The city's plans to improve traffic on Fourth Avenue don't go far enough, says Paul Warner.

He was among the at-least 70 residents who came out to a public meeting Wednesday evening in the Whitehorse Elementary School gymnasium on improvements to Fourth Avenue that will be made over the next two years.

Among the changes this summer will be a roundabout. That will permit a continuous traffic flow in a circular motion with right turning lanes at Fourth Avenue and Robert Service Way.

There are also plans to add bicycle lanes, upgrade signs and lights, add concrete medians and retrofit traffic signals.

Next year, the city will do landscaping and install bus shelters and bike racks on the street.

Warner, a long-time city resident, said that while some of the plans are great ideas, he'd like to see more of a focus on incentives for vehicle pooling and using the bus system.

Instead of offering things like free parking to employees, the city and territory could offer its workers free bus passes, he said.

Under Transport Canada's Transportation Showcase Review, the city is receiving up to $700,000 in matching funds to demonstrate transportation solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Warner noted the confusion of the roundabout on Fourth Avenue may be what forces people to find alternative modes of transportation.

'They'll be sitting at the roundabout waiting,' he said, suggesting many people still have problems with four-way stops.

However, John Spencer, the city's senior project engineer, said the roundabout would permit a calmer flow in traffic than drivers currently experience.

'People won't need to accelerate,' he said.

Instead, the roundabout will enable people to keep driving although at a slower speed, likely around 15 kilometres per hour. The roundabout lets cyclists and pedestrians cross the street one lane at a time, he said.

For some who live in the area, the changes could mean being able to leave the house for a walk without getting in the vehicle.

'It's like living on a freeway,' Will Petricko, a caretaker for a condominium complex in the area, said of the current situation.

One of the condo residents Petricko knows will drive across Robert Service Way so she can walk her dog along the Yukon riverfront because she's so wary of crossing the street on foot.

Petricko noted the changes may mean she starts walking to the riverfront because the road will be easier to cross.

What many people seem to forget as they drive down Robert Service Way off the Alaska Highway is they're coming into a residential area, he said.

Anna Barron, who works at the Yukon Inn on Fourth Avenue near Ray Street, isn't a cyclist herself. However, she's pleased to see the additional bicycle lanes that will be added to Fourth Avenue.

'It shows we're progressing,' she said.

Fourth Avenue will be changed so that there are three vehicle lanes and two cycling lanes on both sides of the road.

The three traffic lanes for vehicles will feature the traditional north/south lanes along with a centre left-turning lane.

Barron noted she's lived in another town with a centre left-turning lanes.

'It worked well,' she said.

In an interview Thursday, Spencer said small islands will be placed along the centre lane to ensure it's used as a turning lane, rather than a passing lane enabling drivers to 'zoom through'.

Another feature of the proposal Barron likes is the increased number of benches along Fourth Avenue. She noted tourists who want to walk toward Main Street will be able to sit when they feel like taking a break.

'It's a long walk,' she said.

Much of the work is planned for this summer, but Spencer said the city is in the conceptual stage with the work.

He's confident the city can do the work it's scheduled for this summer.

'It's very simple,' he said.

It mainly involves painting and making some changes to the curbs.

Most of the work is planned for the end of summer, although that could change.

'The business owners may tell us when they want it done,' he said.

For now, the city is looking at any concerns from Wednesday's meeting and how they might be addressed, as well as ideas that came forward on improving the plans.

'People were mostly gung-ho,' Spencer said.

He noted some businesses along Fourth Avenue are coming up with ideas of their own on improving their own property with things like landscaping.

'The creativity is amazing,' he said.

The city is planning to contact everyone who signed an information sheet Wednesday about any other upcoming meetings on improvements to the area.