Let's talk about one-way streets

[TheHonestMaple]

With the LRT going in there's a pretty clear argument that main needs to be two way. In fact, there's a clear argument that this conversion needs to happen in 2023 so it's ready for when constriction on the LRT begins.

[SteelTown]

Back in 2004 the budget to change the streetscape for King St West (got cancelled due to LRT) from just James to Bay St was $2.5 million, this included two-way.

King St West cancelled streetscape: http://www2.hamilton.ca/Hamilton.Por...%20REVISED.pdf

So we could be looking at $10 million or so, depending on the scope of change for Main St.

[catcher_of_cats]

This road is literally the only through east-west road in this entire section of the city (Wards 1,2,3) while King with its LRT will no longer function as an arterial. Main Street should be two-way, especially from at least Bay Street going east. The idea that if you restrict this road and turn it into a single lane each direction for the enjoyment of pedestrians and cyclists is literally insane. Make it better yes, destroy it no. Fantasies of planting trees 0.5m from a curb will never materialize because of the danger of vehicles driving into them, let alone allowing them soil to grow in.

I do not envy the task ahead for the road designers and their overlords. No one is going to be happy.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Back in 2004 the budget to change the streetscape for King St West (got cancelled due to LRT) from just James to Bay St was $2.5 million, this included two-way.

King St West cancelled streetscape: http://www2.hamilton.ca/Hamilton.Por...%20REVISED.pdf

So we could be looking at $10 million or so, depending on the scope of change for Main St.

$10 million wouldn't resurface Main St from the 403 to the Delta, yet alone fully reconstruct it. The City is spending something like $8.5 million to reconstruct Barton from the RHVP to Parkdale, and that's a fraction of the distance.

[Corktowner]

Originally Posted by catcher_of_cats

This road is literally the only through east-west road in this entire section of the city (Wards 1,2,3) while King with its LRT will no longer function as an arterial. Main Street should be two-way, especially from at least Bay Street going east. The idea that if you restrict this road and turn it into a single lane each direction for the enjoyment of pedestrians and cyclists is literally insane. Make it better yes, destroy it no. Fantasies of planting trees 0.5m from a curb will never materialize because of the danger of vehicles driving into them, let alone allowing them soil to grow in.

I do not envy the task ahead for the road designers and their overlords. No one is going to be happy.

I dunno. Cannon and Hunter will still be one-way westbound, and under the most recent iteration of the LRT plan King will have two westbound lanes from John to Bay and from Strathcona to the 403. Also, Wilson could easily and cheaply be made fully two-way and could carry a lot more westbound traffic. All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if there's enough westbound capacity for Main to continue functioning as one-way eastbound but with fewer lanes. We'll have to see what the studies say.

I totally agree with you that if it gets converted to two-way no one will be happy. Like I said earlier in the thread, it'll probably end up looking something like John Street South—an improvement over what it is now, but equally disappointing to the motorists who like zooming across town in ten minutes and the urbanists who are dreaming of a beautiful tree-lined "complete street."

[Innsertnamehere]

IIRC Wilson is going to get converted to 2-way in the next year or two.

The big problem in the core for westbound traffic isn't the overall network capacity, it's getting access to the 403. A lot more traffic will rely on York St than it does today, but that isn't really enough, especially for those wanting to go up the mountain to Ancaster (which also won't be well served by the LRT).

IIRC the original plan was to convert Dundurn north of King to 2-lanes southbound by removing the bike lanes to try and accomodate some of this demand, but we'll have to see if that holds up.

Eastbound the Main St 403 interchange really doesn't allow 2-way traffic across it due to it's configuration, so that will limit the ability for conversion.

I could see Main staying 1-way from the 403 to, say, Bay St, with a single lane westbound from Bay to the Delta, and a lane removed across the entire corridor to widen the sidewalk. Alternately keep it one-way eastbound and remove 2 lanes east of Bay St..

Given the volumes the road would still have to handle, and Hunter St being a pretty effective cycling corridor a few blocks to the south, I don't think the focus should be on cycling lanes. the focus needs to be on improving the pedestrian environment along the street more in my opinion.

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

I have seen streets like James N and Queen and John transform directly due to 2 way conversion ... I think it would work wonders on Main Street to have traffic flowing in both directions , not just esthetically but visually and mentally it would have a drastic effect on slowing down the drag racers and inviting more foot traffic.

[TheRitsman]

From curb to curb at the spot that photo in RTH was taken is 15m, meaning the lanes are 3m wide, which is allowed in the OTM. If it were to be made two directions, you would need the edge lanes to be 3.3m for buses, and the interior lanes would be 3.0m. This would leave only 2.4m for everything else. Bi-direction bicycle lanes should be 3.0m as a minimum (1.5m each direction).

I would love to see bicycle lanes on Main, however it's not likely to happen with this reconstruction. Maybe the next reconstruction in 2045 when we've moved further from automobile reliance. I suspect at most a 1.2m widening of the sidewalk, with trees (fingers crossed). That would make the sidewalks 3.2m wide where they are currently 2m wide.

I wouldn't be against a 2.4m wide bi-directional bicycle lane, with no sidewalk widening. I think the sidewalk is wide enough with a quieter more tamed Main St.

Despite this, on streetmix.net, a 3m wide bi-directional bicycle lane would work with a 0.20 buffer, which is acceptable for curbs I believe. If the inside lanes can be reduced to 2.90m that would allow for a proper buffer, and might be possible since it falls into "retrofit" standards.

[Innsertnamehere]

the crazy part is that 3.2m still isn't that wide. Still a world of improvement though, and enough for tree planters. Most streets in older parts of Toronto like on Queen West or Dundas West are that width for comparison.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

the crazy part is that 3.2m still isn't that wide. Still a world of improvement though, and enough for tree planters. Most streets in older parts of Toronto like on Queen West or Dundas West are that width for comparison.

A lot of street in Toronto are 5m wider. Seems for whatever reason when Toronto and Hamilton were originally built, Hamilton went with 20m ROWs and Toronto went with 25m for many of its streets.

[Crapht]

I’m not getting too excited about this until I see something happening. Even hostile two-way streets are unpleasant to me. Much of this could just end up like the area of Main just east of the delta or Barton at the Centre. It will be a failure in my opinion if space is not given to pedestrians. Half a lane should be given to pedestrians on each side. That being said, Main st still needs to move traffic. The amount of cars moving east everyday insane. Hopefully LRT can help alleviate this. I’m just not getting excited as we’ve seen how long LRT has taken.

[Crapht]

Also from Dundurn to Queen or Bay should be done with immediately with those big orange construction dividers. Narrow down to 3 east bound lanes now.

[ShavedParmesanCheese]

I just read an article about this. Immediate changes include de-synchronizing the traffic lights within a few weeks, and temporary barriers to extend the curbs at corners so the shoulders are limited only to parking after that. Signs prohibiting left turns on red lights could also be installed.

Sadly, though not surprisingly, it will take until early next year for city staff to present the new council with various plans on how to convert the direction of traffic. Each intersection will need to be considered, especially if Main is only partially converted at first. The Claremont and particularly the 403 will pose problems for the process. Metrolinx and the LRT office should also be involved in the process, to properly integrate the two projects.

The article also mentioned the idea of converting from Wellington to the Delta - ironically not including the stretch where people keep dying - which would help to connect with the Claremont. It would be a start, if nothing else?

From the wording of the motions passed we can expect significant improvements to pedestrian spaces, and I suspect without significant advocacy, the street will end up something like Main east of the Delta - broader sidewalks and bidirectional traffic, though hardly an inviting urban space.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by ShavedParmesanCheese

Each intersection will need to be considered, especially if Main is only partially converted at first. The Claremont and particularly the 403 will pose problems for the process.

From the wording of the motions passed we can expect significant improvements to pedestrian spaces, and I suspect without significant advocacy, the street will end up something like Main east of the Delta - broader sidewalks and bidirectional traffic, though hardly an inviting urban space.

I'd say the land uses along Main between the Delta and Queenston traffic circle are largely not inviting spaces -- many parking lots, businesses that rely on auto traffic, shops and restaurants that haven't been open in a while, with residential sprinkled throughout. The street itself seems to function well for cars, there's just not much to generate foot traffic (and this will all change when the LRT comes through, both in terms of land uses and street cross-section).

Main W. has so much more residential with more coming. I think the same street profile would feel very different between Dundurn and Queen than it does in the east end. Main W. probably has a lot of potential for commercial development too; some of those old houses and small buildings host businesses, but that would change as the street does and more multi-unit residential goes up in the area.

What would be the problem at Wellington? Different turning patterns for sure, and left-turn lanes would be needed, but it doesn't seem like it would be a difficult conversion.

[SteelTown]

New safety changes will shrink Hamilton’s one-way Main Street from five to four lanes
Council has already voted to convert the wide, collision-prone street to two-way traffic — eventually. But in the meantime, a series of short-term road safety changes are proposed to start this summer.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...reduction.html

Hamilton will use paint and strategic parking to shrink the widest section of one-way Main Street as part of promised “short-term” safety changes designed to better protect pedestrians.

In the face of a 10-year high for pedestrian deaths, Hamilton council voted in May to convert its widest, increasingly collision-prone one-way street to two-way traffic.

But that complicated conversion project won’t happen fast.

In the meantime, city traffic officials have released a list of planned changes that can happen this year on the east-west artery, including traffic lane reductions, new street parking, adjusted signal timing and even the city’s first “pedestrian scramble” at an intersection at city hall.

The goal of the changes is to make all road users safer, according to an update report now online, but with a particular emphasis on “measures to separate pedestrians by either time or space from vehicles.”

Statistics in the latest annual collision report show there have been 291 collisions with injuries along the Main corridor in the last five years, including more than 100 involving pedestrians or cyclists.

Councillors will have the chance to ask about the changes at a public works meeting this afternoon that also features the release of the latest collision report and a new “complete streets” manual.

Some of the short-term changes will be underway within days, said chief roads official Edward Soldo, while others will gradually be implemented over the summer.

Some highlights:

* Repainting Main Street to allow four, rather than five, lanes of traffic between Dundurn Street South and Sherman Avenue South. The report says that change will create a “pedestrian buffer” along the south sidewalk and help cut down on “side swipe collisions” due to narrow lane width. This change should happen over the next month;
* Adding new intersection pedestrian signals, ladder crossings and Hamilton’s first “pedestrian scramble” across from city hall at Summer’s Lane. A pedestrian scramble, which the city calls a pedestrian priority phase, gives a walk signal to pedestrians in all directions at the same time. Expect this change by the end of the year;
* Allowing new or additional street parking at strategic points along Main Street to provide a pedestrian buffer. This will happen after bylaw amendments are approved at council;
* Giving pedestrians a head start, and more time to cross Main Street intersections by modifying traffic signal timings. More visible “countdown” signals will also be installed. Expect these changes to start within two weeks; and
* Banning right turns on red at many Main Street intersections. This will start this month.

[TheRitsman]

So they definitely hid the reality here which is that it will actually be three active lanes which is a GREAT thing to start with.

It will be reduced to 4 lanes, with 1 lane of parking. How many people will actually park along it? I don't know, since Cannon doesn't have too many people parking on street even though there are spots. We will see though.

Disappointed about the bus turns, it wouldn't be hard to have no right on red except buses. They exist in other cities, and bus drivers are fewer and more safe than common drivers. I'd like to see them change that, and I can't believe nobody thought of that.

[Innsertnamehere]

the problem is that the volumes on a 3-lane version of Main will mean that buses almost always have a car in front of them waiting to turn that they get stuck behind.

Generally I'm very supportive of this. I do think that the parking east of Wellington / Victoria should be peak-hour only, but the on-street parking east of that is fine.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton begins implementing traffic flow changes to make streets safer

Watch for the 'No Right Turn on Red' signs going up across various intersections

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...Gs6qZzEJZ3DO7A

Hamilton has begun making changes to traffic flow in the city, in its quest to prioritize road safety for everyone.

In May of this year, city council approved a motion focused on the development of further safety enhancements on major arterial roads, including the conversion of Main Street from a one-way to a two-way road.

In addition to the two-way conversion, the city says the project "includes immediate measures that focus on roadway safety improvements for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians."

"One of the first changes you may notice is the No Right Turn on Red signage going up across various intersections on Main St., which enhances pedestrian safety by limiting vehicles encroaching onto the crosswalk and helps separate pedestrians and motorists using the intersection," a tweet from the city on Tuesday said.





https://twitter.com/cityofhamilton

[Innsertnamehere]

Honestly can't wait for the changes. It'll make even driving along the corridor a lot calmer and less hair-raising. The corridor as it is now just doesn't work for anyone, drivers included IMO.

[TheRitsman]

There's a few where I am very glad as a car driver. Locke onto Main was fucking scary. It's a blind corner and yet people behind you would be wondering why you're not going.