That's One Way to Change

Vintage views of Brock and Princess Streets show two-way traffic on these downtown thoroughfares. Most of us can only remember these streets being one-way. The top photo shows Kingston Transit System bus 6222 on one-way Princess Street in August, 1966 (Queen's University Archives photo).

During 1965, a major project was undertaken to 'pair' downtown streets, making one of each pair one-way in opposite directions: Princess east and Queen west; Johnson east and Brock west. The change affected 65 blocks on five streets. The changes were spearheaded by Alderman, later Mayor E. Valorie Swain, in his role of chair of the city Traffic and Streets Committee.

The transition was slated to take place on Sunday, September 12, 1965, with ads placed in the Whig. Radio, TV and print ads, even a police car blaring advice from its PA system and signage would make Kingstonians aware. A follow-up ad on September 21 said the system was already working well! All kinds of issues had been raised prior to implementation: the number and location of bus stops, confusion leading to collisions, traffic jams, and youths turning the one-ways into drag strips. Indeed, 100 speeding tickets were issued in the first two weeks after implementation!