Bicycle Paths

[BMO]

Now after I've seen the path and gone past it everyday, and seen the crossings that are going in. I'm actually way more pleased with it aesthetically than I originally was.

 

[vic]

I like how the city is going with bicycle traffic signals and proper crossings where these major paths meet major roadways. I prefer it so much more than the Mississauga "cyclists dismount" approach as they make no effort to accommodate cyclists.

Note that Mississauga has started to put in some MTO-approved "Crossride" intersections, and it's my understanding that they were the first to work with the MTO to design/test this style of crossing:
http://www.mississaugacycling.ca/crossrides-are-here-1690.htm
http://www.mississaugacycling.ca/mto-approves-bike-crossings-631.htm

I haven't tried these in Mississauga yet though, as the only trail I ever go near (but rarely on) is Burnhamthorpe East.

Related.... In Toronto, on Eglinton West, we've had similar designs for years, though I wonder if it fits within this MTO approval, and if riding through the intersection is legal or not. Example at Eglinton and Royal York (Google Streetview):
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Eglint...=SlqPqxj883Rq4QP2Cgadgg&cbp=12,93.17,,0,10.34

-Vic

 

[Mapleson]

Note that Mississauga has started to put in some MTO-approved "Crossride" intersections, and it's my understanding that they were the first to work with the MTO to design/test this style of crossing.



I haven't tried these in Mississauga yet though, as the only trail I ever go near (but rarely on) is Burnhamthorpe East.

Related.... In Toronto, on Eglinton West, we've had similar designs for years, though I wonder if it fits within this MTO approval, and if riding through the intersection is legal or not.

-Vic

From your links, "The intent of the Highway Traffic Act is to keep cyclists from ridign within or along a standard pedestrain crossing." As both are segregated cyclist crossings, it's legal to ride across. The rule of thumb I go by is if I'm using a pedestrian facility (sidewalk), I dismount on the red hand and go through the interestion like a pedestrian (walk on the white man); if I'm riding on a road or trail, I sit on my bike and wait for the green light.

 

[ccopela]

I think I just noticed on Leslie (the first light north of Eglinton) They have new 'crossride' lines painted there. I was driving so I didn't get a good look. Can anyone else confirm that?

 

[reaperexpress]

Note that Mississauga has started to put in some MTO-approved "Crossride" intersections, and it's my understanding that they were the first to work with the MTO to design/test this style of crossing:
http://www.mississaugacycling.ca/crossrides-are-here-1690.htm
http://www.mississaugacycling.ca/mto-approves-bike-crossings-631.htm

I haven't tried these in Mississauga yet though, as the only trail I ever go near (but rarely on) is Burnhamthorpe East.

Related.... In Toronto, on Eglinton West, we've had similar designs for years, though I wonder if it fits within this MTO approval, and if riding through the intersection is legal or not. Example at Eglinton and Royal York (Google Streetview):
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Eglint...=SlqPqxj883Rq4QP2Cgadgg&cbp=12,93.17,,0,10.34

-Vic

Mississauga is certainly not the first to implement those, they have been present on the Martin Goodman Trail for many years now, and have been demonstrated to be unsafe and inneffective. They do absolutely nothing to improve the dangerous situation that is cycling in a crosswalk, all they do is bypass the law that prohibits such an activity precisely because it's so dangerous. If anything they make crossings even more dangerous by encouraging cyclists and pedestrians to cross onto different sides, creating additional conflicts. Anyone who has ridden the MGT when it's busy knows that it is much safer for all westbound traffic (both cyclists and pedestrians) to use the crosswalk, and all eastbound traffic to use the crossride.

As well, note that there is a pole in the path of cyclists on one of the examples on the Missisauga page. The sad part is that it's not uncommon to find that other places as well.

The crossrides on Eglinton West are safer because cyclists and pedestrians have separate paths so they do not need to reorganize themselves before crossing. At driveways, they are quite safe, because drivers can focus entirely on not running down cyclists and pedestrians. At intersections, they are just as unsafe as any other crosswalk, but safer than a crossride on a non-segregated path.

 

[Fred.S]

Mississauga is certainly not the first to implement those, they have been present on the Martin Goodman Trail for many years now, and have been demonstrated to be unsafe and inneffective. They do absolutely nothing to improve the dangerous situation that is cycling in a crosswalk, all they do is bypass the law that prohibits such an activity precisely because it's so dangerous. If anything they make crossings even more dangerous by encouraging cyclists and pedestrians to cross onto different sides, creating additional conflicts. Anyone who has ridden the MGT when it's busy knows that it is much safer for all westbound traffic (both cyclists and pedestrians) to use the crosswalk, and all eastbound traffic to use the crossride.

As well, note that there is a pole in the path of cyclists on one of the examples on the Missisauga page. The sad part is that it's not uncommon to find that other places as well.

The crossrides on Eglinton West are safer because cyclists and pedestrians have separate paths so they do not need to reorganize themselves before crossing. At driveways, they are quite safe, because drivers can focus entirely on not running down cyclists and pedestrians. At intersections, they are just as unsafe as any other crosswalk, but safer than a crossride on a non-segregated path.

I agree that they're unsafe in the way they are usually implemented. I can totally see an accident on the MGT crossrides at Ontario Place. However, with proper signalling, I think they can be made safe. Car turns crossing the path need to be fully signalized and restricted wherever crossrides are installed.

 

[reaperexpress]

I agree that they're unsafe in the way they are usually implemented. I can totally see an accident on the MGT crossrides at Ontario Place. However, with proper signalling, I think they can be made safe. Car turns crossing the path need to be fully signalized and restricted wherever crossrides are installed.

Even in the absence of any automobile traffic the design is unsafe because it creates conflict between cyclists and pedestrians by expecting them to sort themselves (for no apparent reason) onto different sides of the crosswalk. Neither side is wide enough for bidirectional traffic anyway, so most people ignore the ridiculous markings, but that puts cyclists at risk of a fine. Separating cyclists and pedestrians is definitely an excellent idea, but it defeats the purpose if you create another conflict in doing so.

I think the best crossride design for a non-segregated path is the one planned (I haven't checked recently to see if it was implemented) for the Finch Hydro Corridor Paths: cyclists stay on the bidirectional path while pedestrians have access to a sidewalk and crosswalk on either side of it. This eliminates the need for anyone to cross into oncoming traffic to get to "their" crosswalk, and avoids the HTA issue by setting the crossride as the default crossing (is there any law against walking in a crossride?). Even if pedestrians choose not to go out of their way to use the crosswalk, there is no harm because there is no additional conflict created.

One way to deal with the crappy design is indeed to entirely separate flows using signals. Another would be to change the design of the road to make its rules more apparent and make cyclists more visible. Both have their merits and I would recommend doing a bit of both. I'm not sure if rights are permitted on red in many of the locations, but if they are, they should be banned.

 

[PinkLucy]

I'm on the MGT pretty much every day. People ignore the markings as noted above, taking the safer alternative of staying to the right side. As noted, it's got nothing to do with car traffic but with plain common sense of staying to one side. A bigger problem is pedestrians who go against the flow, I guess thinking it's like walking on a road. Better signage could help with this too. Those barrier gate arm things at the crosswalks are probably the biggest danger. I've seen a number of near misses and minor incidents; so far, nothing major but it's bound to happen.

 

[Fred.S]

I'm on the MGT pretty much every day. People ignore the markings as noted above, taking the safer alternative of staying to the right side. As noted, it's got nothing to do with car traffic but with plain common sense of staying to one side. A bigger problem is pedestrians who go against the flow, I guess thinking it's like walking on a road. Better signage could help with this too. Those barrier gate arm things at the crosswalks are probably the biggest danger. I've seen a number of near misses and minor incidents; so far, nothing major but it's bound to happen.

Your right about MGT. But I think that speaks to the larger problem of the trail being multi-use with the cycling/pedestrian conflicts not just at the intersections. The intersections at Ontario Place are substandard due to them being too narrow, and those stupid "P" gates, but I think crossrides in general are fine in terms of keeping pedestrians and cyclists seperate; It's motorized traffic that presents more of a problem, although at Ontario Place they usually have guards at the intersections when it's really busy.

 

[reaperexpress]

A bigger problem is pedestrians who go against the flow, I guess thinking it's like walking on a road. Better signage could help with this too. Those barrier gate arm things at the crosswalks are probably the biggest danger. I've seen a number of near misses and minor incidents; so far, nothing major but it's bound to happen.

The fundamental issue is that the MGT is far too busy to be a multi-use trail. They need to build a separate sidewalk or footpath wherever one doesn't already exist, and add signage where one does. That would also solve the issue of street crossings because there would be no need to accomodate cyclists on the footpath or pedestrians on the cycle path.

 

[PinkLucy]

I agree, but there are section where it's actually signed as two separate trails (just west of Humber Bridge) and people still walk/run on the cycling path. Drives me nuts. It's especially bad on weekends.

 

[reaperexpress]

The Finch Corridor "recreational trail" was supposed to be complete August 31, so I went down and shot a video of it on that day.

I thought the portion between Yonge and Dufferin would actually be finished ahead of schedule, because in mid July, it was open to the public and pretty much complete apart from landscaping, traffic signals and line painting.

Of the 3 things left to do, only the landscape was finished by the "opening date".

The section west of Dufferin is not even close to being rideable, let alone complete. It is not paved at all, and some sections are not even graded yet.

[video=youtube;dQOaY05AsI8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQOaY05AsI8[/video]
[video=youtube;_Ur3LMDaHQI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ur3LMDaHQI[/video]

 

[k10ery]

The Finch Corridor "recreational trail" was supposed to be complete August 31, so I went down and shot a video of it on that day.

I thought the portion between Yonge and Dufferin would actually be finished ahead of schedule, because in mid July, it was open to the public and pretty much complete apart from landscaping, traffic signals and line painting.

Of the 3 things left to do, only the landscape was finished by the "opening date".

The section west of Dufferin is not even close to being rideable, let alone complete. It is not paved at all, and some sections are not even graded yet.

Thanks. That's weird. The latest newsletter from the City cycling department says:

Hydro and Rail Corridor New Trails
All the asphalt is down for the Finch, Gatineau, CN Leaside, and Scarborough Pit Spur trail projects, which began construction last year. Signals, benches, bike parking and other fixtures are now being installed to finish these projects.

Did they just forget Finch West?

 

[Northern Light]

Great update Reaper!

Gatineau Trail also needs much 'finishing work'.

Boy you really can clock it.....what's your peak speed on level ground?

*****

Now, how about we have you tour the city so you can update us on all the other trails!

 

[W. K. Lis]

Thanks. That's weird. The latest newsletter from the City cycling department says:



Did they just forget Finch West?

Probably be finished for the start of bicycle season in December. They'll even plow them like they do on Eglinton West... which is they don't plow the snow on Eglinton West.