stjames2queenwest
Senior Member
Lived in the area a few years back, never thought a slight bend in the road was an issue.
I like the slight curve. Feels like a racetrackYeah, let alone a straightaway so people could feel like driving faster
Why do so many people want the street straightened? What is the benefit in doing so? I welcome deviations from the monotonous street grid, such as this. If the street were to be straightened here, there would be less room for development to take place without going taller or cutting into the park space.
If Dupont were to be straightened, the old alignment could be downgraded to local street status and be named "Old Dupont Street" or it could bring back the former name of the street before Dupont absorbed it ("Van Horne Avenue" or given that Van Horne has already been taken, perhaps "Royce Avenue" instead?).
The north side could be redeveloped then. Otherwise, it would remain as it is now. If they don't buy the little piece of land, then it would become a boulevard between the existing sidewalk and the roadway, maybe even a bicycle path.
Van Horne Avenue (or Royce Avenue or whatever Old Dupont Street would be named) could even be downgraded to "access road."Would this not give us two parallel roads effectively next to one another?
If they straighten Dupont, the properties on the north side would have access to more real estate for their businesses. Either as parking lots (cheapest) or to extend the buildings southward or build new larger buildings entirely (most expensive).