and Herkimer, allows both halves of the traffic light cycle to feed a steady stream of cars onto the ramps.

When you look at it that way, you can see how it's worth sacrificing your silly little neighbourhood to this higher need, riiiight?

[Frankenrogers]

I live at Charlton and Locke and the one-way is extremely frustrating. People zoom down the street because, for some reason, they don't allow parking on the right side and the street is very wide because of that. And the lack of parking is frustrating because people don't want to pay the 50 cents to park on Locke so they park on my street, which means that I can't park in front of my house, because they have only allow half the parking that is available. And when I can't find a spot in front of my house, I have to drive all the way down the street and go up the alley.
I know that its trivial, and in the grand scheme of things not a big deal at all (except for the speeders on a street full of kids), but I am the person that lives on this street every day and it's frustrating that it is more important that my residential neighbourhood to be more bearable for traffic engineering than me and my neighbours.

I want two way but even if they allowed parking on both sides (like they do unofficially on Sunday mornings) the traffic would slow down.

[Pearlstreet]

Originally Posted by interr0bangr

Why is anything one way? Makes zero sense. Come check out our four beautiful 4-lane highways (Cannon, Victoria, Wellington, Wentworth) in Lansdale when you get a chance if you want a laugh.

I would say so...

Two months ago today my girlfriend who I bought a ring for with intention to propose too was hit in front of my house while crossing Victoria Ave. North (by J.C. Beemer Park). She was walking our dog. She had a cracked skull, internal bleeding and bruise to her right rear brain lobe. She currently walks with aid of a walker and we are pursuing legal action against the truck driver.

Strangely, I posted pictures and arguments about the dangers of this street repeatedly in here and even to my counsellor. All on deaf ears. I am now moving to a safer area for her sake.

[interr0bangr]

Originally Posted by Pearlstreet

I would say so...

Two months ago today my girlfriend who I bought a ring for with intention to propose too was hit in front of my house while crossing Victoria Ave. North (by J.C. Beemer Park). She was walking our dog. She had a cracked skull, internal bleeding and bruise to her right rear brain lobe. She currently walks with aid of a walker and we are pursuing legal action against the truck driver.

Strangely, I posted pictures and arguments about the dangers of this street repeatedly in here and even to my counsellor. All on deaf ears. I am now moving to a safer area for her sake.

Wow, I was wondering why you'd been posting less. So sorry to hear that, hope she ends up being OK.