BY NANCY KELLY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
The Village of Kingston wants the Department of Tranportation and Infrastructural Renewal (DTIR) to further its plans to make directional changes on two downtown streets.
In late November, petition letters were sent to village residents who would be affected by changes making Markland Road and Magee Drive one-way streets. Twenty-seven letters were sent to residents on Magee Drive and Bill Street; 44 letters were sent to Markland Road, Bishop Avenue and Varner Street residents. Feedback at a November public information meeting went into the letters.
A 33 per cent response rate was generated by Magee Drive and Bill Street residents. Seventy-eight per cent were in favour of changing Magee Drive to a southbound one-way street, an action village commissioners think will improve the flow of traffic on Main Street and reduce volume on Magee.
On the village’s proposal to block access on Markland Road at Bishop Avenue, respondents were 59 per cent in favour of reducing traffic on the street many drivers use as a connector between Bridge Street and the Superstore. Fifty per cent of residents polled in the area sent back a response. While some issues against the proposal were identified, Kingston’s Clerk-treasurer Greg Towne said close to 60 per cent of respondents agreed there is a need to reduce traffic on Markland.
“That is sufficient for the commission to go ahead with its plans.”
As roads are a provincial responsibility, results of the petition and a recommendation by the village commission to make the changes have been presented to DTIR for its consideration.
The village also plans to press DTIR about consolidating speed limits within the village. At the Feb. 10 meeting of the village commission, the issue of differing speed limits was raised again.
“This is an old subject,” said Doug Beaman, long an advocate for a single, reduced speed limit in the village, especially on Bridge Street.
“Right now, the speed limit is 50 km/ hour at Main Street, it goes up to 70 km/ hour as you head south (on Bridge Street) and then it drops back to 50 km/ hour as you near Greenwood.”
Other commissioners agreed the changing speed configuration makes no sense and is not safe in a mixed residential and commercial area.
