Study asks change in lights at Laird and McRae/Wicksteed

The volunteer South Leaside Traffic Committee members led by Erica Cooke have a proposal before City traffic department which would simplify the movement of cars and pedestrians at the tricky corner where Laird Drive meets McRae Dr and Wicksteed Ave. The corner has been a confusion since the roadways were laid out in the early part of the last century. There is no easy solution

RIGHT NOW

Right now, traffic on McRae and Wicksteed get separate green lights for through traffic and left turns. For part of that cycle, eastbound McRae traffic gets a green for both straight on and turns together. Westbound Wicksteed vehicles deal with two sets of lights (above) which often leave drivers wondering whether to stop or go.

PROPOSAL

The SLTC is asking the City to install a three-phase protocol which would leave the Laird lights as they are but would stop eastbound vehicles completely while the westbound goes both straight on and left. The full stop would then apply to westbound traffic while eastbound had full green. Here is how the committee states it:

  • Phase One. 2 and 4 remain unchanged. When they are green, 1 and 3 are red.
  • Phase Two. 3 would get a dedicated green light. Through traffic and turns will be permitted and unencumbered. There will still be a turning lane and a through/right turn lane for 3. 1, 2 and 4 will be red at this time.
  • Phase Three. 1 will get a dedicated green light. Through traffic and left turns onto NB Laird from the only remaining lane will be permitted. 2, 3 and 4 will be red at this time.

REDWAY ROAD

The much sought-after extension to Redway Road is complicated by legal and conservation concerns. The tracks which carry CP traffic are now owned by Metrolinx. Why this should be a problem is unclear. But there is much opposition to an extension related to the nearby Crothers Woods nature area in the close-in Don Valley. Still, there seems to be room to build a two lane road which would end at Bayview Ave. with traffic lights. Given the enormous relief that this extension would bring to busy Southvale Drive, it seems reasonable that a more thorough and explicit explanation be made as to why it is not possible.