General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[steveintoronto]

When I did it a week and a half ago, I took the morning bus from Downtown Brampton under the old schedule. It was busier than I expected, and I don't understand why GO operates weekend buses to Beaverton, but not to Orangeville.

The worst part was Caledon to Cataract. Some really nasty truckers on Charleston Sideroad determined to run me off the road.

Just popping in to get my washing out of the dryer, got to have clean cycling shorts for tomorrow. (Tinactin works wonders, but can't do the impossible)

How bad is Charleston SR? So bad that I walked over half the distance to Cataract Rd. That road *epitomizes* what you have to avoid if you want to live to an old age. I made a mistake getting off at that intersection, thinking it would avoid the climb up McLaren. Big mistake! But since the bus schedule now indicates best to do the trail West to East, use Forks of the Credit, or just cycle down to Mt Pleasant if you are bold (I recommend against it) or gain the Caledon Trailway to get to north of Georgetown, then 33 (31?) bus into TO.

I can't agree more with Shon. That road is considered by truckers to be even faster to get to Guelph and K/W than taking the 401! And it's two lane, uncontrolled access.

I'll detail more later, as there are some excellent work-arounds, and the stretch from Mississauga Rd to Cataract is a thrill ride! Best to go down it, not up. Also, if time short, consider attaining the trail at west end at Bellwood dam from Guelph, cuts a good third off of distance, but not as nice.

Do not underestimate Caledon Trailway! Very easy to attain, very easy cycling, and highly satisfying and connects wonderfully between rush hours out and back if you keep steady pace.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Are the number of cargo bikes in Toronto increasing? Or is it still small?

 

[PinkLucy]

Yes to both. The number is increasing but it's still a very small percentage of cyclists.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Would be better with nearside bicycle & pedestrian traffic signals, even if they would legally be only informational only for us.

All I'm seeing is an pair of idiots on an ebike. Those things should be outlawed on bike lanes, same as they are on bike paths, parks and sidewalks (not that I have ever seen TPS enforce any of that). I have to admit I hate ebikes, they seem to be used by society's outcasts who don't care.

 

[W. K. Lis]

All I'm seeing is an pair of idiots on an ebike. Those things should be outlawed on bike lanes, same as they are on bike paths, parks and sidewalks (not that I have ever seen TPS enforce any of that). I have to admit I hate ebikes, they seem to be used by society's outcasts who don't care.

Let's see now.

• Separate lanes for motor vehicles, check.
  
• Separate lanes (sidewalks) for pedestrians, check.
  
• Separate lanes for e-bikes, to keep them away from the rest of us.
  
• Separate lanes for mopeds, maybe.
  
• Separate lanes for joggers, why not.
  
• Separate lanes for deliveries, should be.
  
• Separate lanes for motorized wheelchairs, okay.
  
• Separate lanes for parking, definitely.
  
• Separate lanes for public transit, oh we can't have that.
  
• Separate lanes for bicycles, there's going to be a battle royal for that.

 

[Admiral Beez]

• Separate lanes for motor vehicles, check.
  
• Separate lanes (sidewalks) for pedestrians, check.
  
• Separate lanes for e-bikes, to keep them away from the rest of us. (no need, treat with same law and licensing as mopeds - the motive source is irrelevant)
  
• Separate lanes for mopeds, maybe. (the law's already there, they don't need a lane)
  
• Separate lanes for joggers, why not. (nope, use the sidewalks, but change laws for absolute liability if they injure someone)
  
• Separate lanes for deliveries, should be. (nope, deliveries should be at night)
  
• Separate lanes for motorized wheelchairs, okay. (use the sidewalks)
  
• Separate lanes for parking, definitely. (never put parked cars alongside bike lanes. Build and/or expand more Green P lots, most are only single level.)
  
• Separate lanes for public transit, oh we can't have that. (sure, we have streetcar ROWs. Do similar for buses. Once onstreet parking is gone, there should be space)
  
• Separate lanes for bicycles, there's going to be a battle royal for that. (absolutely, but dedicated for bikes, no joggers, pram pushers, etc. Queen's Quay shows how this doesn't work)

 

[steveintoronto]

This is now open!

Valley Inn reopening delayed
Bay Observer Staff Member March 20, 2016 News Leave a comment 651 Views

The reopening of the Valley Inn Road, originally scheduled for last December has now been pushed ahead to sometime this summer. The road has been closed since late 2014 to accommodate railway construction needed to bring more frequent GO service to Hamilton. According to Metrolinx the delays occurred as they ran into to environmentally sensitive areas including a turtle nesting area. CN is working on the expansion project with its own forces and contractors, including Dagmar Construction.

http://bayobserver.ca/valley-inn-reopening-delayed/

It's a massive saving grace from having to stay on Plains Rd when cycling east out of Hamilton. Gets you over to the Royal Botanical Gardens at the tip of Burlington Bay, and along the lovely North Shore Blvd:

I'd cycled down from Guelph on a westerly alignment (mostly Valens Rd, over to Middleton via Sodom Rd) and into Dundas to see friend, did it too fast in 2 1/2 hours, still pumped, so figured I'd hop on GO at Burlington Station. Just kept going, hoping the claims for the Waterfront Trail were true. (Only partially, on the whole, it's a sad joke) Then it became obsessive, albeit there were some great roads through Burlington, lesser in Oakville...decided in the end to go the whole distance back to TO. Not too many days left of Summer to do it...did well over 100 kms. Other than segments, where the Waterfront Trail is realized, I don't recommend it. Rail Trails are the thing...and backroads with little traffic.

 

[steveintoronto]

• Separate lanes for motor vehicles, check.
  
• Separate lanes (sidewalks) for pedestrians, check.
  
• Separate lanes for e-bikes, to keep them away from the rest of us. (no need, treat with same law and licensing as mopeds - the motive source is irrelevant)
  
• Separate lanes for mopeds, maybe. (the law's already there, they don't need a lane)
  
• Separate lanes for joggers, why not. (nope, use the sidewalks, but change laws for absolute liability if they injure someone)
  
• Separate lanes for deliveries, should be. (nope, deliveries should be at night)
  
• Separate lanes for motorized wheelchairs, okay. (use the sidewalks)
  
• Separate lanes for parking, definitely. (never put parked cars alongside bike lanes. Build and/or expand more Green P lots, most are only single level.)
  
• Separate lanes for public transit, oh we can't have that. (sure, we have streetcar ROWs. Do similar for buses. Once onstreet parking is gone, there should be space)
  
• Separate lanes for bicycles, there's going to be a battle royal for that. (absolutely, but dedicated for bikes, no joggers, pram pushers, etc. Queen's Quay shows how this doesn't work)

Ironically, Bloor Street *never was* the "four lanes before cycle lanes were added". It was only ever two lanes. The other two were parking!

There's a magnificent, exquisite, workable solution to Bloor Street's woes. Restore those four lanes! And don't have cycle lanes at all! How? Ban all parking. It benefits everyone. Need examples? I studied Bloor from the corners of Bay, Yonge and Avenue Rd two days back, for a good hour, just watching traffic flow, and how cyclists handled it. It works very well with no cycle lanes. Why? No parking, sensible turn lanes *minimal but effective* limits on turning posted up next to the traffic lights. And pretty much the same protocol applies to each intersection. The sidewalks are also wider (partly due to set-back buildings from the street, good planning) and there's a sense of *flow and choreography* to traffic....because there's *no parking* to screw it up. The sharrows for cyclists don't define a lane, but at least alert drivers to the fact that bikes dance amongst them.

I feel *far* safer cycling through the core from Avenue to Sherbourne on Bloor than I do on the lanes. One has to be alert and understanding of what drivers need in terms of being visible and acting in a predictable and *signalled* way.

All of the latter fall apart on the cycle lanes. The Bloor lanes are like changing the riser height on a set of stairs so each step is a different height. Try dancing up that!

Edit to Add: Just to be clear, I highly favour bike lanes on Bloor...*done properly!* Totally separated by a barrier, and most likely a single bi-directional one, but my point is that a shitty bike lane 'experiment' like there is now, is doomed to fail, and at the cost of lives and well-being, and rather than a shitty model, four lanes unobstructed by parking with no discreet lanes just painted on would be far better than what there is now.

With four lanes available, I'd suggest a lower speed limit. But parking has to go.

 

[Admiral Beez]

With four lanes available, I'd suggest a lower speed limit. But parking has to go.

Make the top speed 40 kph instead of 50 kph within downtown.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Did hell just freeze over?

More bike lanes could be coming to North York
It’s about time. This is the 21st century. We should get moving by bikes,” said Ward 9 Coun. Maria Augimeri.

See link.

If Coun. Maria Augimeri had her ways, there would be bike lanes on every street in North York.

“It’s about time. This is the 21st century. We should get moving by bikes,” said the Ward 9 councillor.

She has a trio of proposals in pipeline towards that goal, in an effort to close what she calls “the cycling gap” in the suburban areas of the city.

Earlier this week the community council approved her motion to study an installation of bike lanes on Dovehouse Avenue. The same proposal asks for extension of existing bike lanes on Sentinel Road, stretching them from Dovehouse to Sheppard.

She’s also successfully moved a proposal for a bike path bridge that would directly connect Downsview Park to the Ancaster community. Currently there’s no access between the two, and residents have to go around Allen Road or Keele Street to get to the park.

The third project is about exploring options for bike lanes along Wilson Avenue, as requested by members of the local BIA.

North York, just like many other areas outside of the downtown core, hasn’t concentrated on building bike lanes in the past, said Augimeri. With the city’s current 10-year bicycle plan, that should change.

“We need to change the mindset of people in the suburbs. Get them out of their cars as much as possible,” she said.

That starts with making alternative modes of transportation more viable and safe, which is currently not the case.

“It’s extremely difficult for cyclist right now,” she said, noting some neighbourhoods still allow cars to move 60 kilometres an hour. “On some streets people are taking their lives in their hands, literally.”

 

[muller877]

Haven't done it yet, will probably do it in a couple of weeks. I think the mods should start a rail trails thread and move all our posts there.

Cycle Toronto reps that I spoke to fully agree about the parking issues. But given the political difficulties of removing parking, some of them think they have a better chance to win if they do it incrementally over time. In other words:

1. Implement the compromised bike lanes that maintain some parking, which is still a significant reduction compared to before.
2. Prove that businesses will still thrive just as much (if not more) with less parking.
3. At the same time cycling will continue to grow in popularity. The lanes probably won't even be wide enough to handle the volume of cyclists, especially if they are extended across the city.
4. At that point, get rid of whatever parking remains on Bloor in order to widen the bike lanes and improve safety.

Rode the Bloor lanes biking and then drove Bloor to compare then vs now. A few thoughts:

Biking
- when it is one bike wide you will be stuck behind a slower bike. It's just like driving...traffic jam (but ok...we'll have to get use to it if cycling continues to grow throughout the city). But then you have idiots that jump out of the lane into vehicle traffic without even looking to pass...this is why cyclists have a bad rap and they need to stop. Almost think barriers or rumble strips are needed to stop cyclists more than autos
- Too many bikes jumping the lights and running through yellow/reds (worse than cabbies)
- we need to be nicer to pedestrians (wave them across the street if they are crossing mid-block). Finding a lot of people with blinders on
- have to figure out cars turning right have the ROW

Cars
- definitely slower during rush hour (use to have a second lane which was shared with cyclists)
- cabs are idiots...to drop off a passenger they block both the bike lane and the driving lane (another reason for Uber)
- bikes and cars have to figure out the turning procedure (left and right). Was turning left and a car waved me through. But then you could see cyclists averting their eyes so they wouldn't have to. Courtesy is lacking

 

[muller877]

Great animation for all cyclists. Understand trucks blind spots

http://iamtraffic.org/resources/interactive-graphics/what-cyclists-need-to-know-about-trucks/

 

[EYorker]

I was reading through the map of the City's approved Cycling Network Map, and I noticed that St. Dennis Dr. from Don Mills to Linkwood is supposed to currently have bike lanes. I was reading through the city report of its approval dating back to 2014 (http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2014.PW31.4) and have wondered why the lanes still aren't installed. This is what it looks like today https://goo.gl/maps/goeHamSVvxv

I also noticed today along O' Connor they are now adding the bike lane paintings from St. Clair to Woodbine.

 

[steveintoronto]

Even the UK is well ahead of Ontario (and all of Canada, road law is national in the UK):

Motorists face prosecution for driving too close to cyclists
Drivers who give cyclists less than a metre and a half of room as they overtake will face prosecution.

Drivers who give cyclists less than a metre and a half of room as they overtake will face prosecution.

02:05, UK, Friday 16 September 2016

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Motorists who endanger cyclists by getting too close to them will be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention under a new scheme.

West Midlands Police have begun proceedings against 38 motorists for what is known as close passing - giving cyclists less than a metre and a half of room.

Police officers on bikes equipped with cameras are patrolling busy roads and radioing ahead to patrol cars when they film bad driving, with most offenders being given roadside advice.

Traffic officer and cyclist PC Mark Hodson said: "As a police force we must do our utmost to protect vulnerable road users and show that anyone who puts them in danger through poor driving will be dealt with.

Image Caption: Constantine Mamole was badly injured when he was knocked off his bike in 2014
"Cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces or obstacles like drain covers so it's important to afford them plenty of room when overtaking."

More than 21,000 cyclists were injured on Britain's roads in 2014, with 113 killed.

Champion triathlete Constantine Mamole was badly injured when he was knocked off his bike by a car two years ago.

Now back at work at his Kings Of Cycling shop in Leeds he has made a full physical recovery, but says he is too anxious to train on the road and has not raced since.

"It affects your professional life, your personal life, you become a different person," he said.

"It has a massive impact on any cyclist."

http://news.sky.com/story/motorists-face-prosecution-for-driving-too-close-to-cyclists-10579708

Note that it is only half a metre more than Ontario states, but it's the *active policing* that is radically different. We're still in the dark ages...

 

[W. K. Lis]

...
Note that it is only half a metre more than Ontario states, but it's the *active policing* that is radically different. We're still in the dark ages...

And British roads can be narrow, very narrow.