Saint John is seeking input as it looks to improve traffic safety and active transportation access on Heather Way.
City staff held a virtual community meeting Wednesday evening to discuss options for the four-lane street on the east side.
Tim O’Reilly, the city’s traffic engineer, said Common Council requested a “rethink” of the street ahead of repaving planned for this year.
“This whole idea of rethinking of Saint John streets has become new over the last number of years, so obviously a growing interest in active transportation within the community and roadway safety generally for all roadway users,” said O’Reilly.
Safety along Heather Way has been a concern for residents and the city after a pedestrian was fatally struck in the fall of 2008. According to O’Reilly, the vehicle involved was travelling at twice the posted speed limit.
The city developed a traffic calming strategy the following year which included speed humps along the southbound side of the street and reducing the speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.
There were also discussions about closing one side of Heather Way and converting the other side to a two-lane road, but that has never been implemented.
“The long and short of it is, do we need four lanes for vehicle traffic, and the answer is no based on the statistics,” said O’Reilly.
Traffic counts conducted in 2009 and again in recent months show vehicle volumes well below the typical threshold of 20,000 vehicles per day for four-lane roads, he said.
O’Reilly said staff do not have a preconceived notion of what Heather Way should look like in the future, but he did present several possibilities at the meeting.
One involves reducing the street to one lane in each direction, while maintaining the shared left-turn lane, and adding buffered bike lanes on each side.
Another suggestion is to close one side of Heather Way to vehicle traffic, similar to the 2009 proposal, and use it solely for active transportation.
Cycling advocate Nick Cameron, one of a handful of people to attend Wednesday’s meeting, said he thinks closing one side of the street opens up a number of possibilities for the community.
“As much as I love bike lanes — I’d love to see a bike lane in that area — it would be cool to accomplish much more than a bike lane,” said Cameron. “What I’d really like to see is a reimaging of that space, some creative ways of using that space.”
Area resident Jill Good said she worries closing one side of Heather Way, which would lead to the elimination of the left-turn lane, may lead to traffic congestion, especially during peak times.
At the end of the day, Cameron said it is important that city staff take their time and gather as much community input as possible before making a decision.
“I think that’s what is probably one of the most important factors going forward,” he said. “When you’re going through some of the pros and cons, it’s a good conversation starter but I think it would be a mistake to see that as sort of the definitive pro/con list to really evaluate this,” he said.
The recorded meeting has been posted on the city’s YouTube channel along with documents from the meeting. Residents can submit input by emailing feedback@saintjohn.ca before July 9.
O’Reilly said staff will present their findings to Common Council in the next month or two.
