Over the weekend, white poles went up on some streets in downtown Peterborough, mainly George , Charlotte, and Hunter streets, temporarily reducing them to a single lane.
The poles are part of a collaborative project between the City of Peterborough, Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area and Peterborough Public Health.
They’re meant to expand sidewalk space for businesses, and in some cases, help them open up patios or even set up merchandise outside, as the city strives to reawaken downtown business following its closure during the pandemic.
However, a video posted to Facebook on June 20 by user Pierce Tony has garnered some criticism in the comment section regarding the move to close down part of the streets. The video shows an ambulance driving down George Street, with its sirens blaring.
A black car can also be seen in the video having driven over one of the poles, which are malleable.
According to the author of the post, the ambulance was having a hard time maneuvering through traffic due to the poles, and the black car had to drive over one of them to make way.
Several Facebook users in the comments section expressed displeasure with the modification.
However, first responders in Peterborough say they haven’t had any issues with the poles so far.
In an email to Global Peterborough, Peterborough Paramedics Chief Randy Mellow said he was aware of the video. and while it does “demonstrate a minor delay” in the ambulance passing through, he said it’s not completely different than when an ambulance is faced with two full lanes of traffic stopped at a red light, or any other traffic obstruction.
“Our operations and our staff are aware of the changes and traffic concerns downtown,” said Mellow.
“At present, we have not experienced any insurmountable issues but will continue to monitor the situation as it relates to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Cavanagh from Peterborough Fire Services said that while the city is the one mainly dealing with feedback on the street redesign, Peterborough Fire hasn’t heard any complaints in terms of their ability to respond to calls due to the poles.
“The poles themselves are flexible, so it provides some use to the emergency services to maneuver,” said Cavanagh.
In an email to Global on Tuesday, the City’s Director of Communications Brendan Wedley said that representatives from emergency services in Peterborough have reviewed the street layout plans for the downtown road modifications.
“The City will regularly review the impacts of the implementation,” said Wedley.
The Peterborough Police Service also echoed the claims from the paramedics and fire services. In an email to Global on Tuesday, Media Relations and Communications Coordinator Lauren Gilchrist said “this is a new initiative and we have not experienced any issue with the poles.”
The DBIA informed Global Peterborough in an email that the city is the one to be monitoring the impacts of the modifications.
There is a petition going around online asking for the reopening of both lanes of traffic on George Street, both for the sake of first responders, as well as for the “struggling small businesses” on that street.
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