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Re: Cyclists decry death of Windsor’s Wyandotte Street ‘road diet’ proposal (May 30)
In his 2014 inaugural address, Mayor Drew Dilkens said: “Residents today are looking for more walkable, liveable communities where they don’t need a car to go and buy groceries, where they can sustain many elements of daily living within their own neighbourhoods.”
Hard to believe that, 10 years later, Windsor administration considers a road diet to be unfeasible along Wyandotte Street East. If this is truly so — based on the 2020 Corridor Review — why did they invite residents to public consultations in 2022?
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The results of these consultations show support for a road diet and protected bike lanes:
• 63 per cent of 710 survey respondents supported reducing the number of driving lanes from four to two and adding cycling infrastructure;
• 52 per cent would like bike lanes to be fully protected and not just buffered or painted;
• 60 per cent of those attending the physical public consultation who do not travel by bike through the Wyandotte Street corridor support reducing the number of driving lanes, and 50 per cent support protected bike lanes.
After many years of reports and public consultation, it was well-established that the neighbourhood will benefit from a calmed road that invites people to visit the shops and restaurants on foot or by bike.
While bike infrastructure is also needed along Riverside Drive, it shouldn’t be an either/or situation. Routing cyclists along Riverside will not allow them to safely access the commercial district on Wyandotte. It completely misses the point that Dilkens made in his inaugural address.
Killing the long-awaited Wyandotte Street road diet will encourage more car use and will not help the city reach its mode-share goals.
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This is out of place in the 21st Century.
It is not supported by the many residents who participated in the city’s consultations.
It does not address the strategies in Windsor’s Active Transportation Master Plan.
It lacks the ambition needed to achieve the vision Windsor embraces on paper.
It is certainly not a best practice.
Philippa von Ziegenweidt
Windsor
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