Riverdale Avenue
Simpson, Victor, Langley, Riverdale, Withrow and Bain are one way avenues that alternate between eastbound and westbound travel and serve the primarily residential neighbourhood in Riverdale between Broadview and Carlaw. These streets have speed humps and posted speed limits of 30-40 km/hour.
The neighbourhood is home to Withrow Avenue Public School and is tightly packed with detached and semi-detached homes that create a lot of local traffic. The area is bordered by other traffic generators like Gerrard Square, the businesses on Gerrard Street and the Bridgepoint Health Centre. The long straight blocks can make for a convenient east-west shortcut through the neighbourhood.
Map of Traffic Calming Study Area
A group of residents on Langley Avenue were concerned with the volume and speed of traffic using the street as a shortcut to travel from Carlaw to Broadview and suggested that the city reverse the direction of travel on Langley between Logan and Carlaw to be eastbound to reduce cut through traffic. However, reversing the direction of one street can add pressure to other streets as drivers find other routes. Thus the Riverdale Traffic Group was formed to come up with a comprehensive solution.
A Message from the Riverdale Traffic Group
The Riverdale Traffic Group is scheduled to release their proposal early this year. The video suggests that the proposal does involve flipping the direction of some streets. The group will host a community consultation and vote before any changes are made to neighbourhood streets. For more information see myriverdale.ca
What do you think of the traffic in your neighbourhood? Do you think reconfiguring the streets can improve safety in the neighbourhood or will it just push the problem to another street? Let us know in the comments!