Photo radar latest safety measure pitched for collision-prone Main Street
Add photo-radar cameras to the list of fast-tracked safety measures Hamilton is eyeing for collision-prone Main Street.
Council voted in May to convert the five-lane, one-way arterial to two-way traffic in the face of rising public outrage over a record number of pedestrian deaths.
That conversion won't happen fast - but the city has also vowed to make short-term" safety changes on the street.
Signs banning right turns at most red lights were added last month, while work to adjust traffic signal timings started Wednesday to give pedestrians more time to cross busy, collision-prone intersections.
Also on Wednesday, the public works committee unanimously signed off on a plan to designate sections of both Main and King streets as community safety zones."
That designation means higher penalties for those caught speeding in those zones - and also allows the city to set up photo-radar cameras. The committee endorsed rotating the speeder-catching cameras through four locations on Main and King between January and May next year.
On Main Street, the cameras are slated to be set up between Dundurn Street and Queen Street and between Gage Avenue and the Delta. On King Street, the cameras will be added between Dundurn and Locke Street and Gage and Lottridge Street.
Other short-term changes are coming to Main Street this month and before the end of the year, including:
- repainting the widest section of Main, between Dundurn Street and Sherman Avenue, to cut the number of traffic lanes from five to four. (Timing: that work could begin next week);
- signal timing changes and new countdown" clocks designed to make it safer for pedestrians crossing intersections. (Timing: ongoing);
- more zebra crossings painted at pedestrian crossing locations. (Timing: started in July);
- adding new strategic street parking in curb lanes to further narrow the road and create a buffer for pedestrians on the sidewalk. (Timing: can start after bylaw ratification at Friday's council meeting.)
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com