The Strathcona Standard

If you don’t like the traffic changes made to Hilchey Road in the last five years, you’re not alone.

  “I was just driving down the street the other day with my wife and she turned to me and said, ‘we need to fix this road, quickly,’” said Coun. Sean Smyth during council’s Feb. 12 meeting. “She’s tired of hearing me tell her all about how I hate it.”

  Council reviewed a letter from a Hilchey Road resident, pleading with the city to make changes to the road, before someone gets killed.

  “I’m desperate to see action before there’s a child fatality on this road, and the blood will be on your hands if you do nothing,” wrote Emma Johannson.

  She says her concerns are purely for safety, and that it’s not about hating bike lanes or being resistant to change. She says since the road was changed there have been numerous incidents of drivers crashing into parked cars, pedestrians experiencing near-misses, and children facing dangers from cars, bikes, and e-scooters as they try to get to and from Penfield Elementary School.

  She offers a simple solution.

  “Get rid of the failed bike lanes on Hilchey, return street parking against the curbs, put a sidewalk in on the north side (or a bike lane, above the curb, more protected from traffic),” she suggests.

  Her letter included several photos of car crash scenes she’s witnessed on Hilchey.

  “It’s about the safety of our community. Please, make Hilchey Road safe again,” she says, pointing out nearby Simms Road would make a better bike route, similar to how Birch Street was configured to encourage north-south cycle traffic instead of adding lanes to Dogwood or Alder.  

  Hilchey Road was changed after council in 2021 approved adding bike lanes and moving street-side parking to the road side of the bike lane. The project was budgeted to cost around $150,000. Since it was completed, the road has been a constant source of public complaints and headaches for the city.

  “Several council members live in the neighbourhood adjoining  Hilchey Road, so we’re very familiar with the difficulties and how uncomfortable of a drive it is,” said Coun. Susan Sinnott.

  On Feb. 12, council directed staff to “report back and provide design options for improvements to Hilchey Road, with a desired outcome of enhancing safety for both cyclists, vehicle users and pedestrians.”

  The improvements will be part of an updated Master Transportation Plan, and implemented later this year.

Council will review staff recommendations at a future meeting.