Sunnyside residents say they face unintended consequences of Memorial Drive closures
Several Sunnyside residents who live along 5A St. NW are fed up with drivers speeding and cutting through their neighbourhood, to avoid Memorial Drive back-ups.
Alex Jackson and his young family enjoy going for walks in the neighbourhood, but say some drivers treat their street as a racetrack.
“Talk 24 months or 36 months, that people have seen an increased flow of traffic, and an increased rate of speed," Jackson said.
He believes the city has not been answering the calls of concerned residents for years and that there have been too many close calls, with vehicles nearly hitting pedestrians.
“It almost seems like the community is being stonewalled,” he said.
“It’s a real shame to sort of see this happening, I mean its certainly crossed our mind, the thought of moving to a different part of the community, or a different community altogether.”
Jackson isn’t the only one, as John Thorpe says his child, who is under six was almost clipped by a driver while riding a bike.
“We had an incident where a gentleman did get a little bit close with us on the side of the road, he’d didn’t slow down, he didn’t take a wide berth around us at all,” he said.
“We got into a verbal altercation. It didn’t result in anything, but it’s just one of those situations you’d want to avoid altogether.”
Residents say since the adaptive roadway system along Memorial Drive came into place last year, due to COVID-19, more and more drivers are taking short cuts through their residential streets to get to 10th St. NW.
Director of Roads for the city Troy McLeod says that there is no closure date of the adaptive roadway just yet, but the city "will monitor" the situation.
“As fall and winter weather approaches, we will suspend this weekend operation,” said McLeod.
Memorial Drive’s eastbound lanes are closed to vehicle traffic on weekends to allow for more spacing between cyclists and pedestrians.
For Thorpe he already knows what could slow traffic.
“I’ve suggested speed bumps along the streets, because I know that works in other neighbourhoods like Hillhurst,” said Thorpe.
Ward 7 councillor Druh Farrell tells CTV News this has been a problem that pre-dates COVID-19 and that the city is looking at long term solution to cut-through traffic in Sunnyside.
She says the key is to get traffic calming and "ideally" some diverters.
In May, residential speed limits were reduced from 50 kilometres per hour to 40.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.