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Vol. 7 • Issue 58
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New editor named
Leafs fall to third place Drop two straight road games
Reporter also hired
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Sibling sledders Four-year-old Luca Gluckman volunteered to take his sister Lila, 6, who has a broken leg, for a spin around the Lions Park skating rink on Sunday afternoon. Will Johnson photo
The latest conceptual plan for Nelson’s Stores to Shores downtown revitalization proposes a new solution to address blind spots at one of the city’s knottiest corners. The intersection of Hall and Vernon streets would be moved slightly south onto level ground and turned into a four-way stop, with “bulb outs” on the corners to shorten pedestrian crossings. Revised sketches presented to city council Monday also show two-way traffic returning to Hall Street between Baker and Vernon, presently a southbound one-way. The rest of Hall would also be open to two-way traffic. Currently east and westbound traffic on Vernon stops at Hall but it’s hard to see vehicles coming up the hill from the south, which don’t have to stop at Vernon. Under a previous proposal, vehicles heading up Hall would be forced to turn right on Vernon. However, public works director Colin Innes said that would have affected traffic flow and reduced accessibility to some downtown buildings. The new plan “will give much better flexibility and isn’t forcing everyone down Vernon,” he told the Star. “The overall concept is to improve visibility for drivers and with bulb outs improve
it for pedestrians so crossings are much shorter and safer.” The redesigned intersection is part of the project’s first phase, expected to begin in February, pending a final round of public consultation. However, Innes said it’s not expected to increase costs: “Instead of making concrete medians to make vehicles go one way, we’re just changing the approach. We may go through some growing pains, but we’re certainly eager to see how this unfolds.” Other traffic modifications are proposed for portions of Park, Cedar, High, and Baker streets. Improvements are also planned for the intersection of Hall Street and the community complex parking lot. While he had some concerns, councillor Michael Dailly praised the plan on the whole. “I’m really happy about the redesign of Hall and Vernon and making it more pedestrian friendly,” he said. “We have a large number of people in town who walk and ride bikes and it’s time we design streets and sidewalks to consider them so it’s not a mad dash across as cars speed up the hill.” However, two other councillors panned the concept: Janice Morrison said she supports infrastructure upgrades along Hall Street and associated beautification projects, Continued on Page 4
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