The SERT team would evaluate the proposed lane/road closure to ensure such things as:
- the social distancing necessity/benefit of the lane/road closure – i.e. at pinch points or hotspots of regular sidewalk congestion;
- appropriate emergency vehicle access;
- safe access to transit stops;
- accessibility measures;
- disruptions to traffic and residential areas and abutting streets are minimized (i.e. cut through traffic, parking);
- appropriate measures to separate and/or protect pedestrian/cyclist safety are considered;
- the costs and resources required to implement the closure;
- identification and placement of required signage to delineate between vehicle and pedestrian spaces; and
- frequency of inspection and maintenance of the lane/road closure set-up.
In order to prioritize the requests, the foregoing criteria are recommended to be considered when approving a temporary lane/road closure. (As of April 28th, 2020 311 advises that it has only received one request for the city to experiment with temporarily closing city streets to facilitate social distancing).
SERT Comments Regarding COVID-19 Temporary Lane/Road Closures
The SERT group was canvassed for their opinion on the closure of some or part of City streets for use by pedestrian and cycling traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to provide additional space allowing for proper physical distancing. The following comments were received. (Due to the tight timelines to complete this report, some responses from SERT members were not received). Some comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Received from Windsor Fire & Rescue Comments
Fire apparatus is 2.9m wide without the mirror extensions, therefore the apparatus takes up the full lane and limits maneuverability.
With any road closure, alternative routes may have to be considered creating increased response times.
Increased liability when responding to emergencies as pedestrians and bicycles are on the roadway and how will they react to oncoming emergency traffic. What type of barrier will be installed? When an emergency vehicle is approaching, vehicles cannot pull to the curb. They will stop in the lane forcing the apparatus into oncoming traffic on a two lane roadway.
WFRS will be faced with increased response times and increased liability of having pedestrian traffic. This presents an increased hazard for not only the pedestrians but also to the operators of vehicles on the roadway.