Controversial concrete barriers in Belgravia intersection coming down
The concrete barriers at the corners of 116th Street and 77th Avenue in Belgravia were being removed Friday by city crews, which installed them just days ago.
Ward 8 Coun. Ben Henderson said the decision was in response to concerns about pedestrian safety.
"Just watching what people were doing here as pedestrians on the weekend made me go, 'This is not helping,'" Henderson said.
About 50, six-foot long concrete barriers were put in at the corners of the unusually broad intersection. The intention was to eventually make way for more permanent islands that would make it narrower and safer for both vehicles and pedestrians.
The pilot project was part of the city's neighbourhood renewal program focused on revitalizing and rebuilding roads, sidewalks and streetlights.
Residents confused
City spokesperson Holly Budd said the city received feedback from residents about "unsafe pedestrian activity occurring around the barriers."
People were forced to walk onto the road to get around them.
Earlier in the week, CBC News spoke to residents with concerns about the negative impact of the barriers.
Debby Waldman, who lives on the corner, said they were "complete overkill" and that the city was not listening.
"We were basically told, 'Your opinion doesn't count for anything, even though you are the ones sitting here every day observing whether or not there is a problem, and it doesn't matter to us that we're inconveniencing you,'" she said.
"If you check with anyone on the block, they'll say this is a bit stupid," he said.
"This is somebody who's got too much time on their hands, who's studied too much of high-density traffic somewhere else and is trying to create a solution to no problem. To me, it's really silly."
Henderson said after a small meeting with residents living around the intersection, the city realized the need to revisit the plan.
Exploring options
Budd said plans to revitalize the intersection aren't dead in the water.
"We've put an end to this trial, but we'll still be exploring options for this intersection," she said.
Henderson said he was thankful the barriers weren't permanent.
"Clearly, the original idea that might have looked OK on paper just didn't work in practice and I'm really glad we figured it out by doing a temporary measure rather than pouring in concrete," he said.
The city intends to organize another meeting with residents who live in the area to figure out how to address issues with the intersection. Henderson gave examples of missing curbs and pieces of sidewalk in the neighbourhood.
"I think this is a really anomalous intersection," he said.
"We'll go back to work with the community now understanding what the problem is in a different kind of way and sit down and play with cones and play with paper and see if we can come up with a better answer."
roberta.bell@cbc.ca
@roberta__bell
