Williams Parkway Redesign A Step Closer

The City of Brampton has completed a study for improvements to Williams Parkway from Dixie Road to Torbram. The study was commissioned in 2020 after Council requested staff to reevaluate a previous recommendation that would have seen the road widened from 4-6 lanes, See June 2020 BikeBrampton blog where different options were considered.

The study supports the City’s transition to a more sustainable urban design approach where the focus is on moving people comfortably, safely and efficiently through the use of various transportation modes including walking, cycling, and transit in addition to cars.

This revised approach aligns better with Brampton’s adoption of a Complete Streets policy where streets are safe and accessible for all users, regardless of their age, ability, or transportation mode choice. Complete streets are designed to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars and encourage compact walkable communities with mixed-use developments (residential/commercial) that are close to transit.

This change of approach is driven by the reality that it is not possible to build sufficient road space to accommodate projected traffic volumes if the population grows as forecasted and if personal automobiles continue as the option of choice for the vast majority of transportation trips. The only way to address traffic congestion is to make more efficient use of our roads by encouraging people to use transit and active transportation, (walking, cycling, e-bikes/scooters, etc.), especially for short and medium distance trips.

Changing transportation habits has many ancillary benefits.

  • HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES – Communities are healthier because physical activity becomes part of daily living.
  • STREETS ARE SAFER – Average traffic speeds are slower meaning streets are safer for all road users with fewer collisions, serious injuries and deaths.
  • STREETS ARE MORE EFFICIENT – Reduced traffic speed does not necessarily mean longer transit times. Lower traffic speeds can actually improve traffic flow by reducing sudden braking and the incident of crashes.
  • GOOD FOR BUSINESS – The local economy flourishes. People have more disposable income because they are not spending so much on cars, gas, and maintenance. Compact communities also encourage shopping locally so more dollars stay with the local economy.
  • BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT – Carbon emissions and pollutants are dramatically reduced because there are fewer cars on the road.

Achieving these benefits means that, by 2041, 50% of the morning and afternoon peak trips period transportation trips will need to be by a mode other than single occupancy vehicles. That’s down from 65% today. Changing transportation habits requires streets to be more approachable and accessible with trees and other landscaping features that reduce noise, filter the air, and provide shade, make walking and cycling more pleasant and generally making the streets beautiful. Streets must also be designed to improve road safety for vulnerable road users, meaning narrower streets, slower average speeds, and safety improvements such as refuge islands and clear sight-lines.

Williams Parkway today

We are still a few years away from completion, but this is this type of road that is being proposed for the Williams Parkway reconstruction from Dixie to Torbram. When complete, this road section will have narrower lanes, 3.0 meter wide multi-use paths on either side, and plenty of landscape amenities to keep us cool and comfortable.

Williams Parkway as proposed
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