Cardston Main Street Revitalization - Business Owner Consultation

Parallel parking? Seriously? There isn't enough parking on Main Street with angle parking! Can you imagine the traffic delays waiting for somebody to actually successfully parallel park? I can't believe you/we actually paid somebody to come up with this idea. Unbelievable.

I just took a closer look at Option 1, and have a few more thoughts. First, let me reiterate, Option 2 - parallel parking - shouldn't never have made the drawing board stage. Ridiculous. You've eliminated the mid-block crosswalks at the TD bank and Home Hardware. Is this wise? You're only encouraging jay walking. It would be better to install flashing lights at the existing crosswalks. Not covered by this plan, but a good idea, would be to install a crosswalk in front of the Post Office as well. Tons of jay walking there. I'm concerned about the placement of the bike lanes as well. You're making people who are going to and from their cars cross the bike paths in order to get to the sidewalks. You're also putting the bike lanes right next to the sidewalks - way too easy for pedestrians and bicycles to encroach on each other. As a cyclist this concerns me. With the proliferation of e-bikes you're endangering both pedestrians and cyclists. Put the bike lanes between the angle parking and the traffic lanes. Treat the bicycles as the vehicles they are, especially e-bikes. Reduce the speed limit from 1st Ave to the bridge to 25 km/h. The exit from FasGas is too narrow, and not angled correctly. For a better angle look at the exit from the KFC drive through. Also, a traffic light at 2nd Ave should be considered. It's a very busy intersection. I realize the hill in the northbound lane can be problematic in the winter, but more diligence in spreading sans there would help. I realize that technically that's Volker's responsibility, but it would make sense to work it out with them for the town to be allowed to sand that slope. More aggressive bypass signage for the southbound lane entering town from the north on Highway 2. Perhaps restrict the weight/size of trucks allowed on Main Street. Thanks for allowing our input.

Please “NO” to parallel parking on Main Street! No, no, no. I can parallel park very well, but it’s going to congest traffic so much and make it nearly impossible to find parking. You would limit the amount of people stopping to shop.

Parallel parking is a bad idea, period. Far less parking available on mainstreet to access businesses. Slowing of traffic as people are parking causing increased congestion especially if you’ve now narrowed the traffic lanes to accommodate a bike path. The loss of mid block crossing is terribly unfortunate. People will not walk to the corners to cross and there will be an increase of pedestrian jaywalkers. You’ve traded biker safety for pedestrian safety if the loss of these crossings was caused by adding the bike lane. Also, easier access to the newly added public washroom facilities and rest station behind TD will be lost. The loss of turning lanes at the intersections will greatly backup traffic. As it is now waiting to safely back out of a parking stall on mainstreet can take forever with the steady passing of traffic. At least part of that traffic filters out when there’s a red light, as some turn right at the intersection, thinning out the congestion. Actual turning lanes are not currently designated but have been used as there’s space, and they are NEEDED to facilitate a more timely, fluid flow of traffic. I’m guessing with all of the space lost to bump outs that the parking spaces will again be narrowed, after just increasing the width, which has been an improvement in my opinion. I’m not sure a second fully operated traffic light is the answer as much as a pedestrian crossing lights for the intersection at 4th and Main. I fear having traffic stopping at two intersections will cause even more traffic congestion back up in the 2nd to 3rd block. That being said turning onto Main Street from 4th E can be difficult at times as well as turning north from 4th W, mostly because visibility is obscured. Again though, without a right turning lane from 4th to main, traffic is really going to back up along 4th W, especially around the beginning/ending school times, and also 2nd and Main coming from the post office. A designated bike Lane can add safely to biker’s and pedestrians, provided they are actually used properly, but I fear that there are many who will ride wherever it suits them, in traffic or on the sidewalk, as rules just don’t seem to apply to them as it is. These are my opinions.

I think anyone who is even considering parallel parking knows nothing of the issues on main street. Most people can't parallel park. Can you imagine trying to park in the winter on the hill. We have issues on main street that many people won't even walk down main street. If they can't park in front of the store they want to go to they won't stop. So thinking people will park in the back parking lots is not going to happen. You hold a meeting from 2-4 and expect people to leave their business to come. Its sad you have wasted money even considering this. Should have done your homework first.

I can't believe that our town council would even consider spending the money on a project like this (let alone spend it on designs) when there are other important areas in town that need improvement. We just got the parking stalls wider which is so much better and now you want to revamp Main Street into a nightmare? What's wrong with our town? There are so many other areas that are more important to spend money on.

In addition to my previous comments, with the elimination of the mid block crossings it will increase the incidents of people driving across the center line to park on the opposite side of the street, as they won’t take a spot on the otherside if they have to walk to the corner to cross.

I just barely heard about this parallel parking business today. I can’t think of a worse idea for our downtown. We have so many seniors in our community who would find this a nightmare. We have enough trouble trying to keep people in town to shop locally so just add parallel parking to the mix and watch them scoot out of town. Sometimes you can hardly get a place to park anyway with parallel parking it would be even worse. Please don’t even consider this.

My thoughts: It is unwise to reduce the number of parking spots on Main St. I noticed a puprosed parking lot a block away. With our aging population this will be a challenge for seniors to use and walk the block to store fronts especially in the winter. I like the idea of a bike lane in any community! But in front of the parking spots? I feel you will have issues with pedestrians getting hit. I wouldn't remove any of the crosswalks on Main Street. The one in front of the hardware store has a lot of foot traffic to and from the theatre in the summer and you will see an increase in jay walking. When your talking revitalization. I think the focus should be on getting the sidewalks and property fronts cleaned up rather than changing the traffic flow. May be time to encourage owners of empty buildings to beautify and clean them up, and increasing a bylaw presence to reduce vandalization that is expensive for property owners.

While Cardston could use a facelift on Main Street, I feel like there are several pieces missing from both of these designs. I personally drive through the corner of 4th avenue and Main Street multiple times a day - I agree - this needs a traffic light! However, I don’t feel like eliminating the crosswalk in front of home hardware is a good move. People will cross whether there is a crosswalk or not, and let’s be real, that is a high foot traffic area. In addition, I am worried about the placement of the cycling lane. As a cyclist myself, I see value in a bike lane. HOWEVER, I do not see it a wise move to force pedestrians (kids and elderly especially) across a bike lane to get to their car. The idea of a bike lane encourages cyclists to move quickly, which is unsafe in both of these scenarios. Cardston is a community where, on a week day, the current parking on Main Street is overflowing. I personally drive on 2nd avenue towards Main Street, then down Main Street to stop at Atkins every single week day to pick up my son from his grandparents. I cannot count how many times parking is very scares, forcing me to park around the corner or drive around the block in hopes something opens up. Parallel parking would drastically reduce parking, which is not what this community needs. With our high population of elderly, we can’t expect people to walk to businesses. To be fair, I’m not old, and yet I would not stop at a store if there was no parking. I don’t even stop as frequently as I should to get the mail because of the limited parking. I know for a fact parallel parking would be detrimental to our businesses, and the community should be making improvements that help our businesses thrive; angle parking is not the solution. While I see the necessity of traffic lights being placed at 4th avenue and Main Street, I feel that both of these options have pieces that are detrimental to the community.

First, redevelopment info such as this should’ve gone to everybody’s mailboxes so we would know about it. I don’t feel citizens should be hearing about this through social media. Second, parallel parking and a bike path on main street/provincial highway is ridiculous. There are many days that I go downtown only to find no parking available. People already don’t stop for pedestrians like they should, and bikes would only increase hazards along that street/highway. Also, traffic will back up while people are attempting to parallel park because, let’s face it, most people suck at it.

I'm no longer a resident of Cardston but I grew up there and visit on a regular basis. I saw these plans and was intrigued by the thought of a revitalization but as soon as I saw these plans I was very confused... Parallel parking makes absolutely no sense in my mind, especially in Cardston where the streets are easily wide enough to facilitate angle, not to mention how long parallel parking takes compared to angle. Because of this, I don't think this option will be chosen in the end. As for the angle parking design, it looks pretty, but the amount of infrastructure lost to massive amounts of traffic control curbs and cement islands is insane. 2 pedestrian crossings, and unofficial turning lanes are lost to this plan. What would make more sense is to go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan that includes right turning lanes, and more visible flashing lights at the existing mid block crosswalks. If the goal is to make downtown more pedestrian friendly, then you need to have ways for them to cross safely, so smoother traffic flow and mid-block crosswalks are a must. Even a speed limit reduction would make sense. As for the bike lanes, I don't see why not. There's enough space on the road for them. Safer than the riders being on the sidewalk or road, and it does provide a buffer between the parking and pedestrians. In the end these are very early concept plans and I think that needs to be remembered. Early proof of concepts are almost NEVER what ends up actually happening, so I don't think it's worth worrying that one of these will end up happening exactly how it's layed out in the concept drawings.

My thoughts on parallel parking - are you freaking kidding me? I can't believe it is even being considered, let alone spending tax payers $$ on such a thing. Some of us seniors do good to angle park let alone try to parallel park. I can't even imagine the nightmare parallel parking would create. Why does "one step forward, 2 steps back" come to mind?

Firstly, Parallel parking will not provide enough parking, no way, absolutely not a viable option; Nor is parking a block away. Secondly, a Cycling Lane is not safe. Those with baby carriages, wheelchairs, or patrons shopping with their elderly family members in walkers, and children running around, would be at risk where cycling would pose an immediate danger -- having a cycling lane that shoppers, mothers, and elderly would have to walk across to get to their cars - especially in the snow and ice. It's not safe, not with our steep hills. If it's just a thoroughfare from Hwy 3 to the bridge then using a side street would be a more safe approach, by avoiding such a busy main street that has continual traffic, in/out fast food driveways, large trucks, trailers and RV's that block visibility, It's not clear why bicycling lanes (or does this include skateboards? scooters? roller skates, other??) that tend to run over pedestrians are even being considered in such a busy area. It would seem more appropriate to route this proposed "Cycling" path through a less busy, more safe side street instead. 1. What is needed : -- Are flashing lights and highly painted cross walks where pedestrians cross the street when not at a corner. These areas need improvement. Pedestrians tend to just walk out, no warning, no lights and am very concerned someone is going to get hurt. -- Dogs not on leashes need to be removed - immediately, and taken to the pound. They are intimidating, jump up on people, and run out into the street without warning and am again very concerned an accident will be caused. -- Loitering outside of shops where many times I have witnessed groups of men entering shops inebriated, asking for money from a lone lady in her store, and young men looking into parked cars. Not being a safe environment needs to be addressed first. Please reconsider prioritizing what is really needed.

Please don’t change from angle parking in Main Street! Some days it is hard enough to find a parking spot and considering the aging population that has a hard enough time angle parking, can you imagine them trying to parallel park?!!