Navigating traffic in the Glebe

By Matthew Meagher

As you travelled the streets of the Glebe this summer, you probably noticed the slow creep of traffic calming measures onto some of the neighbourhood’s widest and fastest roadways. The new measures are largely the result of collaboration between various groups of neighbourhood residents and Councillor Shawn Menard’s office.

Acknowledging that traffic calming can annoy some drivers, we promise that annoyance is not the goal of any of these projects; the singular objective is improving the safety of our streets for everyone who uses them. Fortunately, that objective dovetails perfectly with the mandate of the Glebe Community Association (GCA) Transportation Committee to make our local streets safer for all users.

While there are a range of opinions on any change to a street, our engagement with residents tells us there is a broad consensus that traffic speed is the number one safety concern in this neighbourhood. Short of digging up and reconstructing streets, the measures you saw this summer, such as flex stakes to narrow the driveable area of the street, are the most practical way to get speeds down and remind drivers that there are children and less mobile people nearby.

Over the coming months, the Transportation Committee will continue to work with residents on safety improvements. There will be a continuing focus on the areas around our primary schools and the community centre, continuing the great work done by the parents on the joint Corpus Christi-Mutchmor transportation committee. We will also be looking to use an Infrastructure Canada grant that we received to conduct a safety study of the neighbourhood. And finally, we will be feeding into public consultations on the Queensway Bridge Replacements, the NCC Active Transportation project, the widening of the Airport Parkway and the Bronson reconstruction design.

To find the best solutions to these issues, we are always looking for input from as many community members as possible. So, if you happened to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for a written invitation, please consider this article your personal invite to join our committee meetings, send your comments by email or participate in one of the various public consultations online or in person. Details on a public consultation on the next phase of the Queensway bridge replacement project are at queenswaydowntownbridges.com.

You can reach us 24/7 at traffic@glebeca.ca. Please note that we will not respond 24/7.

Matt Meagher is co-chair of the Glebe Community Association Transportation Committee.