I support a connected active transportation network, functional major corridors and proactive traffic calming that protects residential streets before problems become established.
Esquimalt Chamber ACM question
I support active transportation, but I also believe our major transportation corridors have to work for vehicles, transit, deliveries and emergency services. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.
Where I think we need to change our approach is by being proactive. If we are approving significant development or redesigning a major corridor, the Township should be modelling the likely traffic impacts in advance, including where vehicles may divert. If that modelling shows a residential street is likely to become a cut-through, then traffic calming should be built into the plan from the beginning.
Residents should not have to wait until the problem is established, collect traffic data, organize their neighbourhood and prove to the municipality that the impact is real. That responsibility should sit with the Township when it is making the decision that may create the problem.
I support a connected active transportation network, but I also want major roads to function properly and residential streets protected from unnecessary through-traffic.
The goal is to think ahead: move people efficiently on the roads designed for it, make walking and cycling safer, and implement traffic calming before residents are forced to fight for it after the fact.
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