Local residents are pleased but not fully satisfied with outcomes of the Greenfield/Main/Hawthorne project

JOHN DANCE

After five years and $46.5 million of construction costs, the Greenfield, Main, Hawthorne (GMH)

project is almost finished. Major improvements to the infrastructure of much of the northern part of Old Ottawa East have been implemented, but local residents aren’t fully satisfied yet – they would like to see improvements to some of the new traffic restrictions and design features.

“This project has realized the following major benefits: full separation of sanitary and storm

sewers, improving system reliability and capacity; improved drinking water capacity and system redundancy; safe and more accessible active transportation corridors for vulnerable road users; street revitalization and adoption of new, accessible, street features; renewal of utilities, including burial of Hydro on Hawthorne Avenue, and parts of Main Street and Greenfield Avenue; and renewal of pavement, sidewalk, traffic signal, street lighting, signs and markings infrastructure,” says Bruce Kenny, the City’s manager of municipal design and construction.

“In spring, staff will complete the remaining minor landscaping and road line painting,” Councillor Shawn Menard noted at the recent OOECA annual general meeting. “[T]he city has reinstated 2.3 kilometres of roadway and 3.75 kilometres of new sidewalks. Underneath is over four kilometres of new separated storm and sanitary sewers and two kilometres of watermains that will last the next 50 to 100 years,” he said.

Residents’ perspectives

The Mainstreeter reached out to the OOE Grapevine Facebook users group to get residents’ perspectives on the project and, while the broad impacts of GMH were praised, there are several traffic details that, in many residents’ opinion, should be fixed.

Generally, residents thought: “The bike lanes are a huge improvement given how busy these roads are, and how close the area is to uOttawa and the downtown core”; “…It’s just nice not to be living in a dusty, noisy, vibrating construction zone”; “… I am happy with many of the safety improvements introduced for pedestrians and cyclists”; “… healthy trees were removed simply to keep the turning lane.”

Specific criticisms of residents focused on turning restrictions at Main-Greenfield and the Main-Colonel By intersections; the new traffic lights’ sequencing, timing, and inconsistencies; and the redesign of several corners at major intersections.

Main-Greenfield intersection

At the top of the list is the no-right-turn-on-red restriction for northbound Main Street traffic at Greenfield, coupled with the short green signal for these motorists. “The lag in getting a right-turn green at Greenfield appears excessive, given the limited volume of pedestrians or cyclists,” one person noted. Another commented, “I was waiting at the red to turn right on Greenfield off Main, when an impatient driver honked and actually pulled out and went around me to make the turn on the red!”

The consequence of delays for right-turning vehicles is that many north-bound Main drivers are turning right at Harvey Street, then proceeding north on Concord Street to get to Greenfield. One dissenting voice said, “The right turn at the corner of Main and Greenfield is great! … As a pedestrian, the number of near misses at that intersection pre-project was astounding. People would floor it through the red without bothering to look. It’s much safer now, and as a driver I don’t mind waiting a few extra seconds for the sake of safety.”

A second concern is the no-right-turn-on-red restriction on the north side of the Main – Greenfield intersection although this restriction was much-less cited than the similar restriction on the other side of Main and Greenfield. The design of the Main-Greenfield intersection was also criticized for the alignment of the Main Street northbound lane which “leads right into the [southbound] turn lane [to Greenfield] coming from Colonel By Drive.

Other issues pertaining to the intersection are signal sequencing that is the opposite of that used at Pretoria Bridge – Colonel By Drive; poor timing of “no-right-on-red” and walk signals, including the walk signal to cross Main being shorter than the walk-time to cross Greenfield; and unsafe left-turn conditions for southbound Main Street drivers turning onto Greenfield.

An ongoing concern is the no-left turn for northbound Main Street traffic at Colonel By. This was objected to during the design phase of the project, and while Main was one-way during reconstruction. As Nick Masciantonio said: “It is only a three-way intersection. There is no chance of vehicles colliding with this left turn.”

Southwest corners

Although the redesign of the corners at a number of the major intersections has made it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, the southwest corners of both Pretoria Bridge – Colonel By and Main – Hawthorne remain problematic.

Once again, the bollard that was supposed to protect pedestrians and cyclists at the Main – Hawthorne corner has been destroyed. Since the bollard was installed, it has been demolished two or three times, giving clear evidence of the continuing inadequacy of safe space for pedestrians and cyclists waiting there. Although the City made a number of improvements to keep vehicles off the sidewalk, they have not worked.

When asked about the damaged bollard, the response was: “The City is aware that it was recently damaged and has since been repaired. Upon final completion of the project, staff will continue to maintain and monitor the bollard, and review options for enhancing safety at the corner, as appropriate.” But after this response was provided to The Mainstreeter, the bollard was demolished again.

As for the southwest corner of Pretoria Bridge and Colonel By, Jay Miller, a Glebe resident who lives nearby, says the protective island that was installed should be removed and replaced with a curb that doesn’t extend as far towards Colonel By. This change, he suggests, would provide more space for pedestrians and cyclists waiting for the light to change and would also allow eastbound bridge traffic to more safely turn onto southbound Colonel By Drive.

Cycling improvements

In addition to considerable praise for new bike lanes (even though some of them remained closed at this writing), one respondent particularly liked the new bike path to connect to the Rideau Canal. “No more getting sworn at by irate commuters for riding in front of them! No more angry honking, people trying to run me off the road! And best of all for drivers: no more me in front of them slowing them down! Win-win for everyone.”

An outstanding issue is the absence of a dedicated southbound Main Street bike lane between Harvey and Graham. “As a cyclist, I have been often forced onto the sidewalk or cut off by a car from behind. Even the police told me to use the sidewalk during this stretch,” one person commented.

The Mainstreeter asked the City about this and was told, “The Transportation Master Plan includes a feasibility study for a southbound cycling facility on Main Street between the Highway 417 overpass and Lees Avenue to address the missing link. This study is in the ‘first phase’ of the Plan, meaning that it is expected to move forward within the next 7-10 years.” So, it may be a long time before this very busy section of Main Street has a protected southbound bike lane.

Safety audit proposed

Outgoing OOECA transportation chair Tom Scott served as a community focal point throughout the GMH project and regularly raised issues with project staff and Councillor Shawn Menard’s office. Scott shared his opinions on the project: “The City’s project staff remained relatively constant for the whole project and the councillor’s staff were engaged throughout, including Councillor Menard himself; there were a few let downs in community relations, but they were quickly identified and made a point for ongoing focus by staff, consultants and construction-contractors.”

“As the Main Complete Street project showed us, we need to re-do a roadway safety audit and receive recommendations to deal with conflict zones, compression points, dead-ends, and otherwise potentially dangerous locations – this would be detailed, boots-on-the-ground work over a period of time to see actual conditions at different times, different days and in different seasons,” Scott concluded.