Car free Niagara Falls

[micheal_can]

Has there ever been any proposals to make the major parts of the Niagara Falls area "car free"? The traffic is already very heavy there, and the roads are 4 lanes in those congested areas.

 

[Haljackey]

The Niagara Parkway was recently reduced from 4 lanes to 3 to widen the sidewalk between the two waterfalls. It's crazy how congested it still is even with that extra space at peak tourist season. I'd support them taking another lane out so it could be 2 lanes each way.

Before:

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After:

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Making Clifton Hill 2 narrow lanes would also be huge- you still need vehicle access here for hotel access and stuff.

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I'd also love to see some soft of tram/LRT running from the Whrilpool to the Horseshoe falls- potentially as far as the greenhouse, power station or even the large parking lot at Rapidsview Park.

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[Northern Light]

The Niagara Parkway was recently reduced from 4 lanes to 3 to widen the sidewalk between the two waterfalls. It's crazy how congested it still is even with that extra space at peak tourist season. I'd support them taking another lane out so it could be 2 lanes each way.

Making Clifton Hill 2 narrow lanes would also be huge- you still need vehicle access here for hotel access and stuff.

Agree with the above entirely.

I'd also love to see some soft of tram/LRT running from the Whrilpool to the Horseshoe falls- potentially as far as the greenhouse, power station or even the large parking lot at Rapidsview Park.

I would support LRT in the Falls, but I think the priority is connecting the GO/VIA Station to Clifton Hill and points beyond. I think bus service along the Parkway is adequate to purpose.

 

[Haljackey]

Agree with the above entirely.



I would support LRT in the Falls, but I think the priority is connecting the GO/VIA Station to Clifton Hill and points beyond. I think bus service along the Parkway is adequate to purpose.

Thanks!

I had some interactions with the Parks Commission around 2010 and a LRT line along the Niagara Parkway was a serious proposal back then until the 'great recession' killed any potential plans / funding for it. I'd love to see it revived.

If it ever gets built, tourist dollars could hopefully fund an expansion to the GO/VIA station... you could take a lot of cars off the QEW/420 if you had a decent alternative.

 

[DSC]

Thanks!

I had some interactions with the Parks Commission around 2010 and a LRT line along the Niagara Parkway was a serious proposal back then until the 'great recession' killed any potential plans / funding for it. I'd love to see it revived.

If it ever gets built, tourist dollars could hopefully fund an expansion to the GO/VIA station... you could take a lot of cars off the QEW/420 if you had a decent alternative.

Yes, it is crazy that if you take GO or VIA to NF you then need to try to get a local bus to the 'downtown' area and they run very infrequently. Though I did not go there in 2023, in 2022 if you bought a City Pass you got local transit included but not everyone wants the attraction pass - GO (& VIA) should offer a combined ticket to cover transportation to/from Clifden Hill area but there is still problem the schedules are poor.

 

[BMO]

It's a cool idea, that probably has merit given how busy and difficult it is to drive, anyway, during peak seasons. Why not give some more space back to the public realm to benefit greater numbers of people? You could even design some flexibility so that more space is given to pedestrians in peak seasons, and then in off-peak, maybe give some space back to transit and some vehicles.

I haven't seen any studies, but I'd imagine a major inhibitor to such a strategy would be sufficient GO Train frequencies, and sufficient parking on the periphery of a theoretical pedestrianized zone (for people who aren't casino or hotel patrons).

I'd love to see Niagara Falls transition to a more pedestrian-oriented community in the downtown. It's got good bones.

 

[junctionist]

They really need to work on the connection between the intercity railway station and the tourist sites. But I should note that in the summer, you can take your bike on the GO train and bike to the tourist sites if you want to be carfree.

 

[micheal_can]

What about a U shaped LRT line that connects the Via station to the Falls area via the old train line that went along the top of the escarpment. Basically following the streets of: Erie Ave, Palmer Ave, Victoria Ave, Ferry St, Stanley Ave, Marineland Pkwy, Portage Rd, Upper Rapids Rd and Niagara River Pkwy. Have a spur down Lundy's Lane and you hit all the major places.

 

[dullturtle06]

I think that the busiest pedestrian area by the falls should be completely closed to vehicle traffic. The are highlighted in yellow should be rebuilt as a pedestrian pathway with better amenities and lookouts onto the falls. Vehicles have no reason to drive through the area in yellow as they can travel up Murray St. to Stanley St. Then across to Marineland parkway. The parking lots can be accessed, the bus drop off is still open and the most important space in Niagara is rebuilt to make a better experience.

An idea of how I envision such a promenade, minus the palm trees of course, and much wider to handle the large volume of pedestrians.

A visualization of the detour for vehicles.

 

[JasonParis]

Agree. We shouldn't have cars metres from one of the world's greatest tourist sites.

 

[chrisw]

Yes, it is crazy that if you take GO or VIA to NF you then need to try to get a local bus to the 'downtown' area and they run very infrequently. Though I did not go there in 2023, in 2022 if you bought a City Pass you got local transit included but not everyone wants the attraction pass - GO (& VIA) should offer a combined ticket to cover transportation to/from Clifden Hill area but there is still problem the schedules are poor.

There's the Green WEGO line. In Fall 2023, they had 12 min frequencies during the summer. And there are some some bundle for WEGO with go train passes.

This summer I walked over the rainbow bridge and I needed to get to the Go train station. WEGO is quite ridiculous as you need to buy a $12 day pass from a convenience store. They don't take cash or contactless, or single tickets. Some other tourists were rejected but I was luckily able to get on for free with my suitcase to the Go train. (I was expecting to pay a local transit cash fare $3, and I might've paid $5 as I didn't have coins).