Current photo of Keats Way Waterloo, Ontario
Keats Way is at the end of my block, and I hate it.
I hate it because itās an absolutely massive street and much of it isnāt actually a lane for cars or a bike lane, itās just unused pavement.
Current layout of Keats Way Waterloo, Ontario
Looking around the city, I found streets that were nicer; Keats Way west of Erbsville, for example, has a center median, which looks better but...
Possible layout of Keats Way with median
So what if we thought bigger?
Proposed layout of Keats Way, an inviting pedestrian & cycling thoroughfare
Why do you hate cars?
I donāt. This plan takes literally nothing away from cars. It just tries to make things suck less for everyone else
What about bus stops?
My suggestion would be to reduce greenery for bus stops, and for the school bus loading zone in front of Keats Way Public School
What about cars turning onto the streets intersecting with keats way?
Waterloo (and the Ministry of Transportation) have a model for cars crossing bike lanes, we see something similar on Lexington Road. I would suggest raised crosswalks & cycle-crossings here with pedestrian priority.
Who cares about groundwater infiltration?
The city does, you can get a rebate on your stormwater fees if you use a driveway material water can get through. Keats Way between University and Erbsville is >3.5KM long. Thatās a lot of driveway.
Why is moving pedestrians further from cars āgoodā?
The further you are from a car, the quieter it appears. Try holding a conversation while walking down Fisher-Hallman, itās a challenge. A little more space here should help reduce car volume, and give young walkers & cyclists more confidence.
Why not move the road further to one side, to make this even better!
I considered this, but: That would also move cars closer to peopleās houses, who might not like that. We tend to put storm drains at the side of roads, if we did that weād have to move them all. Thereās probably underground cables and pipes that might be very expensive to move We canāt move too much further without killing all the existing trees, letās not start from scratch landscaping wise.
Why do Keats Way? We should do _____ instead!
Why not both? I am 100% in support of making our city better for people!
How did you get these numbers, and how accurate are they?
We went out and measured! Measured from one point all the way across to avoid cumulative error. But this is "two people in the snow using a measuring tape from home depot" quality, not "surveyor" quality. Measurements were taken on Keats Way between Leighland & Thornlea (near the top of the hill so we could see cars coming!).
I have ideas, how can I talk to you?
You can talk to Paul on Twitter @preinheimer, or send him an email to preinheimer [@] hey.com.
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