Town holds public meeting to hear thoughts, discuss future of Queensgate Boulevard

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

Back on Feb 25, the Town of Caledon held a public meeting at the Albion Bolton Community Centre to listen to the thoughts of local residents on the revitalization of Queensgate Blvd. 

The study done by the Town, has been put together to assess the possibility of a lane reconfiguration from the current four-lane set up, into a three-lane roadway, with left hand turning lanes. 

Council has also given thought to integrating bike lanes on both sides of the road to accommodate cyclists, while also maintaining the flow of traffic.  

The boulevard is currently equipped with two four-way stops, and two sets of lights. 

The Town has come up with three different alternatives on how to improve Queensgate Boulevard, including, adding bike lanes, developing urban shoulders and widening curb lanes/sharrows. 

The public meeting is one of the steps of the planning process to implement these changes. Their goal is to acquire feedback from the public, to help formulate a final plan.

There are eight steps to the planning process, making the consulting with the public number four on the list. Once clear and effective feedback is given, the next step will be to choose the measures to implement. 

“We're at the stage of consulting with the public and then, based on what we hear tonight, we'll go through the remainder of the steps, so making sure that what we hear tonight, is where we're heading,” said one of the Town's staff. “The Town will then get into the actual implementation.”

According to the information on the Town of Caledon website, the following considerations include,

Preserving enough capacity for traffic

Preserving existing sidewalks

Preserving the current roadway width

Converting four-lane into three-lane roadway, adding bike lands on both sides to utilize roadway space

Possible on-road bicycle lanes, infrastructure, facilities

Possible additional pedestrian crossing across Queensgate Boulevard

“Providing more premium facility for cyclists, but generally it's about enhancing safety, and traffic calming,” said Arash Olia from the Town of Caledon. 

For more information about the revitalization of Queensgate Boulevard and to have your say, visit caledon.ca.