General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[CDL.TO]

Is Toronto bike friendly? Perhaps not when bicycle bridges in the Don Valley are sabotaged to deliberately cause injury to cyclists...

http://sizone.org/~math/dvbridge/

Scary.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Time to either get rid of the over-population of stop signs in the City of Toronto, or modify them as bicycle use increases.

When there is an overpopulation of stop signs, they get ignored because they "cry wolf" too many times.

Time for the bicycle yield sign to appear on Toronto streets.

 

[reaperexpress]

Time to either get rid of the over-population of stop signs in the City of Toronto, or modify them as bicycle use increases.

When there is an overpopulation of stop signs, they get ignored because they "cry wolf" too many times.

Time for the bicycle yield sign to appear on Toronto streets.

Actually the second sign is a "bicycle warning", not a "bicycle yield", but point taken anyway. I'd say kill both birds with the same stone (reduce stop sign running and make cycling easier) by changing many stop signs to yields for all traffic. Motorists would not take it kindly if pointless stop signs were exempted for cyclists but not them.

There is a certain merit in stop signs as a form of traffic calming. Many side streets would become considerably more attractive for through traffic if their stop signs were removed. These are the candidates for bicycle yield signs.

But there are some locations where stop signs make no sense for any road user. For example, at a T intersection with no stop sign on the through street, the approaching street should not have a stop sign. There is no need for it from either a traffic calming or a traffic control point of view. Traffic must slow a lot to make the corner and wait for a gap regardless of what sign (if any) is there.

Changing these stops to yields would not make much difference in travel times for drivers or cyclists, but they would make a difference in the amount of effort it takes cyclists to get places, because accelerating takes a lot of work. Removing these pointless stops would also give motorists more faith in the stop signs that remain.

Rob Ford was elected because he promised all sorts of non-existant "win-win" situations for everyone, such as lowered taxes without service cuts. Well, here's an actual win-win proposition: remove ALL pointless stop sign as mentioned above (he doesn't have the backbone to add bicycle yield signs at the "calming" stop signs). It benefits motorists and cyclists (there are relatively few bus routes that go through intersections such as this) without inconveniencing anyone else or increasing car traffic.
Who on earth would oppose it?

As for where all those yield signs would come, I've had a thought. As I was driving through Quebec (province) a few days ago, I noticed that every single freeway onramp has a yield sign indicating that traffic on the freeway has priority. Well, no duh. There must be thousands of those useless signs, more than enough for all the aforementioned T-intersections in the GTA.

 

[subway safety]

Fixing Bike Routes

This is I believe to be a solution for bike routes for Toronto on a big scale basis.

All major streets need to operate a REVERSIBLE ONE WAY EXPRESS BUS, DOWN major corridor roads. Eastbound Express stopping at all major intersections only, and with traffic signalling priority say till 2pm. The other direction would be regular every stop bus.

At 2pm. sharp, then Westbound becomes Express and Eastbound becomes every stop.
Where the free bike routes come in with a full lane, instead of a half a lane is, All bike routes would follow down the centre of the street, unihibited by pedestrians, parked cars, taxis etc. and could travel across the entire city in no time flat. For example you travel on the EXPRESS ROUTE EASTBOUND IN THE MORNING, AND THEN THE NEXT MAJOR STREET NORTH OR SOUTH, ON THE EXPRESS ROUTE WESTBOUND.

BIKES GET THERE FASTER, TTC GET THERE FASTER, AND NOBODY HITS NOBODY! What are your thought citizens of Toronto?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Could be getting less bike friendly, not counting the jabs the bicyclists have already been hit with.

From the Toronto Sun:

Licences, plates may loom for Toronto cyclists

The Toronto Police Services Board briefly talked about licensing cyclists Thursday.

Councillor Frances Nunziata raised the issue after Chief Bill Blair presented a report on the enforcement of cycling infractions in the city.

The York South-Weston councillor wants the city to look at licensing cyclists.

“I think that is something that we need to look at because of the number of fatalities we have on the streets,” Nunziata told the Sun following the meeting.

Blair said licensing motor vehicles is “very useful” and licensing cyclists would have some positive aspects.

“One of the more positive aspects is it does create some accountability for the owner of the bicycle that could assist us in enforcement,” he told the cop board.

He added licensing would help ensure stolen bicycles could be returned to the rightful owner.

The board also discussed the hodgepodge of bylaws within the city when it comes to bikes, particularly cycling on the sidewalk.

Blair acknowledged sidewalk cyclists are a big complaint police hear about.

Board members voted to ask city council to look at creating a comprehensive bike policy for the whole city.

don.peat@sunmedia.ca

 

[Admiral Beez]

Simple solution would be to remove bicycles from the Highway Traffic Act and let them do whatever they want, except ride on sidewalks. Then change the laws that motorists are obliged to anticipate or expect cyclists to do unpredictable things, and thus are at fault should a bicycle-auto collision occur. IIRC this is how it's done in Denmark.I'm as conservative as some, but I see no point in having laws for cyclists that are continuously broken and rarely enforced.

 

[DSC]

Improvements coming? This tender call on City website

Scope of work:
The scope of work shall include but not be limited to the development of a conceptual design and construction cost estimates for the improvement of the Beltline Trail as a multi-use trail that meets the requested services outlined in this section.

The conceptual design and cost estimates exercise will:
 Identify areas of the Beltline Trail in need of improvement – trail width, drainage, surface condition, road crossings, erosion, entrances/access points, wayfinding, amenities, etc
 Identify natural areas adjacent to the Beltline Trail in the Kay Gardener and Yellow Creek sections in need of protection and/or restoration
 Identify older Parks natural surface trails in David A Balfour Park adjacent to the Beltline Trail in need of improvement
 Develop and implement a consultation plan with community and stakeholders
 Recommend access improvements, connections, as well as way-finding and branding, to achieve a continuous trail system
 Recommend preferred solutions, including short- and long-term maintenance implications
 Provide construction cost estimates for the preferred solutions for trail and natural area improvements
The conceptual design and cost estimates exercise will address the following objectives:
 Improve user safety and experience through restoration of the existing footprint of the Beltline Trail, including trail improvements at intersections with roadways (primarily Bathurst Street, Mt Pleasant Road at Roxborough Drive, Moore Avenue, Avenue Road and Mt Pleasant Road south of Davisville Avenue, as well as other local road crossings) and in sections where the trail ascends steep, wooded ravine slopes.
 Address the desire of a variety of stakeholders to be involved in the restoration of the Beltline Trail and explore opportunities for public/private partnerships
 Unify the sections of trail as a single transportation corridor by improving connections between each section and to other trails and bike network routes, while respecting the unique nature of each section
 Enhance public access to the Beltline trail by improving access points to surrounding neighbourhoods and providing clear wayfinding for trail users
 Identify opportunities for protection and restoration of natural areas adjacent to the trail in the Yellow Creek and Kay Gardener sections.
 Improve user safety and experience through restoration or closure, where appropriate, of the existing Parks natural surface trails in David A Balfour Park adjacent to the Beltline Trail
 Develop a framework for trail assessments and community engagement/partnership development that can be applied to other ravine settings

 

[k10ery]

Improvements coming? This tender call on City website

Scope of work:
The scope of work shall include but not be limited to the development of a conceptual design and construction cost estimates for the improvement of the Beltline Trail as a multi-use trail that meets the requested services outlined in this section.

I love that City staff are working hard on a Ford campaign promise that Ford himself has probably forgotten about.

I certainly hope that they deal with the level crossings on the side streets. Unbelievably there are no curb cuts for bikes - very dangerous. A raised road surface at the crossings would be best, but if they NIMBYs complain they at least have got to do the curb cuts.

 

[reaperexpress]

I love that City staff are working hard on a Ford campaign promise that Ford himself has probably forgotten about.

I certainly hope that they deal with the level crossings on the side streets. Unbelievably there are no curb cuts for bikes - very dangerous. A raised road surface at the crossings would be best, but if they NIMBYs complain they at least have got to do the curb cuts.

In general, the road which continues on the same level is the one with priority. If the road goes up to meet the path, it's usually that drivers must yield to path users. When the path goes down to meet the road, it usually means that path users must yield to traffic.

I'd love to see more places where traffic yields to path users, but many of the intersections on the Beltline have quite poor visibility which would make a path-priority intersection quite dangerous.

 

[k10ery]

I think the current setup is very dangerous because you have to ride across the road very slowly to be able to curb-jump your bike. The planners should recognize the reality that nobody dismounts to cross, and find a safer solution.

I'm just talking about the little streets like Old Park Rd. The arterials need to be signalized, like they're doing on the Gatineau trail.

 

[junctionist]

I can't believe how crudely many paths and trails were built when it comes to cycling, without signalized intersections or even curb cuts in the sidewalks at intersecting streets. Even on recent paths like the Railpath, connectivity to the street grid for cyclists is treated as an afterthought like at Sterling Road and until recently, Cariboo Ave, where it lacked a curb. Such poor design might be reinforced by policies that cyclists and pedestrians can't share paths even if they're wide enough like the Railpath.

 

[ToCondoGuys]

Just a bit of detour in the discussion. I've noticed more bike lanes in the past year in the GTA. I saw bike lanes in Etobicoke that I don't remember seeing before. Just last week, I was in the east Brampton/Woodbridge area and I saw bike lanes that I know for sure were never there before. I think it's fantastic that not only is Toronto bike friendly, but the surround cities are also very much so or are getting there.

 

[W. K. Lis]

What is the law in Ontario (or specifically in Toronto) about a motor vehicle passing a bicycle?

From streetsblog.net:

Pennsylvania Enacts 4-Foot Passing Law, Nabs Violator on First Day
by Angie Schmitt

Currently 20 states have laws on the books requiring motorists to give cyclists a three-foot berth when passing. Pennsylvania was the latest state to join the club this week, and did so with a flourish.

The commonwealth upped the ante by enacting a four-foot passing requirement. One of the common criticisms of laws like this one is that they aren’t enforced. But Pennsylvania didn’t waste any time, according to this report from Richard Masoner at Network blog Cyclelicious:

Pennsylvania’s 4 foot bicycle passing law went into effect on Monday this week. The law claimed it’s first hapless victim on Monday afternoon, when a 17 year old driver was ticketed for failing to pass with four feet after he rear ended a cyclist on the Fahy Bridge in Bethlehem, PA.

The bike was mangled in the collision and cyclist Frank Pavlick was bruised and scraped. Pavlick runs the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation’s Bethlehem Bicycle Cooperative. Bicycle advocates in Bethlehem have petitioned for “Bikes May Use Full Lane†signs on the narrow lanes of the bridge since cyclist Patrick Ytsma was struck and killed last December.

The driver (who is not named in this news report) tried to leave the scene of his crime and was charged with attempting to flee. A bus driver saw the crash and maneuvered his bus to stop the driver from leaving, while another car driver parked his car behind the criminal scofflaw to prevent him from backing out.

​

Nice to read about a cyclist getting justice for a change. Great job to all the people who had a hand in making this happen in PA!

Elsewhere on the Network today: How We Drive searches for truth in the “waiting in traffic to get to the gym†meme. Alex Block reports that, in a major new trend, sprawling suburbs are becoming dominated by renters. And Transport Nexus notes that even disasters like the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis and the levee breach in New Orleans don’t seem to be inspiring America to repair its infrastructure.

 

[unimaginative2]

Toronto is definitely a cycling city. Though we're not Hamburg, it's still amazing how many more cyclists you see than in New York, for example. The problem is that our bike lanes are terrible. If you're going to build them, they should be done properly. In Europe, they're generally on the sidewalk rather than on the road, which greatly reduces the risk of collision. Another good alternative is to have proper two-way bike areas separated by a curb from the road and with their own signals. The curb and parked cars would protect cyclists from passing traffic.

 

[junctionist]

Yes, not having enough bike lanes is unfortunate because it's great to get around Toronto by bicycle. I enjoy the exercise, money saved, and speed relative to transit and sometimes even driving. What's more unfortunate is problematic bike lane design, which makes you realize that even what we already have may need more attention. Take the Davenport bike lane for instance. The cyclist must ride in the door zone of parked cars along most of the route. For the apparent convenience of drivers, the bike lanes disappear completely at some intersections like at Lansdowne, and also lead into left turn lanes without warning like at Oakwood. Such design flaws detract from the benefits these lanes provide to cyclists. Most of the time, I'll take Dupont since it's flatter, straighter, with a better road surface, and signalized intersections that seem to prioritize east-west traffic, but at rush hour when Dupont becomes an uncomfortable highway up to the section with the bike lane, it's nice to have a calmer alternative.