Bradford St. revitalization project could include roundabouts

Barrie residents had their last chance to have their say on how one of the city’s main thoroughfares downtown could be revitalized.

The final Public Information Center (PIC) was held on Tuesday evening and allowed people to see the proposed final design concept which would drastically change the look of Bradford Street from Dunlop to Tiffin Streets.

The Bradford Street Corridor Environmental Assessment (EA) took place practically last night and lasted about 90 minutes. About 30 people took part in the Zoom call. Similar meetings were previously held on January 27 and June 22.

One of the main views presented at the meetings is that while the surrounding land is being rehabilitated and population densities are increasing, it is important to create enough street and pedestrian space while taking into account the needs of the environment.

While the design concept has a detailed vision of what Bradford Street could look like a decade from now, there is still work to be done.

The city says the layout of sidewalk, bike lane and street space zones could be rearranged within the boulevard if desired and if deemed more appropriate for the nature of the proposed developments.

A graphic made available to participants in the Zoom call shows pedestrian zones with a total height of 8.1 meters, with sidewalk, setback and buffer at 3.1 meters, a bike lane at two meters and the boulevard/curb area at three meters.

While there would be two lanes in each direction for vehicular traffic, there would also be a central reservation with grass and trees in the middle.

With regard to vehicle traffic, two options are being examined.

One draft calls for roundabouts, but the signaled intersections are seen as more desirable for a number of reasons, including better accessibility for the hearing and visually impaired, the ability to integrate transit, and lower construction costs.

One of the main concerns of residents on the Zoom call was the speed at which many vehicles are currently traveling on Bradford Street.

The project aims to help make downtown more accessible to the proposed Allandale Transit Mobility Hub, rather than traveling what one moderator described as a “more scenic route of Lakeshore Drive.”

The following sections are considered for the study:

— Bradford Street from Dunlop Street to Tiffin Street

— High Street from Dunlop Street to Bradford Street

— Simcoe Street from Toronto Street to Bradford Street

— Tiffin Street from Bradford Street to Lakeshore Drive

With the final PIC now complete, the next steps will be to gather input from Tuesday’s meeting and finalize a preferred solution and environmental study report, both of which should be ready by the winter of 2023. Completion of pre-work study would also be expected around this time.

For more information about the project when it becomes available, click here.