Lakeview is known as a quiet and safe area for families, with an abundance of grassy lawns. People who live on Canal Blvd however, are concerned with safety and high speed traffic, which has resulted in the city debating on whether or not to remove the right lane.

Kaye Kingsbery lives on Canal Blvd. and said the speeding is a concern.

“I don’t like the speeding because I worry about children and the animals,” Kingsberry said.

In addition to safety, parked cars are regularly being side-swiped by oncoming traffic.

Dana Venizia, a resident of Canal Blvd. said she has witnessed her car being hit first hand.

“I was on my balcony one evening, about 9:30 – 10, and my neighbor also had somebody side swipe them. And they asked me about my incident, and that was within two weeks,” Venizia said.

Many people park their cars on their yards, which damages their grass.  Some have gone as far as to violate city ordinances by cutting into their lawns with gravel and concrete pads to allow more space between their cars and the traffic.

“We just put that little bit of gravel so people could pull off the street a little more,” Kingsbery said.

By eliminating the far right hand lane here on Canal Blvd, there would be more room for street parking, as well as a bike lane. According to the department of public works, a study has shown that it would not affect traffic significantly.

While some residents are contesting the reduction of a lane, there are supporters of the idea

“It’s fast, it’s busy, and it doesn’t need to be. I mean, not in this neighborhood,” Venizia said.