Downtown Windsor has nine one-way streets weaving through the city’s core that some members of council want administration to study converting into two-way traffic lanes.
An initial city report, requested by downtown councillor Renaldo Agostino, says that opinions on converting one-ways to two-ways are split.
The report, prepared by transportation planning co-ordinator Clare Amicarelli, found that “there is no blanket answer to the topic of converting one-way streets to two-way streets.”
A group of councillors sitting on the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Committee is asking the administration to look for $200,000 in the capital budget to pay for a study.
If that’s approved by council, staff would study converting Janette Avenue, Bruce Avenue, Dougall Avenue, Victoria Avenue, Pelissier Street, Glengarry Avenue, Aylmer Avenue, Pitt Street, and Chatham Street into two-way streets.
They’d also study Gladstone Avenue and Lincoln Road, with it expected to take a year.
Early cost estimates to convert each street would cost up to $5.3 million.
Amicarelli writes in her report that street conversions will depend on the benefits for all road users: drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
She broke down the benefits of each street design.
What to know about one-way streets
One-way systems can move 10 to 20 per cent more traffic compared to two-ways and congestion isn’t as bad because traffic lights don’t need to accommodate left-turn movements.
But drivers on one-ways have been clocked at faster speeds, which could be because there is no risk of a head-on collision with oncoming traffic.
Daily users don’t have issues with one-way streets because it’s part of their routine but occasional drivers might get confused by the maze-like system and avoid the area because they’re uncomfortable.
Bike lanes are easier to add to one-way streets, according to the report, and the single direction traffic makes decision-making easier for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Amicarelli wrote that one-way streets may have higher crime rates, which could be for a number of reasons.
“However it is important to note that one-ways provide “shadow zones” between buildings in which people can hide,” she writes in the report.
“With the reduction of speeding and crime on the two-way streets, this can cause property values to increase dramatically.”
What to know about two-way streets
Two-way streets can lead to more business activity if a one-way street doesn’t have bike lanes on it, which research shows can improve economic activity.
Since road users are traveling in both directions, stores on cross streets that depend on pass-by traffic get noticed more often.
Businesses are also helped by changes in traffic signals that result in more drivers stopping at lights for on-coming traffic and checking out store windows.
Two-way streets are likely to reduce vehicle speeds, which could lead to calmer communities.
The City of Windsor has nine one-way streets in the downtown core. But some think it might be time to convert them into two-way streets. The CBC’s Chris Ensing breaks down why we have the streets, their benefits — and what it could cost to make changes, according to a city staff report.
Chris MacLeod runs a business downtown on Pelissier Street, a one-way he said doesn’t make sense to change into a two-way unless it helps prevent collisions.
“If there was a safety element to it that said, ‘if we convert this to a two way street that corner would become less prone to vehicular accidents’ then I think that would then may be something to look at,” said MacLeod, referencing Wyandotte and Pelissier.
But he thinks the city should skip studying Pelissier because they just put down bike lanes.
The committee will get a report back about how this study could be paid for in January.
