Toronto will begin rolling out a program to narrow traffic lanes on the city's streets. The new lane policy, recently completed, was in the works for the past year.
"Toronto will narrow many of the city’s traffic lanes in a bid to increase safety by reining in speeds while freeing up space for bicycle lanes or wider sidewalks," reports Oliver Moore.
According to the plan, "over a period of years, the lanes on streets across the city will be redrawn…The new lanes will generally range from 3 to 4.3 metres, depending on location."
The city's Transportation Services department is pitching the project as a public safety concern, and responds to critics concerned about congestion by claiming that adjusting traffic signal timing can mitigate the effects of the smaller lanes.
The post goes on to detail more of the changes expected for Toronto's streets and lays some credit for the changes at the feet of Jeff Speck, who recently made a plea to end 12-foot-wide lanes in the United States.
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