Friday, August 21, 2009

High Park and Dundas St West traffic lights going in now



...has started today in earnest with Beacon contracting on site cutting the concrete for installation of the poles and the laying of the wire.  YEA this is going to be great - you will be able to cross at High Park and Dundas St West with safety and ease.

[caption id="attachment_5023" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="removing sidewalk segments for wires and poles (which will be replaced)"]high park lights 1 003[/caption]

BACKGROUND information from city staff reports
At the request of Councillor Bill Saundercook, Ward 13, Parkdale–High Park, on behalf of area residents, Transportation Services staff investigated the feasibility of installing traffic control signals at this intersection.
...city staff COMMENTS
Dundas Street West is classified as a major arterial roadway with a speed limit of
50 km/h. High Park Avenue is a local roadway operating northbound and southbound with a speed limit of 40 km/h. The TTC operates transit service on both Dundas Street West and High Park Avenue.

high park lights 1 002

15 comments:

  1. This is disappointing news, the last thing Dundas West needs is another set of lights to impede traffic flow in the area, that makes 3 sets of light in 5 blocks, Pacific, Clendenan and now High Park.

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  2. Sometimes that many lights are needed, especially in a pedestrian neighbourhood like ours. Certainly it makes it easier to reach our store if you're a stroller-bound mom and you're on the other side of the street!

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  3. It does seem like a lot of lights, but people cross there all the time. There are a number of restaurants on the North side, as well as Axis and Big Daddy's, so there's quite a bit of foot traffic going across the street. Some months back I saw the aftermath of a motorcycle hitting a rather drunken woman. No one seemed to be seriously injured, but I wasn't very surprised and I'm sure it wasn't the only time it's happened.

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  4. Agreed Rodger. I spend many nights at Vesuvio's and shake my head at the thought of lights going up at Dundas and High Park.

    If people used their heads and crossed when traffic is stopped (the lights at Pacific and Clendenan are timed creating openings) then there wouldn't be any accidents. However, Darwinism will always prevail, stop lights or not.

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  5. I recall a comment by Saundercook about a year ago when he (if I’m correct) said he actually asked for a pedestrian crossing in the area but the TCC reviewed the request and they wanted a light so the 30 Lambton bus could make the left from high park to Dundas easier in rush hour.

    I assume the new light will be timed with the Pacific and Clendenan lights so traffic flow interruption will be minimized.

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  6. The new traffic lights make it easier for many of us with two kids per stroller to shop on the North Side of Dundas, great for businesses, maybe new ones will open thanks to easier access.

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  7. I can't help but disagree Irina. There are ample locations to cross the street (safely & legally) in the Junction, whether you're with stroller, confined to a wheelchair, or have a hard time walking. This is just going to jam up the Dundas West corridor even more then it already is, due to stop & go traffic as it hits the long string of lights. If anything (if I chose to drive) I would go elsewhere because of the expected congestion in this stretch, and thereby spend my consumer dollars in other neighbourhoods.

    Have a good weekend all

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  8. I've never found this section of the Dundas corridor to be that jammed up. Sure, east of Keele it's a nightmare. But, driving westbound after those lights, many times I've seen cars and trucks speeding down this section of Dundas.
    I hope the lights WILL slow things down a little and better manage the flow of traffic.

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  9. Probably going to get into trouble with the anti lights crowd with this and maybe a few others, yet 1st , I too get stuck in Junction traffic on Dundas St. every day almost, both in a car and on foot crossing.

    I am all for stopping up free flow though traffic in the Junction - that is, traffic that drives though and never intends to stop.

    Slow down and stop and look ...and walk in the Junction, I agree will Mr Bush in this area shop your cares away in The Junction, I would also like to see a lot more loitering - by the somewhat decent and decent minded crowds. ...and by buskers

    And is not the ability to cross the roadway more freely and in safety going to cause more spontaneous walk and talk crossovers as well as make it easier for retail custom to move easier between stores?

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  10. There are many studies that suggest slower traffic flow through a nieghbourhood will make the nieghbourhood more successful. I think the new lights are a great idea.

    (that being said it would be nice if they fix the traffic flow north and south along keele at dundas)

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  11. I must say as a resident who loves to shop locally and is a part of the stroller mob, I love this idea. Yes, I know Clendenan and Pacific are not too far away, but when pushing a cranky babe with a load of groceries, any way to shorten a walk home is well appreciated. I have seen many jaywalkers at High Park and Dundas nearly get hit by cars when either crossing the roads to go to one of our Indian Restaurants, Axis or to get a delightful ice cream as well as commuters crossing the street to walk to High Park Station. I believe this will encourage more people to shop locally, let's face it many of us are lazy, if stores aren't easily accessible we tend not to patron them. I am all for increasing pedestrian traffic and perhaps the lights will slow down our speeding vehicle traffic.

    What we need to worry about is the Keele mess.....

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  12. Wouldn't it take just as long to drive to another neighbourhood than to endure the stretch? A lot of residents would still have to drive there to get to another neighbourhood. Annette has its share of traffic signals and side streets have stop signs and lower speed limits.

    Putting that aside, I think that traffic engineers have done a decent job in the city of timing traffic signals so that during peak times, it's easy to get a string of greens.

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  13. Wouldn’t it take just as long to drive to another neighbourhood than to endure the stretch?

    Your comment points out a fact I had failed to give enough thought too. Yet now I think some people would do just that, but I am hoping the the Junction retail offerings would have draw - a level of interest that would overcome this, it's what I want to believe in any case, is that draw here now - I don't know.

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  14. I agree that lights are needed at High Park and Dundas, but I can't help but be a bit skeptical that the lights will be timed and balanced to facilitate both traffic and pedestrian flow. The skepticism is reinforced by the fact that TTC vehicles are equipped with transponders that keep the light green longer or switch the lights to their favour when approaching..

    The conspiracy theorist in me is that the council has an all out war against the car and rather than focusing on how various modes of transportation can co-exist (car, public transit, bikes, etc).

    There are other neighbourhoods in the city (I'm thinking Queen's Quay between Bay and York) where there is a concentration of signal lights in a short distance (Specifically, 3 sets of lights within a comparable distance between Clendenan and Pacific). When the timing of the lights are off, it creates a situation where cars get stuck at intersections, horns honking, and increased frustruation among drivers. There is a real possibility that this would only increase the amount of traffic on Annette as drivers look for alternatives to avoid the stretch between Jane and Dupont.

    Maybe if the city decides to remove a set of lights at either Clendenan or Pacific....

    Personally, I agree with Denise's point of having them fix the situation at Keele. It's atrocious now and my belief is that it will only get worse once the condos are completed.

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