Rye signals interest in shutting Gould to traffic

By Joanna Lavoie

Pedestrians may no longer have to dodge traffic on Gould Street.

With the Yonge-Dundas redevelopment and the building of a new student campus centre at 55 Gould St., Ryerson administration met last week with city council, the city’s public works department and the Yonge-Dundas developers to discuss the expected increase in traffic.

Ryerson has yet to give an official proposal, but it is considering ways of blocking traffic on Gould between Victoria and Bond Streets.

There is “concern that Gould Street remains pedestrian-friendly,” said Liz Devine, a member of the student campus centre committee.

Downtown councilor Kyle Rae said some of the ideas city council has heard include making Gould a one-way street or closing it to motor vehicles.

But Rae doesn’t have a preferred proposal at this time and said he will favour “what is best for Ryerson and the business sector.”

It’s anticipated the increase in pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic will be considerable when the centre and Yonge-Dundas development are completed.

This worries Vlad Vasilko, RyeSAC’s v.p. development and finance.  He offers three possible solutions:  a stop sign, speed bumps, or closing the road entirely.  But he doubts Gould will close.  “It might not happen, because it is heavily used.”

The site chosen for the student campus centre is Ryerson’s old journalism building on Goudl between Bond and Church Streets.  The Yonge-Dundas development is planned for the area at Goudl and Victoria Streets.

The Yonge-Dundas development will include the construction of theatres above Ryerson’s parking garage, a park and various other projects that will bring more pedestrians to the area.  There is also concern there will be more truck traffic on Gould to service the theatres.