A plan to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety through a west Hamilton neighbourhood has been finalized.
City Councillors have voted 13-3 to allow parking on both sides of Aberdeen Avenue, from Queen Street to Dundurn Street, effectively reducing the number of live traffic lanes from four to two.
The change is expected to happen this fall, and it will be timed to coincide with a switch from one-way to two-way traffic on Queen Street, from Aberdeen to Main Street, in hopes of minimizing the impact on commuters.
Ward 1 Coun. Maureen Wilson says the controversial change is in keeping with Vision Zero, the city’s action plan for preventing pedestrian and cycling deaths.
She argues that “the safety of the children in the Kirkendall neighbourhood is compromised by the present configuration of the road.”
Ward 14 Coun. Terry Whitehead counters that slowing traffic on Aberdeen will worsen a chronic problem for his residents on the west mountain, who he says are already dealing with congested streets.
Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson worries that Hamilton is losing its “competitive advantage,” noting that “we’ve been bragging for years about having uncongested roads, but that’s changing.”
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