Traffic is slow on this Charlottetown street, on purpose
The City of Charlottetown wants to know how efforts to slow traffic on a residential street are going over with the people who live there, and with drivers.
Gay Avenue in Parkdale is just one block long. For a month now, orange pylons and signs at each end of the street advise drivers to slow down for pedestrians and cyclists.
"I just like the fact that there's less traffic on the street. As a parent, I feel safer with the kids out playing," said Aaron Mills, who lives on Gay Avenue.
Cars and trucks are still allowed and pedestrians and cyclists are advised to give way to cars. On Monday afternoon, with children in school, Gay Avenue was wide open and empty; the only cars visible were parked in driveways.
"After supper that's when all the kids come out to play and the street fills up," said Mills. "There's a lot of biking, street hockey, just regular kid's stuff going on and kids just hanging out. It's definitely a positive experience."
However, the owner of a daycare at the foot of Gay Avenue is concerned about the safety of children who start playing in the street in the pilot project zones.
"As an early childhood educator, I would say no matter what the circumstances, children should not play in a street," said Nicole Ford, owner of Super Stars Daycare on Orlebar Street.
Some parents were using Gay Avenue to get their toddlers to and from Super Stars. Ford said she's heard no complaints from parents about the slow street pilot project.
Green Party MLA Karla Bernard lives on Gay Avenue. She told CBC News she supports the initiative, but was not involved in the city's choice of which streets to include.
The pilot project has already hit a few road bumps.
Garbage collection during the first week was interrupted as the trucks couldn't make the turn with the pylons placed where they were. City crews have since moved the pylons so larger vehicles can get through.
The city also planned to designate W. Burns Street as a slow street too, but residents said "no thanks" to the pilot project shortly after it began on their street — due to garbage collection problems in the first week. Another test site has since been setup on King Street, between Prince and Great George Streets.
What do you think?
City officials said the slow streets are producing results. Traffic volumes and speeds are lower at the two test sites.
"So far it's in the direction we'd hoped," said Scott Adams, manager of the city's public works department.
"Whenever you deploy a new technology, you usually see a good response in the beginning but we'll see how that holds."
The pilot project runs through mid-October. The City of Charlottetown public works department is encouraging city residents to contact them with feedback.
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