Consider This: From Speedway to Heed-way

Meadowvale residents of Mockingbird Lane in Ward 10 are understandably disturbed by the recurring incidents of speeding cars on their residential street. On April 9, 2009 Mississauga News reported a speeding BMW lost control and slammed into a house. Fortunately no one was killed – this time.

When this lane was built, I’m sure there were assumptions that it would host walkers, cyclists, kids at play, dogs being walked, and slow moving vehicles driving to or from the local residences. Currently, there is an underlying fear of being struck by a racing car. This recent incident proves that this fear doesn’t leave one’s mind once they are off the street and in their yard or house. The question is: How can this street be redesigned to provide not just safety, but live up to its true potential?

Last year, Mississauga Cycling posted an introduction to turning streets into a true community space that is livable and safe. See Consider This: Bicycle Boulevards. The post includes a video courtesy of NYC Streets Renaissance and StreetsBlog. The term “bicycle boulevard” can have different meanings depending on culture and context, but in this case it refers to reclaiming a street that is being used inappropriately by its current traffic. Mockingbird Lane isn’t necessarily a cross-town street being used as a high traffic thoroughfare; it needs to positively change its draw as a smooth, wide open drag strip that runs just under 1km in length.

“Road diets” are an urban planning concept that can be applied to Mockingbird Lane. Putting a road on a “diet” doesn’t necessarily mean making it smaller, but rather changes its layout where drivers have no doubt they should be driving with caution and care – even if there aren’t any speed limit signs or police presence. The road diet concept achieves its goals by appealing to the psyche of its “consumers”. In other words, if you build a road length that has smooth new pavement that is open and straight as an arrow, you are not only going to get road racers seeking it out, but also casual commuters will have a tendency to drive faster than how the road was intended. As mentioned in a StreetsBlog post called America’s Big Fat Road Problem, “People drive fast because it feels like they should. They see a wide road, and don’t give themselves much time to see anything else.”

As the Mississauga Cycling Master Plan draws near to its release-to-public date, communities across the city are being encouraged to plan their streets wisely and holistically. Mockingbird Lane is a clear candidate for forward-thinking design. Its residents demand a solution to drivers that are stealing their neighborhood life from them.

Consider how the combination of these and other proven street designs can provide a positive solution to Mockingbird Lane in Meadowvale:

Cars-in-the-middle

This delineates the roadway which basically keeps the cars in the centre and as you move to the outside of the roadway, there are then car parking spaces, followed by a bike lane, followed by a sidewalk. Simply putting paint on the road may not be enough for adequately slowing down traffic, but in this case would provide a basic framework to start with. Note that not all “livable” streets would have cars in the middle.

Home Zones

As outlined in a post from Livable Streets, home zones don’t have a cookie cutter design. They can be adapted to suit the needs of the neighborhood. Keep in mind that this isn’t an anti-car design, but one that treats a car as a guest to the streetscape, rather than having exclusive priority. The idea here is to take away a driver’s ability to see completely down to the end of the street from beginning to end. This will invariably slow down the speed. Vertical structures such as strategically placed trees and planters can accomplish this. Furthermore, putting in painted bricks on the road to mark common crossings and intersections (especially at the Snow Goose Lanes connections) are attractive reminders for drivers to heed their surroundings.

Speed Humps

Don’t confuse these with speed BUMPS. Speed humps are much more gradual and won’t be felt by cars going under 30 km/h. They are much less abrupt than speed bumps. Speed humps don’t put stress on car tires and suspension and are friendly to snow clearing equipment. They are painted with markings to alert drivers to their presence. They would be very affective at deterring speeding on Mockingbird Lane.

Multi-use Trail Integration

Mockingbird Lane has at least 4 schools nearby. Its residents are surrounded by well established bicycle and multi-use trails: Lisgar Meadow Brook Trail, Milgrove Trail, Winston Churchill Trail, and Osprey/Waxwing. Making Mockingbird Lane safe for pedestrians and bicycles makes sense for people in the area wanting to use Mississauga’s trail system. As well, it would provide a safe and viable way for students to get to school. Extending the Osprey Blvd. bike lane up to Trelawny Circle would give it the finishing touch.

These changes would naturally increase the human traffic to the area. Having people regularly strolling and cycling the streets is almost enough in itself to cause the average car driver to take heed, slow down, and have a raised awareness.

More Information

Sue McFadden, Mississauga Ward 10 Councilor, will be holding a public meeting regarding this incident. We encourage you to attend:

Community Meeting: Street Racing on Mockingbird Lanes 
Trelawny Public School at 3420 Trelawny Circle 
Monday, April 27, 2009 
7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

www.mississaugaward10.ca

One of the best ways to promote positive ideas in the city is to let your councilor know. Sue McFadden would be glad to hear from you. For information on contacting your councilor in Mississauga, please visit the City of Mississauga’s Mayor & Council site.

If you enjoyed the NYC Streets Renaissance films listed above, you will surely appreciate the Mississauga event Great Streets, Great Cities on April 22, 2009. It will feature New York City’s Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.