Hooray for the Leaside traffic officers
Wonderful to read about this fabulous group of young people and their efforts to make a difference in the traffic nightmare we are all experiencing. Can we borrow them for the corner of Southvale and Mallory Crescent?! The clever “Stop. Don’t do the ‘Leaside Slide’” sign that someone recently posted on the stop sign here seemed to have helped short term. But this major route from Bayview to Laird continues to see drivers barely stopping or sometimes ignoring the stop sign altogether. Send us the Junior Traffic Officers – please!
L. Patterson, Mallory Cres.
John Parker’s comments in the August issue
McRae Dr. and Southvale have been victimized by cut-through commuter traffic just as Parkhurst is. It would be great if they, too, had reduced attractiveness as commuter routes and were safer along their full length.
Gwen Read, Astor Ave.
North Leaside Traffic
All of Leaside is currently suffering from increased traffic as a result of construction on our major arteries.
Recently, after a traffic study, north Leaside proposed to block access to Bayview from a couple of its streets which are often used to bypass the construction elsewhere.
It should be noted that, firstly, these streets are not the only ones which have this problem. Secondly, north Leaside streets, for example Glenvale, already have traffic control measures that others do not – 30kph, speed bumps, turn restrictions – yet now they want more. I assert that this plan is naïve at best, and ill-conceived and selfish at worst.
Let us for the moment consider the ramifications of the plan, if it is implemented. Where will all the cars go, that use these two streets? Certainly not to Bayview, Eglinton or Laird; these streets are already clogged enough. These cars will seek access through other Leaside streets that are not so fortunate, streets like Millwood, McRae, Manor Road that are already suffering from increased traffic. How is this fair?
And what about the residents of north Leaside, who have to go home or shopping? Instead of using their own streets, they will spill over onto the streets of others. Believe me, this is not a trivial point. A brief tour of north Leaside reveals many houses with 2 or more cars. Look in the mirror north Leasiders! To conclude, I see this new plan as simply passing the buck elsewhere.
It is a version of “I am ok, too bad about you.” Maybe someday it may have a place in City planning, but not before a holistic neighbourhood plan is put in place. And not before the construction is done.
Michael Beswick
