Watch above: The City of Edmonton wants to make Whyte Avenue safer by reducing vehicle traffic during peak hours on weekends during certain times of the year. City surveys showed there is overwhelming support for such a plan, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell if you were at Saturday’s open house session. Eric Szeto reports.
EDMONTON – Several Whyte Avenue-area residents are speaking out against a pilot project that would see the popular roadway partially closed to traffic on some of the busiest nights of the year.
The Car Free Whyte Avenue pilot program would shut down east-to-west private vehicle traffic on part of the avenue between midnight and 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and other busy nights, allowing pedestrians to walk on the street.
The city says it’s designed to improve public safety and eliminate sidewalk crowding.
“Whyte Avenue is one of the most dangerous areas in terms of pedestrian and vehicle interactions,” said Angela Turner with Responsible Hospitality Edmonton. “We really want to try to improve that safety.”
“We just need to create more space for the sheer volume of people that are walking,” said City Councillor Ben Henderson who says that he believes the project could be very successful, if done right.
READ MORE: Should Whyte Avenue become car-free? The city is looking into it
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- More youth are seeking EI amid rising unemployment rates: StatCan
- Mental health support still lacking 4 years after mass shooting: Nova Scotia mayor
However, many residents who attended an open house on the topic Saturday are not pleased with the proposal.
“I just don’t think things have been thought through,” said Sanjita Sharma. “We already have people that are naughty, they’re drunk, they urinate in public, they’re fighting; we already have an issue on Whyte. And by closing it you’ve just moved those people into a smaller area at 3 o’clock in the morning.”
City buses would still be allowed through the closed-off areas, but taxis would not. Taxi stands would be set up outside the closed-off areas.
“You’re forcing all the traffic, all the pedestrian traffic, up towards 107, towards the university. So you’ve just moved those 15,000 people from 42 bars all the way up outside where we live,” said Sharma.
“I’m against it.”
An online survey conducted by the city showed 57 per cent of respondents highly supported the proposal. Of the 2,040 people who responded, 20 per cent supported the idea in theory, but wanted more information. Six per cent were unsure and 17 per cent did not support the proposal.
READ MORE: City sees strong support to make Whyte Avenue car-free
Sharma calls the survey “closed and flawed,” though, saying it didn’t have any options for people who actually live on Whyte Avenue.
“It basically said, ‘Would you like it to be closed between 10 and three? Would you like it to be closed between one and four in the morning?’ It didn’t actually say that if you live in on Whyte Avenue, would you want it to be closed?” she explained.
“There was no place for anybody to say that I live on Whyte Avenue. So all the results, everything that’s being presented is skewed.”
Other residents raised concerns over the fact the survey was only available online, and many people, particularly elderly people, weren’t able to answer it because they don’t have internet access.
City staff say this is precisely why public consultation is done – to hear concerns from those who will be impacted most by the project.
“They do live here, this is their home, so we do want to hear from them,” said Turner. “I appreciate the comments that people have made and we’ll sort through them and follow up.”
Saturday’s meeting was scheduled to be the last of three open houses for area residents. However, after hearing so much opposition another open house will be planned, the date of which has yet to be announced.
Turner says mail-out surveys might be considered for area residents.
For more information on the Car Free Whyte Avenue pilot project, visit the City of Edmonton’s website.
With files from Eric Szeto, Global News.
Comments