Last night at Council, York Region presented a new pilot program to help alleviate traffic issues at the intersection of St. John’s Sideroad and Old Yonge Street. This area has long been a problem for traffic. During peak hours, turning left onto Old Yonge Street causes backups on St. John’s Sideroad. Unfortunately, traffic lights can’t be installed because the intersection is only about 100 meters from the main intersection of St. John’s and Yonge Street.
I have asked the Region to look at this issue many times and work on solutions. After months of analyzing traffic patterns, the Region has proposed a pilot program that prohibits left turns in all directions during peak hours, Monday to Friday. This would keep traffic flowing and eliminate the backlog caused by left turns.
The pilot will begin in mid-August with new signage being installed. For the first few weeks, enforcement will focus on educating drivers. The Region will be communicating this change to residents by sending out flyers to the neighborhood via mail, and the new on-street signs will be highly visible to make everyone aware of the new restrictions.
During this pilot, the Region will monitor traffic patterns. If the pilot is successful, the Region will re-evaluate after one year to see if the changes should become permanent or if additional changes are needed to improve traffic flow and safety in the area.
I want to thank the staff at the Region for their work, and I am hopeful that this pilot will be successful in the long term. I will keep everyone updated on when the on-street signs are installed and of the exact date that the restrictions will take effect.
8 Responses
Why aren’t you getting input from residents on this? This is massively impacting residents who live down in Valhalla heights neighborhood. Very dissapointed as someone that just moved to this neighbouring last year. Would love to chat further.
Taylor – discussion is unlikely. This is people trying to correct errors or poor planning from the past. Not the first time and certainly not the last. There are more of these problem intersections each week.
Aurora is becoming an entity which now prefers to focus on dictatorship like practices to avoid answering valid questions from citizens – dont forget that resident consultation costs money to the town and while at the same time they try to operate as a for profit organization rather than as a municipality
Too much divergence and in-fighting at city hall is eroding the efficiency of day to day decision making by staff
I agree with you that it will be horrible to have to access old yonge via yonge and batson rather than a simple left turn feom St Johns.
As someone who lives just off Old Yonge, this is unfortunate. I get the traffic issue but now it’s going to take me longer to leave for work and get home as I have to go all the way to Batson and Wellington to leave in the morning, going North to Newmarket, and to get home I have to go down at johns turn left at Wellington and make my way to Batson…
As someone who lives just north of this intersection on Yonge, this is the most ridiculous solution and will add so much wasted time commuting in the morning. Shouldn’t citizens get to vote on this? People will now have to unnecessarily drive to the next major intersection which can be 1-3 km further just to make a left hand turn and cause back up and back log at that next intersection. Example: going south on Yonge to make a left at St. John’s will mean you have to drive down to Wellington instead which is a nightmare of an intersection already. Driving east, someone will have to go ALL THE WAY to Bayview to make a left rather than on Yonge. That is a huge detour! The Yonge and St. John area is not developed well enough to allow for someone to make a left prior to this intersection or to get around through smaller subdivision streets. Why wouldn’t the solution be to make a longer advanced left hand turn light during peak traffic hours?
My apologies you can delete the above comment I made as I thought this pertained to Yonge Street and St John and not OLD Yonge Street. The image made it seem as though this was a 4 way intersection.
This decision should not have been made without resident input. Very disappointed in our council for not letting the very people they represent have a say. How about just extending the advance green light times going westbound in the afternoon and eastbound in the morning at that intersection?
I agree with either extension of advanced green or future roundabout. With rerouting of vehicles, buses included, Batson Drive and Walton, will again receive all the overflow of traffic. Spruce was dissected and not to be reversed because families like the quiet. Whereas we, years back, in NE quadrant had speed bumps and chicanes installed because of a temporary traffic diversion and no input provided to most neighbours which was acknowledged by council. The overflow, agitation and speed down Batson and Walton will be apparent. Something is needed but residences could have had a say on their recommendations for safety.
Poor town planning has us here. It only gets worse when you think of the ridiculous driveway entrance for St Anne’s as you cross over. This is a major commuter thoroughfare as a result of the housing explosion on the upper East side. Why is planning so poor in this town? And then, we layer on band-aid solutions to resolve the mess? When will St John be two lanes out to the 400??