Stroads

Stroads? Where we’re going we don’t need Stroads.

You are likely asking, “What is a stroad?” You would know it if you saw it but it’s harder to describe. So to help explain what a stroad is, please take a look at this video from the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes.

At a recent Urban Planning meeting, we had a report back on a motion I made earlier this year. The motion was:

“That Administration provide a report on expanding the use of pedestrian through zones as identified in the Complete Streets Design and Construction Standards to enhance accessibility in our City. This report is to include the following:

1. An overview of how expanded pedestrian through zones and accessibility enhancements are currently considered as part of improvements to our mobility network.

2. An analysis of where increased use of pedestrian through zone enhancements would have the greatest impact (including GBA+ considerations).

3. An analysis of any impacts, considerations, and costs associated with an increased application of pedestrian through zones (drainage, maintenance, etc).”

For more information on why I made this motion, you can read through this blog post from March (https://andrewknack.ca/blog/completestreets).

After the meeting, we now have a clear plan to update our Complete Street Design and Construction Standards. While I am not a voting member of the committee, I had the opportunity to work with Councillor Salvador, who is on the committee, and Councillor Tang along with City staff on a motion to take action.

The motion approved by the Urban Planning Committee is:

“That Administration provide a report to Urban Planning Committee that includes stakeholder engagement and outlines:

How standards are determined for public realm infrastructure such as crosswalks, shared use paths, bike lanes, boulevards and sidewalks;

Proposed changes and analysis on what could be updated to be explicit to improve active transportation safety/accessibility and operational effectiveness, including standardization of raised crosswalks/intersections, pedestrian through zones, active pathways, boulevards, etc.”

What this means is our City Administration will look to standardize the improvements mentioned in the blog post linked above. If you watched the whole video linked at the top of the post, you will know that stroads are good for anyone. So whether you drive, walk, roll, bike, use transit, or a combination of those, it’s better for everyone to provide safer and more accessible transportation infrastructure.