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General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

Zach6668 said:
So many studies have been done showing that bicycle helmets don't necessarily increase the safety of the rider that this can't possible be used as an example. It's a false equivalency.
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I don't think a single study has found that helmets don't increase the safety of riders. Studies have found varying levels of significance to the safety benefit, or that they only prevent some types of injuries (e.g. obviously a helmet won't prevent a broken leg), or that their cost may not be worth their benefit, but they all find safety benefits, and many find huge safety benefits.

Since it wasn't answered, what about pedelecs? They don't necessarily travel any faster than regular bikes and they have all the same rules as regular bikes, but you have to wear a helmet when you use one. Why?
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oconnor-bike-lane-safety-cyclists-undeterred-1.3822301

A new separated bike lane opened on O'Connor Avenue in Ottawa today and already there has been an accident. Are separated bike lanes really safe?

This is about 2 months after the widely publicized death on the Laurier Avenue separated bike lane in Ottawa.

What does this mean for separated bike lanes in Toronto? I don't know of any serious accidents on the Bloor bike lane in Toronto yet (though I think there have been minor ones), but small businesses are complaining about a 40% drop in sales.
 
andrewpmk said:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oconnor-bike-lane-safety-cyclists-undeterred-1.3822301

A new separated bike lane opened on O'Connor Avenue in Ottawa today and already there has been an accident. Are separated bike lanes really safe?

This is about 2 months after the widely publicized death on the Laurier Avenue separated bike lane in Ottawa.

What does this mean for separated bike lanes in Toronto? I don't know of any serious accidents on the Bloor bike lane in Toronto yet (though I think there have been minor ones), but small businesses are complaining about a 40% drop in sales.
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Troll
 
If you're not willing to argue in good faith, and you continue to post on a specific topic in such a way that accusations of trolling are reasonable, expect to see some action by the mods.

Govern yourselves accordingly.
 
Speaking from my own experience, I think Toronto is much safer for cyclists with the new, divided paths. My t'ween daughter and I often ride from Parliament and Wellseley and down Sherbourne and it's much safer for kids.
 
andrewpmk said:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/oconnor-bike-lane-safety-cyclists-undeterred-1.3822301

A new separated bike lane opened on O'Connor Avenue in Ottawa today and already there has been an accident. Are separated bike lanes really safe?

This is about 2 months after the widely publicized death on the Laurier Avenue separated bike lane in Ottawa.

What does this mean for separated bike lanes in Toronto? I don't know of any serious accidents on the Bloor bike lane in Toronto yet (though I think there have been minor ones), but small businesses are complaining about a 40% drop in sales.
Click to expand...

The logic here doesn't even make sense. There has been an accident, so therefore the bike lane didn't work? I'm sorry, Andrew, but your posts are starting to come across as a parody account...

And, Andrew, it's already been pointed out to you when you first raised it that your thoughts on the accident on Laurier Avenue didn't make a whit of sense. Do you think if you keep repeating it, people will have forgotten that your original post on the subject made no sense?
 
Cycling in Toronto would be a hell of a lot more safer if drivers would get off their damn phones. Recently i had a few close calls with idiot drivers texting behind the wheel.
 
gabe said:
Cycling in Toronto would be a hell of a lot more safer if drivers would get off their damn phones. Recently i had a few close calls with idiot drivers texting behind the wheel.
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Same thing (actually more so) with bikes. Actually say a rider a week ago talking on a phone and holding a coffee cup. How could he stop or swerve if there was an issue?

Everyone is at fault for driving or biking with phones. But for both cyclists and motorists you cannot paint everyone with a broad paint brush.
 
I see a lot more motorists with phones than cyclists, probably because it's much easier to drive a car while texting than riding a bike.
 
Used the "bike lanes" on the O'Connor Dr bridge today and they're absolutely awful...they can't be more than 50cm in width which makes it very difficult to stay in them. I felt safer before these "bike lanes" since cars now expect you to stay in the lane, whereas before I had a lot more room to maneuver. It's like we build bike lanes for show in this city rather than for safety.

I made my return trip down Don Mills from Sheppard, which felt infinitely safer even though it is a wide busy road since most motorists stay out of the diamond lane, so I have over 3 metres of space to work with.
 
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LNahid2000 said:
It's like we build bike lanes for show in this city rather than for safety.
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Oh, I guarantee you that's an accurate statement. Somewhere at city hall is some bureaucrat whose job is to sum up the total km of bike trails for press releases and city websites, regardless of the lanes' effectiveness.

IMO, bike lanes should be like train tracks or, heavens... like roads; you would never consider it a network unless every piece connected to another piece, and you had an established and consistent specification for what constituted a rail line or road (width, signals, clearance from hazards, etc.).

And let's stop the usage of the term bike lane. We should aspire to bikeway. Specs for defining dedicated bikeways should be...

This...

protected-bike-lanes-charlotte.jpg


and this...

ny-bike-lane.jpg


Not this...

somerset-bike-lanes-ottawa.jpg


or this...

Bike_Lane_Toronto_2011.jpg


Apply this to bikeways in Toronto, and then our bureaucrat can proudly show off his/her lanes.
 
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Admiral Beez said:
Not me. My Hog's still in good shape, on a hook in the basement. I'd like to donate it and replace it with an upright roadster with internal hub gears, like the:
Now, why can't I find an upright men's bike with Shimano Nexus 8 internal hub gears, fully enclosed chain case and centerstand like this in Canada? I'd gladly pay the equal CAD$ price to GBP.

http://www.begbicycles.com/ride/billy

2128671311.jpg


Too bad this isn't available in green with 8 speed http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/roadster-sovereign.php
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I think I've found it! Tested it today.

http://www.bikesfortherestofus.com/2015/07/simcoe-bicycles.html
http://simcoebicycles.com/bike/roadster-signature#.WDYjdqIrK9Y
 
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