One-way to two-way street conversions beginning next week in Ontario city

Work on converting a four-pack of one-way streets at the edges of Oshawa’s downtown is set to get underway next week, with Colborne Street and the east side of Brock Street the first to get the two-way treatment with the work expected to start July 21 or 22 and be completed in just a few days.

Oshawa Councillor Rick Kerr confirmed the construction date, noting work will begin “on or about July 21, depending on the weather.”

The city’s Economic and Development Services Committee okayed a $400,000 plan last year to change Albert and Celina streets, which begin (Celina) or end (Albert) downtown, and Brock St. E and Colborne Street – located at the northern edge of downtown – to two-way streets.

The conversion of Brock Street (from Simcoe Street to Division Street) and Colborne Street (from Division Street to Centre Street) came in at just $25,000. Both roads are strictly residential.

Image by Dot McFarlane

The conversion of Albert and Celina streets, which are collector roads funneling vehicles into and out of downtown, will be a little pricier at $375,000, but the approved option would require no widening or land acquisitions.

New traffic lights at Olive Avenue, John Street, Athol Street and Bruce Street would be needed to accommodate the two-way traffic for Albert and Celina, as well as a reduced curb radii at intersections to allow for safer pedestrian crossings and slower vehicle speeds.

Oshawa’s main streets of Simcoe/Centre (north south) and King/Bond (east/west) are not part of the proposal.

Councillor Derek Giberson, who had been asking for the conversions since he was first elected in 2018, said residents have been demanding the change for years, noting that drivers “bomb down” the one-way roads.

“This will slow the traffic down and make it feel like a neighbourhood again,” he said. “This is a reasonable approach.”

The work on Colborne and Brock will include the installation of new stop signs, painting yellow centre lines and the removal of one-way signage.

The east-west neighbourhood streets Brock and Colborne (top) and the north-south collector roads Albert and Celina (bottom)

Oshawa Council has been considering changing the streets over for nearly a decade (the city’s main streets – King/Bond and Simcoe/Centre – running through the city core were also considered) and in February 2021 the city retained the services of CIMA+ to undertake the One-Way to Two-Way Conversion Feasibility Study for Albert Street and Celina Street.

In March 2021 the scope of work for CIMA+ was increased to include the investigation and analysis of the conversion of Brock Street and Colborne Street to two-way traffic operations.

Giberson, whose ward includes downtown, noted that the streets started out as two-way but were changed years ago to accommodate shift changes at General Motors in the days when GM affected everyday life in the Motor City.

“They caused significant harm to neighbourhoods,” he said when the initial phase of the study was released. “This is an opportunity for this council to right that wrong.”