General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[BMO]

A proposal for bicycle lanes on University fell through due to...

Oops! Councillor's mistake derails bike lanes on University Ave.


See this link. This happened in 2010, under the David Miller administration. Apparently, a councillor voted in error, but unlike similar circumstances recently, they were not able to do a re-vote.

Unbelievable...,although, I can sympathize. We all make mistakes. Hopefully it comes back. I work right by University Ave and walked down the middle promenade one day and it sucked. Basically a homeless hostel. The whole experience put me off, I think bike lanes might as well make better use of this space that most people aren't using anyways (at least not for its intended purpose).

 

[the lemur]

Unbelievable...,although, I can sympathize. We all make mistakes. Hopefully it comes back. I work right by University Ave and walked down the middle promenade one day and it sucked. Basically a homeless hostel. The whole experience put me off, I think bike lanes might as well make better use of this space that most people aren't using anyways (at least not for its intended purpose).

The median definitely needs some attention but I'm not sure bike lanes would work well there, unless they were truly separated from the adjacent lanes and had their own signals. University has some pretty wide and largely unused sidewalks that could probably be converted into bike lanes AND sidewalks with minor grade separation between them.

 

[salsa]

Unbelievable...,although, I can sympathize. We all make mistakes. Hopefully it comes back. I work right by University Ave and walked down the middle promenade one day and it sucked. Basically a homeless hostel. The whole experience put me off, I think bike lanes might as well make better use of this space that most people aren't using anyways (at least not for its intended purpose).

New York has done that too.

This one has a bike path on both sides of the street.

 

[junctionist]

Unbelievable...,although, I can sympathize. We all make mistakes. Hopefully it comes back. I work right by University Ave and walked down the middle promenade one day and it sucked. Basically a homeless hostel. The whole experience put me off, I think bike lanes might as well make better use of this space that most people aren't using anyways (at least not for its intended purpose).

University Avenue needs a big revitalization project. I remember my disappointment when I similarly decided to check out those green spaces in the median one evening. There are paths amidst the greenery like in a park. Aesthetically speaking, the landscaping must have been world class at the time. There are unique ornamental trees and shrubs that you rarely see anywhere in the city, granite walkways and historic monuments. And yet, the paths are disjointed, and there's no way to cross at intersections to the next part of the landscaped median. Homeless people sleep there at night. It's like it was conceived purely so the street would look nice for people driving by at 60 kmh, but the experience of actually being there is a disappointment. That it happens to be some of downtown's finest public landscaping and the location of some of the city's best monuments is uninspiring.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Bike locking video:

[video=vimeo;92641962]http://vimeo.com/92641962[/video]

How well do you lock your bike?

 

[salsa]

Today I took a look at the latest segment of the Finch Hydro Corridor trail, between Willowdale and the Don River.

It's not done yet, but people are already using it. This is at Willowdale.

However it's still unpaved east of Maxome Street.

Maxome has been narrowed where the trail meets the street.

At Bayview, the trail is paved in both directions. Still no traffic lights.

Ruddington Drive

I wonder what's the deal with that dirt road. Anyone know?

Still unpaved at Luton Gate.

At this rate of progress, it will take a long time to finish the entire Finch corridor from end to end. This small segment shouldn't have taken an entire year to build either. I hope future phases will at least involve longer sections.

 

[ehlow]

Thanks for the tour salsa!

I wonder if they could use more of the corridor. Except for the one paved path it seems barren. For example, maybe they could add playgrounds, basketball or tennis courts or picnic tables?

 

[salsa]

I like those ideas, but even without all that I feel that the trail still gets decent usage. I frequently ride west of Yonge and I often pass several people. At Bathurst there's a large soccer field next to Northview Heights Secondary School, so when there's a game happening the trail becomes quite busy. Sometimes I also see lots of people around York University.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Thanks for the tour salsa!

I wonder if they could use more of the corridor. Except for the one paved path it seems barren. For example, maybe they could add playgrounds, basketball or tennis courts or picnic tables?

...and water fountains & benches to rest for a while.

 

[PinkLucy]

This video does a great job of summarizing bike lanes in Toronto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx-WhGcNK6Y

 

[the lemur]

I recently got a ticket for not using the bike lane, from a cop who seemed to think that I was legally required to use it and that I couldn't just 'drive [sic] up the middle of the lane'.

The section of the HTA he cited on the ticket is about moving to the right if you are going slower than the normal speed of traffic (I was doing about 35 km/h and there was no one behind me) when you are being overtaken (which I wasn't).

Apparently the fact that I was going to turn left from the only 'car' lane still didn't mean I could ignore the bike lane. Two cops on bikes have since contradicted everything the first cop said, so I am going to fight it.

 

[PinkLucy]

Good for you! (I mean that seriously, not sarcastically).

There's also a great video from New York City about what happens if you never move out of the bike lane (created by someone who got a ticket in that city for riding outside of the lane)

 

[ShonTron]

Great! Fight it!

You aren't required to use the bike lane, just to be as far to the right as practicable (which means not hugging the curb, moving to the left to avoid obstacles, potholes, manhole covers, parked cars, construction, to pass another cyclist, or to move to the left in preparation of turning.) The HTA is clear on this.

Many, if not most cops live outside of Toronto and are ignorant about these kinds of things. Cops who have done bike patrols are generally much more aware of these things and never would have given a ticket.

Where was this?

 

[the lemur]

Good for you! (I mean that seriously, not sarcastically).

There's also a great video from New York City about what happens if you never move out of the bike lane (created by someone who got a ticket in that city for riding outside of the lane)

Thanks. It just seems like I got a cop who has it in for bikes and/or doesn't know that part of the HTA/wants to pretend otherwise.

 

[the lemur]

Great! Fight it!

You aren't required to use the bike lane, just to be as far to the right as practicable (which means not hugging the curb, moving to the left to avoid obstacles, potholes, manhole covers, parked cars, construction, to pass another cyclist, or to move to the left in preparation of turning.) The HTA is clear on this.

Many, if not most cops live outside of Toronto and are ignorant about these kinds of things. Cops who have done bike patrols are generally much more aware of these things and never would have given a ticket.

Where was this?

It was on Lower Simcoe, heading north to turn left at Front.

The bike cops I spoke to two days later immediately said the charge was stupid (and correctly guessed which division the first cop belonged to, as if that might be significant). They told me you can use any part of any lane for safety, even in a car (e.g., passing a slower vehicle on a narrow country road) and that they're trained to take the lane when riding through underpasses (as I was) in order to remain visible.

For me, the crux of the HTA section he cited (148(6)) is the 'when overtaken' part: I wasn't being overtaken and if I had been about to be overtaken (as I was on the same stretch more recently) I would have moved over to let a faster vehicle pass.