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Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

mickael said:
Just emailed KWT about improving Parliament and Bloor. I keep seeing posts about how shit it is to ride there, and when it rains the bike lanes flood. View attachment 292796
You can look on Google Maps to see the difference, but reducing the mixed-vehicle lanes from 6 to 5 drastically increases the bicycle lane space, who'd have thought? Also shortened the crosswalk. This intersection is a nightmare, eh?

EDIT: Should have also added a crosswalk on the E side, as well as reducing that weird median space on the W side.
Click to expand...

I too want to applaud your activism.

I posted some of the earlier designs above, couldn't find a panel for the intersection though I: remember seeing one.

****

Something that occurs to me though is that this 'enhanced' design pre-dates not only the Bloor/Danforth bike lane; but also the move toward separated bike lanes in Toronto.

It was done before Becky Katz joined the City as Cycling Infrastructure manager.

Might be good to contact her and flag the project to make sure its up to the higher standards we would expect today.

She's great, I'm sure she'll at least look into it and get you an answer.
 
smably said:
My understanding from having talked to someone in the know is that beyond a certain daily traffic volume, any reduction to car lanes triggers an environmental assessment. This section of Bloor is above that threshold, so it would be a long and expensive process to reconfigure the road and widen the bike lanes. The cycling department is aware of the issue, but given the amount of work required by staff to go through the process, they are focusing on other priorities for now with a better bang for their buck and more immediate payoff.

Another issue with the Bloor/Parliament intersection is that there is a high curb at the north end of the crosswalk, rendering that crossing inaccessible. The accessible route from Parliament to Castle Frank Station involves crossing at the far side of Castle Frank Road, which requires three crossings with long signal timings. Unfortunately, adding a curb cut at Parliament would require cutting into the concrete of the bridge deck, which I've been told would have structural engineering implications.

This section of Bloor is a walkability and bikeability disaster, but the solutions won't be easy or cheap, unfortunately.
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To my understanding, this can be; but is not necessarily correct.

1610031134984.png


From:

 
Since everyone enjoyed my previous brilliant photoshop work (I actually use GIMP but that's neither here nor there) I figured I'd ask opinions on this YongeTomorrow modification. Lots of cities around the world place the bus stop on an 'island' between the bike lane and the mixed-vehicle lane. Thoughts on this? The currently planned design has people cross the bike lane whenever a bus comes. I realise Yonge doesn't have the most regular bus service but I personally feel this could be done on Sherbourne, Wellesley, King...Everywhere really, unless there's a good reason not to.yongetomorrowbikelane.png
 
afransen said:
nacto.org

Side Boarding Island Stop | National Association of City Transportation Officials

Side boarding islands are dedicated boarding areas for passengers that eliminate bike-transit conflicts, streamline service by enabling in-lane stops, and improve accessibility with level or near…
nacto.org nacto.org

Near-side-bike-channel.jpg


Side benefit is you start to get protected intersections for cyclists.
Click to expand...
Why did I not think to look at NACTO, they always know what's up.

Shame about the parking being the wrong side in this image, though.
 
smably said:
My understanding from having talked to someone in the know is that beyond a certain daily traffic volume, any reduction to car lanes triggers an environmental assessment.
Click to expand...
This is outdated information. That advice has now changed, ever since Councillor Wong-Tam passed a motion a few years ago meaning that bike lane installations that remove car lanes don't require environmental assessments. It meant we got a lot of cycle tracks installed these past few years including this year! think Danforth, Bloor, University. All roads which had lanes removed. A single road lane for drivers on Bloor will not stop the planners from making the road safer.
Northern Light said:
Bloor east of Sherbourne, and the Bloor + Parliament intersection are scheduled to be overhauled in 2022.

The changes include elimination of the channelized turn at the intersection.

Streetscape proposal, west of Sherbourne, from 2016:

View attachment 292818

Note that bike lanes are now part of this proposal, but we're not then.


East of Sherbourne:

View attachment 292819
Click to expand...

This image is unfortunately outdated. The city is working on a better "protected" design. Watermain construction was supposed to happen soon, but was delayed in order to improve the road design, and I assume the city will be making this a parking-protected cycle track.
 
H4F33Z said:
This is outdated information. That advice has now changed, ever since Councillor Wong-Tam passed a motion a few years ago meaning that bike lane installations that remove car lanes don't require environmental assessments. It meant we got a lot of cycle tracks installed these past few years including this year! think Danforth, Bloor, University. All roads which had lanes removed. A single road lane for drivers on Bloor will not stop the planners from making the road safer.
Click to expand...
Oh, that's great to hear! Thanks for the correction.
 
H4F33Z said:
This is outdated information. That advice has now changed, ever since Councillor Wong-Tam passed a motion a few years ago meaning that bike lane installations that remove car lanes don't require environmental assessments. It meant we got a lot of cycle tracks installed these past few years including this year! think Danforth, Bloor, University. All roads which had lanes removed. A single road lane for drivers on Bloor will not stop the planners from making the road safer.


This image is unfortunately outdated. The city is working on a better "protected" design. Watermain construction was supposed to happen soon, but was delayed in order to improve the road design, and I assume the city will be making this a parking-protected cycle track.
Click to expand...

I would add narrowing traffic lanes (to slow down the traffic to the actual posted speed limits) as well. Why need an EA to narrow auto lanes, to get more space for cyclists?
 
W. K. Lis said:
I would add narrowing traffic lanes (to slow down the traffic to the actual posted speed limits) as well. Why need an EA to narrow auto lanes, to get more space for cyclists?
Click to expand...

Narrowing of lanes does not require an EA

Toronto Transportation now does this routinely during road resurfacing projects.
 
Some more improvements coming to Bloor St. after the enormous backslash of residents:
As an interim measure until the centre line can be moved - crews will soon be placing curbs and additional bollards along Bloor, between University/Avenue to Church Street, to further protect the lanes. Some of this work may have already been done over the past couple of days. The following is Cycling Staff's summary of these changes:
- Added curbs and the FLAT white bollards (similar to Bloor West). They'll be installed in the road, not on the curbs for speed and flexibility.
- Curbs are placed to protect the remaining planters, planters will be shifted to the inside of the painted buffers, curbs to be placed on the road-side
- We are intending to leave the gaps where the waves have been flattened to improve permeability, but we can add a bollard in the gap or shift curbs, if needed.

What do you think about those suggested improvements?
 
Andy_in_Toronto said:
Some more improvements coming to Bloor St. after the enormous backslash of residents:
As an interim measure until the centre line can be moved - crews will soon be placing curbs and additional bollards along Bloor, between University/Avenue to Church Street, to further protect the lanes. Some of this work may have already been done over the past couple of days. The following is Cycling Staff's summary of these changes:
- Added curbs and the FLAT white bollards (similar to Bloor West). They'll be installed in the road, not on the curbs for speed and flexibility.
- Curbs are placed to protect the remaining planters, planters will be shifted to the inside of the painted buffers, curbs to be placed on the road-side
- We are intending to leave the gaps where the waves have been flattened to improve permeability, but we can add a bollard in the gap or shift curbs, if needed.

What do you think about those suggested improvements?
Click to expand...

More needed, for sure.

But its a start, I suppose.

***

Lets be frank, the parked cars etc. are annoying, illegal, unacceptable, but only rarely dangerous.

What scares people, rightly so is the idiots who either on purpose or due to intoxication smashed the planters and waves all over the place.

I'm not clear that this will do much to help w/that.

But I do sympathize w/City staff that the issue has been worse here than I would have expected; and a permanent solution will take some time (but hopefully not too much)
 
Woodbine Bike Lanes meeting coming up.

bradbradford.ca

Woodbine Bike Lanes - Community Meeting - January 18, 2021 — Councillor Brad Bradford, Ward 19 Beaches – East York

REGISTER HERE for the virtual community meeting on Monday January 18, 2021 at 6pm. The Woodbine bike lanes have been a source of heated debate in our community since they were installed in fall 2017. Since I was elected City Councillor in December 2018, I have been clear that I will work with...
bradbradford.ca bradbradford.ca

Description:

JAN 10, 2021

Woodbine Bike Lanes – Community Meeting – January 18, 2021​

BYBRAD BRADFORD

REGISTER HERE for the virtual community meeting on Monday January 18, 2021 at 6pm.

The Woodbine bike lanes have been a source of heated debate in our community since they were installed in fall 2017. Since I was elected City Councillor in December 2018, I have been clear that I will work with the community to find ways to improve the road design to reduce congestion and cut-through traffic on surrounding streets.

After extensive consultation – including a large public meeting in April 2019 and some COVID related delays – City staff have prepared a new design for Woodbine between Kingston Road and Gerrard Street East. I am inviting the community to attend a meeting to learn more about the proposal and share their input.

The goal for the proposed changes is to prioritize road safety by maintaining the bike lanes and finding every possible way to improve traffic flow to address concerns about congestion and related cut-through traffic on neighbouring streets.
City staff will be presenting the proposed design changes and available to answer questions. The meeting will be on Monday, January 18th at 6pm. Please register online through Zoom here and feel free to send your comments and questions in advance to councillor_ bradford@toronto.ca.
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