Monday, September 27, 2010

New blockage at Ryding Ave




-




Ryding Ave being approached from the east ...that is from mega store complex at West Toronto Street, now has a blockage stopping cars from traveling west on the street

7 comments:

  1. Was the traffic that bad along this stretch? I would be curious to hear from some of the residents about how they were able to get this change through ... how difficult was it in dealing with the city? Maybe we can all learn something when it comes to our own streets' traffic problems.
    That said, since the "blockage" went up, I've noticed plenty of cars waiting until the coast is clear before driving west against the traffic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All the people driving to and from those car dependent big-box stores and the people who use these streets as shortcuts has meant a lot more traffic over the years than when many people moved in. The traffic levels on these minor residential streets became unusually high.

    Also, there are lot of asshole drivers who drive through the area, annoying everyone by blasting music, squealing their tires, and those who do a 'rolling stop' at stop signs even when there are pedestrians who want to cross to Runnymede Park. A lot of truckers drive through Ryding and Cobalt at all hours of the day even when there's a sign restricting trucks from using these residential streets, producing a lot of noise as they stop and accelerate.

    In terms of dealing with the city, it wasn't difficult. People called the councillor, who organized a meeting where people expressed their concerns to someone from the city. Different solutions were proposed and considered, until people settled on the idea of this sort of restriction among others.

    Enforcement is important since some idiots still drive around it, but there have been police officers stopping people. Also, one can hope that such an ugly barrier is only temporary, and that there's some proper urban design coming if the urban planners decide that this traffic restriction is an effective solution.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I understand we can thank Frances Nunziata for this. It means that all George Bell Arena and Stockyards southbound traffic is now funnelled down Keele rather than sharing at least a minority of this traffic with Runnymede (as if Keele wasn't busy enough).

    I'm sure this will result in significantly more traffic on Vine Avenue as people try to escape the now permanent traffic jam on Keele southbound.

    I thought the truck traffic was much worse a few years ago when the neighbourhood was industrial (before the big box stores moved in).

    Even if we accept that the Stockyards traffic should be funnelled down Keele rather than Runnymede, it still seems unfair for this barrier to be placed on Gourlay Cres rather than further east on Ethel Avenue (i.e. at the westernmost exit from the Metro). All new development has occurred east of this exit. The traffic from the areas that haven't changed in decades (i.e. the Arena traffic and Maple Leaf Foods traffic) should not be blocked from travelling down Ryding avenue as they have done for decades.


    If the concern is that people are not following existing rules, then we should enforce those existing rules.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Why do you think that Runnymede is no longer an option for southbound traffic? It's not time consuming to take St. Clair to Runnymede, especially if you're headed west. Once Junction Road reopens, it will also help reduce traffic on Keele considering that a lot of people started using Keele and St. Clair to get to and from Davenport as well as Old Weston Road.

    The barrier needs to be located at the end of the industrial area where it is now for free access for trucks from the east, not from the residential streets to the west. Truck traffic is high because Maple Leaf Foods is a busy place that operates deep into the night, if not 24 hours a day. ACD is a meat storage facility with a substantial fleet of smaller but still quite loud trucks. That you suggest they use Ryding "as they have for decades" is wrong. Trucks have not been able to use Ryding and Cobalt for at least a decade, though truck drivers don't seem to care and use it anyway. They hit people's power lines on several occasions and drove away. Calls to the police for enforcement were unanswered; one police officer approached on the street following an incident said that he wouldn't enforce the truck ban because he said it's a city bylaw.

    This barrier is a solution for residents and no one else's business on these minor side streets. It's only unfortunate perhaps for some George Bell Arena users but hardly that significant since it's still easy to get to Runnymede by car via St. Clair. It's what people wanted and their councillor worked to serve them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yes I have seen that, but I have also seen unmarked cop cars on the other side giving them a ticket with points, might not be worth doing it....

    ReplyDelete
  6. They should have waited until the Street repairs on St. Clair are completed. It is a typical poor decision.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I make a point of turning south on Cobalt and then west on Ryding just to make sure I still drive on Ryding out of spite. The morons who put up the road block should of put if west of Cobalt, at least it would have forced people off Ryding. Way to go city planners.

    ReplyDelete