One-ways are the wrong way for Sturgeon Falls

One-way streets in downtown Sturgeon Falls will be a no-go, as West Nipissing council feels that’s the wrong direction to take.

This past August, some Sturgeon Falls residents submitted a petition to council requesting to turn Main and King Streets into one-way streets with diagonal parking along one side of the street. The petition was created by longtime resident and Main Street business owner, Tracy Renaud, who felt the reimagined traffic flow would “reduce the risks of vehicle collisions and accidental impacts that are caused by attempting to parallel park.”

Renaud thought the changes would improve the area and reduce “the frustration related to traffic flow and parking in the downtown core.” Over 110 people signed the petition, which asked municipal staff to look into the feasibility of the request.

See related: Residents call for one-way traffic in Sturgeon Falls

Elizabeth Henning, the municipality’s director of infrastructure, took the helm on the project. She reminded council that although “one-way streets are intended to improve traffic flow, this typically results in higher traffic speeds.”

Two-way streets, such as Main and King “are safer than one-way streets because of decreased speed and better driver attention,” Henning noted in her report to council.

She also drew from The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, specifically from its Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, which details “that parallel parking is preferred over angled parking” as the former is deemed considerably safer – better visibility when leaving the parking space.

“The idea may seem great to some people, but when you think of how you would implement it, I don’t think it’s reasonable,” Councillor Kris Rivard noted, adding that without left-hand turn lanes, congestion could build rather than reduce along those streets.

Council agreed changing those streets to one-way thoroughfares wasn’t the way to go, and voted to maintain the status quo – Main and King will remain two-way streets with parallel parking on both sides.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.