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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 14, 2015 | 4 Future of Downtown Oakville begins to take shape by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Some aspects aren't set in stone just yet, but the future Downtown Oakville is starting to take shape. The Downtown Streetscape Master Plan (DSMP) was approved by Oakville's Planning and Development council last month. Staff is now starting engineering design work for Lakeshore Road East. It follows much public consultation and debate after the Downtown Transportation and Streetscape Study (DTS), began in 2013 with two mandates: to address the need to rebuild Lakeshore Road East and to address Stained teeth? We can fix that! GOLD 330 Dundas St. E. Oakville 905-257-3182 info@klerdental.ca www.klerdental.ca Open evenings & saturdays transportation access, mobility and safety, and urban design direction for the streetscape and Town Square. The study focused on an area bounded by Robinson Street to the south, Sixteen Mile Creek to the north and west and Allan Street to the east. Council chose preferred staff Option 2A for the redesign of Lakeshore Road East. It would see the removal of the centre lane (except at signalized intersections) for the widening of the road's boulevards to 5.85 metres and the road's lanes to four metres. It would also feature parking lanes on both sides of the street and super sharrows (street markings indicating the road is to be shared with cyclists). "Council's decision... is a critical step in the revitalization of Downtown Oakville," said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. "We were pleased to see the number of residents and business owners who participated so passionately in our public meetings. Their feedback will ensure we continue being the most livable town in Canada." The Downtown Streetscape Master Plan's goals also include the introduction of facilities for all modes of transportation, two-way streets and commercial loading zones, high-quality materials and street furnishings, and parking. A cycling network will buffer bike lanes on Robinson and Church Streets, on Navy Street (south of Lakeshore Road) and on Allan Street (north of Lakeshore Road). While the DTS included plans to look at the revitalization of Town Square, Director of Engineering and Construction Dan Cozzi said staff could not provide council with any kind of recommendation on what direction to take at this time as more work is needed. Council heard from six delegations during an April 13 meeting concerning the DTS. Downtown Oakville BIA Director Sharlene Plewman supported Option 2A, voicing concerns about 3A and 3B, put before council for consideration by Ward 2 Town Councillor Pam Damoff. Option 3A would have seen one lane of parking on Lakeshore Road East removed and a bike lane put in to create a buffer between the cyclists and vehicles. Option 3B would have served as a pilot project where parking lanes would be removed from both sides of Lakeshore Road East and replaced with bike lanes. The bike lanes could be converted back to parking if the situation did not prove popular with the business community. Plewman emphasized the downtown business community does not want to lose any on-street parking. "There is already a known difficulty in finding parking downtown," she said. "Lack of parking is listed as one of the top see The on p.20 The experts are more affordable than you think. LocaL carrier Your The year's best offer. 1510 Speers Rd. (at 3rd Line), Oakville Car and Truck Rentals/Sales 905.827.2243 DeaLer Special Offer We will pay the HST for your next home comfort system maintenance Limited time offer. Can not be combined with any other offer. 24' 5 Ton $ incl. tax, ins., 100 KM's 20' Cube wiTh LifT-gaTe 200 $ to $1,465 Receive up It's easy to do the math this spring. incl. tax, ins., 100 KM's 170 in rebates with Carrier® Cool Cash* Plus Don't Pay for 90 Days * ** No Payments, No Interest *Limited time offer **OAC 16' Cube Van 12' Cargo Van 11-15 SeaTer Van We Service All Makes of central air conditioners and gas furnaces $ tax, ins., 100 KM's 138 incl. $ tax, ins., 100 KM's 108 incl. incl. tax, ins., 150 KM's $ 188 www.applebysystems.ca Rates above are for one day. Multi-day discounts and weekly rates available, long km packages available, 0.29 per km over standard