News   Mar 27, 2024
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News   Mar 27, 2024
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News   Mar 27, 2024
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Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

Hadn't seen this posted here (I think)... For those interested in cycling in the east end, the Durham Meadoway has a rough outline of route options here if you were curious to look at details of the map below and see what they are considering.

Of interest too, the City of Pickering this evening passed a motion to ask the region for low level lighting (across entire trail), rest stations, artificial ice skating trail (in segments 1 or 2). Source in section 12.3

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While its only a request from two Councillors to consider this; we have, in a letter to the Infrastructure and Environment Ctte (meeting next week) the basis of a process to extend the College Street cycle tracks to the west,
from Manning to Lansdowne.

Both area Councillors, Saxe and Bravo are on board.

Assuming the request goes forward, (and I imagine it would), we're looking at this possibly happening as soon as 2025, but no later than 2027.

 
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The College bike lanes are the worst. No separation, not very wide and you're constantly passed really closely by cars trying to blow by the streetcar. I took them once with the kid on the back and would never do that again, whether they end at Manning or Lansdowne.
 
The College bike lanes are the worst. No separation, not very wide and you're constantly passed really closely by cars trying to blow by the streetcar. I took them once with the kid on the back and would never do that again, whether they end at Manning or Lansdowne.

They are being upgraded to full separation along much of their route right now.
 
While its only a request from two Councillors to consider this; we have, in a letter to the Infrastructure and Environment Ctte (meeting next week) the basis of a process to extend the College Street cycle tracks to the west,
from Manning to Lansdowne.

Both area Councillors, Saxe and Bravo are on board.
It's great to see Councillor Bravo pushing for better cycling infrastructure. Bailao didn't generally stand in the way of cycling improvements, but it wasn't a passion or a priority for her. This is a welcome improvement.
 
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It's great to see Councillor Bravo pushing for better cycling infrastructure. Bailao didn't stood in the way of cycling improvements, but it wasn't a passion or a priority for her. This is a welcome improvement.
Yet even so, that ward has seen far, far more new cycling infrastructure during Bailao's tenure than the adjacent ward of Parkdale/High Park. As a cycling resident of Parkdale/High Park, this ward boundary is always very palpable to me
 
They are being upgraded to full separation along much of their route right now.

Indeed, though interestingly even though the construction notices had the construction starting last week, there's still no sign of activity as of my driving the length of the corridor today; maybe the most-unwelcome March snowstorms have delayed the start? The snow is piled up a couple metres high in the current "bike lane."
 
Yet even so, that ward has seen far, far more new cycling infrastructure during Bailao's tenure than the adjacent ward of Parkdale/High Park. As a cycling resident of Parkdale/High Park, this ward boundary is always very palpable to me

That's because Gord Perks hates cyclists almost as much as he hates building housing.
 
He wouldn't acknowledge that, but his lack of interest in this is disappointing and hard to understand

Strikes me as basically the same answer he gives whenever anyone (rightly) criticizes his record on housing reform which is, "Well, I've never voted against proposed reforms", which is all things considered actually a hilarious self-own.
 
Strikes me as basically the same answer he gives whenever anyone (rightly) criticizes his record on housing reform which is, "Well, I've never voted against proposed reforms", which is all things considered actually a hilarious self-own.
The more I hear about Gord Perk’s approach to housing (not championing missing middle), road safety (the foot-dragging on Parkside Drive immediately comes to mind) and the like, the more I lose respect for him. That he is sometimes referred to as the leader of the left wing in Toronto’s Council while there are new, more active, involved members like Bravo tells me that he is coasting on his reputation.
 

King County (Washington State) study finds helmet use unchanged after law repeal

From link.

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One year ago, the King County Board of Health voted 11–2 to repeal the county’s rare all-ages bicycle helmet law. One of the arguments in favor of repeal was that the law was not a top reason that most people choose to wear a helmet. To test this assertion, Public Health – Seattle & King County conducted an observational study (PDF) to assess helmet use after the repeal went into effect. And sure enough, helmet use remains high across King County, especially for people riding their own bicycles.

Researchers counted about 2,000 people at more than 50 different locations around the county. 91% of riders on personal bicycles wore a helmet while 45% of bike share users wore one. Only 9% of scooter share riders wore a helmet. Together, bike and scooter helmet use sat at 85%, with is higher than the 80% a similar study found in 2004. As David Kroman noted in the Seattle Times, the results are also nearly identical to a 2018 study led by a group of Harborview and UW researchers. This suggests that people are choosing to wear a helmet for reasons separate from the threat of police action, such as feeling safer with head protection.

It is probably worth revisiting this study in a few years to see if things change with time, but this initial result is a good sign that the Board’s reasoning was indeed sound. It should also be instructive for other places considering a helmet law repeal. The King County Board of Health was clear during deliberations that they supported the use of helmets, but they had concerns about inequitable enforcement. Black people in Seattle were 3.8 times more likely to get a helmet citation than a white person, an analysis by the volunteer-led Helmet Law Working Group found. “Differences in helmet use between populations cannot explain these disparities,” the group noted in their report. These figures do not account for stops that did not result in a citation.

On somewhat of a side note, the bike share figure is surprisingly high considering riders would have needed to plan ahead and bring a helmet with them. The sample size was 68, which seems significant enough to take seriously. As someone who owns a bike, my bike share use is mostly limited to spontaneous trips when I’m already out and about and unlikely to have a helmet with me. But I guess there are a lot of users who leave home knowing they are going to be using bike share to get around. It also suggests diverging use cases for shared bikes compared to shared scooters. Are scooters more likely to be used spontaneously while the bikes are more likely to be part of a user’s plan? We already know that bike share trips tend to be longer in distance than scooter trips, so perhaps this is another clue. It also suggests that there is value in bike share separate from scooter share, and that the two device types should not be considered interchangeable by government policy writers or by the companies offering them.
 
Does anyone know what the latest info is on the Lower Don Trail upgrades:


The last City update was May 2022

May 2022​

Phase 2 Construction Delayed​

The start of the Lower Don Trail Improvements Phase 2 is currently delayed due to the need to re-tender and obtain final permits required by the new contractor. This includes trail improvements along the 2 km section of trail from Belleville Underpass to Corktown Common, as well as two significant infrastructure projects to improve access to the trail at the Dundas Bridge and the Riverdale Pedestrian Bridge.

During the improvements, the Lower Don Trail will be closed from Pottery Road to Corktown Common, including the Riverdale pedestrian bridge and Queen Street bridge stairs. Advance signage with detour maps will be located online and on the trail.

Trail construction is anticipated to be complete with the trail open for spring 2024.
 

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