Conceptual plans for the proposed Main Street Active Transportation project have been released.
The proposed plans also come with a roughly $2-million price tag, much higher than what council had originally approved.
But despite the higher price tag, councillors reaffirmed their support for the project on Monday night and voted to move ahead with the detailed design.
Tim O’Reilly, director of parks and transportation for the city, said staff considered a lot of factors in developing the plans.
“Looking at all modes of transportation, including pedestrians, cyclists and transit, and making sure there’s an acceptable but not necessarily the same level of service for motor vehicle traffic,” O’Reilly traffic council on Monday night.
What is being proposed?
The project proposes reducing Main Street North and the Viaduct from six vehicle lanes to four between Chesley Drive and Union Street, creating new space for pedestrians and cyclists.
As part of the changes, the speed limit would also be reduced to 50 kilometres per hour from the current 60 along the corridor.
The plan also outlines proposed traffic calming measures for the six ramps along the Viaduct to “reduce or manage the higher speeds” and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
According to a staff report, the soft curves at all six ramps would be made more abrupt. Three of the six ramps would become right-angled intersections, forcing vehicles to slow down when navigating the turn.
A set of pedestrian-active crosswalk signals would be installed at the ramp to Route 1 westbound, while traffic signals would be used at the ramp from Route 1 eastbound beside the former Red Rose Tea building.
A rendering showing where the proposed bike lanes and multi-use pathways would be, along with the existing bike lane. (Image submitted)
The plan also calls for enhanced transit spaces along the proposed corridor and transitioning existing asphalt to more greenspaces.
“Increased delays to motorists are expected at the intersections along the corridor but these delays are expected to remain within acceptable levels,” said the staff report.
O’Reilly noted that broader public input is needed, likely through the city’s Shape Your City website, before council approves the final design.
He also added that endorsement from the province is important as both Main Street North and the Viaduct are provincial highways.
The price tag
Council had approved $435,000 for the project in this year’s capital budget, but the new cost estimate is now about $1.6 million higher.
Staff note that when the initial funding was set aside, the project was still at the “idea” stage.
“Conceptual options and plans for this project, resulting in project cost estimates, were only detailed over the past few months,” said the staff report.
“With a project that required solutions to some complicated transportation challenges, such as how to manage the Viaduct ramps, it took a certain level of detailed analysis before a true conceptual project cost estimate could be developed.”
Endorsing the project comes at a risk for council. The $435,000 approved for this year came from the federal government’s Canada Community Building Fund.
If the project did not go ahead as expected, for whatever reason, the city would be on the hook for that money.
Coun. Brent Harris said $2 million is a big price tag for the project, but he thinks it will be worth it in the end.
“We do want to signal to our community that these are livable places. We want to make that accessibility to the uptown but also from the uptown to the old north end much more available to people,” said Harris.
“There’s no way we can put fewer vehicles on the road if we’re not creating cities that are walkable or cyclable, and that’s what this is doing I think for us.”
Despite the financial risk, council voted to go ahead with the detailed design for the project this year, which is expected to cost more than $200,000.
The project will then be referred to the 2023 capital budget deliberation process for funding required beyond the $435,000 already approved.
