Yonge Street, North York Streetscape Improvements

[Waterloo_Guy]

It has the kind of volume that is not far off from what you might see on a freeway. I cant believe people in their right mind are even entertaining this idea. I cycle on weekends and i would not even consider for second using this stretch of road.

You just made the case for building a bike lane.

 

[salsa]

And, finally, for the trifecta, we're presented with the assertion that "there are other roads that can be used very adequately and efficiently by cyclists", which is plainly untrue, even setting aside the intimation that cyclists should be treated as second class citizens when compared against auto users.

For once, how about I ask that drivers "use some other road". Stop using Yonge street as a freeway offramp. Use Bayview instead.

 

[lead82]

I visited the open house yesterday and the main consensus seems to be that Yonge should be reduced from 6 to 4 lanes from Hendon to Avondale. Adding more trees and extending the median all the way from Hendon to Avondale. This would be a great improvement. I'm hoping they add some nice paving and not just have concrete sidewalks like we have today. There was talk of public art and providing some entry way markers to signify and make this a true destination.

The public realm improvements are badly needed. The sidewalks are terrible but well used. Parking on Yonge Street should be removed. It's not a small town and road space is a premium to waste on parked cars. There are plenty of lots around to be used. There is also ample public transit to get around the area.

If stores like Best Buy can't stay in business because they need a handful of spots in front of emir building then they should close down.

 

[salsa]

Slides from the open house are now posted.

http://www.slideshare.net/knelische...treet-mcea-study-pic-2-display-panels-low-res

 

[11th]

And how do you propose doing that? There are a lot of businesses (like major retailers) in that stretch and parking is already at a premium. Businesses are already suffering due to the shortage of parking space. How can you keep, for example, a Best Buy viable in the area by restricting parking even further? Cyclist are not going buy TV's and carry them home on their bikes. Same for groceries shopping.

Best Buy is not a good example, because it and every major tenant at Empress Walk have validated parking for the underground garage.
I'm not sure how much will change if we remove parking from Yonge, but currently it adds a lot to the street's "vibrancy" at night in addition to the foot traffic. Yonge St. (from Sheppard to Finch) has the distinctiveness of being readily accessible by transit, car, and neighbourhood cyclists. The demographics who frequent the businesses there either live along the condos corridor (they'd walk), or lives somewhere north of the 401 where transit might not be their best option (so they drive).

 

[11th]

For once, how about I ask that drivers "use some other road". Stop using Yonge street as a freeway offramp. Use Bayview instead.

B..b..b.but....that's not their destination. Nothing's on Bayview.
Seriously I want to know how much traffic on Yonge is destined for somewhere in North York centre, or are most of them heading north of Steeles.

 

[UD2]

By the time you reach north York Blvd, most traffic proceeding north on yonge would be destined north of finch. Most traffic destined for north York Centre would usually turn off yonge at beecroft or sheppard to use the ring roads instead.

Removing parking between finch and sheppard shouldn't be too hard of a hit for the businesses since most of them live on customers who walk in anyways. And there are ample parking in the back streets and parking lots around the area.

 

[lead82]

Exactly. Most of the traffic on Yonge is coming from north of Finch, and most of it is traffic going to/from the 401. They need to fix the ring roads. I suggested to the open house people that the city should consider making Beecroft and Doris one way streets Beecroft Southbound and Doris Northbound. Those streets can have 1 lane of parking or be used as by-passes to get to/from the 401. Yonge St. should be the jewel in the neighbourhood with a very nice public realm focused on pedestrians and cyclists. Business traffic and patronage would improve if you made it a destination. With the development north of Gibson Square we will have a farmers market. Imagine if Yonge St. here was more like Queen's Quay or Bloor St downtown. The pedestrian traffic is very high here and will only go up as more condos are built on the west side of Yonge between Park Home and Churchill.

 

[UD2]

That will force people living on yonge street to cross yonge everyday depending on which direction they travel. Could create problems.

 

[salsa]

They need to fix the ring roads. I suggested to the open house people that the city should consider making Beecroft and Doris one way streets Beecroft Southbound and Doris Northbound. Those streets can have 1 lane of parking or be used as by-passes to get to/from the 401.

Considering that the ring roads "have unused capacity in both directions" (actual quote from the slides), speeding up cars by turning these into one-way roads is unnecessary and not pedestrian friendly for the people who live right in front of it. If anything, what should really be done is to complete the ring roads in the first place, something which has been planned for many years but still hasn't been done.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I believe Beecroft is complete, at least on the southern end. Doris still needs that extension though, yes.

 

[salsa]

I believe Beecroft is complete, at least on the southern end. Doris still needs that extension though, yes.

Exactly.

 

[amnesiajune]

For once, how about I ask that drivers "use some other road". Stop using Yonge street as a freeway offramp. Use Bayview instead.

Can you drive from Bayview to Yonge in 30 seconds? Cause that's how long it takes to bike from Doris or Beecroft to Yonge. I'd love to see the proposed cycle tracks on Yonge, but saying stuff like this doesn't help the cause. It just cements the stereotype that cyclists are smug and selfish.

Considering that the ring roads "have unused capacity in both directions" (actual quote from the slides), speeding up cars by turning these into one-way roads is unnecessary and not pedestrian friendly for the people who live right in front of it.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. Most cities mainly use one-way pairs where it's feasible, even places like San Francisco and Amsterdam that nobody would call drivers' paradises. One-way streets just increase throughput, even with the same or lower speeds, since cars turning left don't have to wait and block traffic.

 

[UD2]

In this case, one way street on the ring roads are horrible ideas. For the reason of usability, safety, and traffic easement.

What really needs to be done is to extend both Doris and beecroft to where Avondale is as this will allow traffic north of the 401 to disperse as as quickly as possible. The current choke point is between Avondale and sheppard.

Also, it will make sense to build a new on ramp to east bound 401 from south bound yonge.

These two things will make the traffic significantly better.

 

[amnesiajune]

Beecroft extends down to Poyntz Road already and it hasn't helped much. I don't see an extension of Doris helping much either, since left turns are choke points. At the very least, make the parts south of Sheppard one-way to only have right turns at Avondale/Poyntz (and it'll help that 4 northbound lanes become 2+2, and 2+2 southbound become 4)