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Waterfront: Queens Quay - Biking/Rollerblading

M

MetroMan

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It once occurred to me: People put a lot of trust in their government when driving. We assume that a bridge will be completed and that a road won't just end in a brick wall or a cliff when we're driving 100km p/hr.

Today I needed to get from West Queen West to the Distillery District and since it was a nice day, I decided I would rollerblade there.

After consulting a map, I noticed that Queens Quay ends where Parliament begins. Perfect, since that's where the Distillery is.

Well, that trust in government is different if you're a biker or rollerblader. Getting down Spadina was a miserable experience, mostly because of the CityPlace construction but also because certain areas simply do not have pedestrian crossings.

When I arrived at the Gardiner on-ramp, I had to merge into highway traffic simply to cross the street. There was a sign saying: Pedestrians, Cross on opposite sidewalk. Yet, there was no way to get to the other sidewalk other than to backtrack and entire block.

When I finally arrived at Queens Quay, things got a little smoother, although I had to remain on the street since there is no bike path East of Bathurst.

Getting to Yonge, it literally seems like the edge of the world. The city simply ends there. Sidewalks turn to gravel, streetwall is non-existent and any other buildings along Queens Quay turn their backs on it.

At one point, the poor excuse for a bike lane simply ended. No warnings whatsoever. You're cruising at a relatively quick pace and all of a sudden it all turns to gravel. Luckily I managed to stop in time.

Once arriving at the end of Queens Quay, you'd think that you would be able to continue north on Parliament. That is where I finally had to give in. It ends in a non-paved muddy rail track. I took off my blades and walked the rest of the way up.

What a miserable experience. I wasn't about to repeat the trek in reverse. I took the Pape bus to Union and the King streetcar home.. sheesh..
 
Sounds like a sh!ty experience. I've encountered similar scenarios when I skateboard around, although I do have the luxury to just pick up my board and walk.

I know that sign you are talking about on Spadina, if there's not much traffic you can cross to the east side, but you would think they would put it at Front, or at least put one back. Going under the Gardiner is uncomfortable for anyone not inside a car or streetcar. Once West 8's 'Quay to the CIty' Queen's Quay transformation is completed whenever that is, that section should be a lot better for everyone not in a (street)car. I am sure further improvements along QQE will happen as Pier 27, Corus, East Bayfront get developed, plus the QQE LRT. And with East Bayfront the Pariament/QQ intersection will be improved and getting to the Distillery will be a much more pleasant experience. Only section is the Redpath part that remains in limbo.

Once the Portland St. pedestrian bridge is built and Dan Lackie Way extended into Cityplace, Spadina and the messy LS/Gardiner intersection can be avoided.

All of this is a long way off with some sections further on the horizon, but eventually such a route can be made and it would be quite nice.
 
Yes, I'm aware of all these changes and was thinking about them as I encountered the many problems along this route.

I think if I have to do it again, I'll go down Bathurst instead, cut into Fort York then take Coronation Park into Queens Quay which is fine until Yonge at which point I'll go North and then take the Esplanade the rest of the way there.

In fact, I gotta go back tomorrow to pick up the prints @ Pikto that I dropped off today. I'll try this route and see if it's a little more tolerable.

After that, West8's Queens Quay can't come soon enough.
 
Yonge Street northbound is the only route I trust riding a bike from the ferry docks. Southbound, I found Blue Jays Way/Bremner/Rees to be acceptable, I just don't trust any of those streets with a zillion cars turning right onto the Gardiner.

I can't wait for Simcoe Street to be finished, not to mention the permanent Queen's Quay changes.
 
SeanTrans said:
Yonge Street northbound is the only route I trust riding a bike from the ferry docks. Southbound, I found Blue Jays Way/Bremner/Rees to be acceptable, I just don't trust any of those streets with a zillion cars turning right onto the Gardiner.

I can't wait for Simcoe Street to be finished, not to mention the permanent Queen's Quay changes.
Click to expand...

^ That's not a bad idea.

I think I've gotten a pretty good itinerary together for the next time I do that trek on blades:

I'm on Queen St. and Niagara St.
1 - Head down Niagara past King and end up on Bathurst near Front St.
2 - Take Front St. past Spadina to Blue Jays Way
3 - Go down Blue Jays Way to the CityPlace showroom (Navy Wharf Crescent)
4 - Head along Bremner to the ACC and around to Bay St.
5 - Take the Bay St. east sidewalk up to the GO terminal
6 - Ride through the GO Terminal to The Esplanade
7 - Follow The Esplanade to The Distillery District

... and voilá.

The worst part of this trip would be the steep hill down Blue Jays' Way and the Lakeshore/Bay St. portion around the ACC. Otherwise, all these streets are just loosely populated by cars. The only time I have to travel over streetcar rails (a pain if you're on blades), is on the short section of King St... and it's only 2 sets of straight tracks unlike the snaking complex rail system on Bathurst and Spadina.

The astonishing part of all this is that I'm avoiding Queens Quay all together. Hopefully this will change over the next few years.
 
^ an alternative to heading down the steep Blue Jays Way section to get to Bremner would be to go just as far as the SkyDome, snake around the Renaissance Hotel drive way to the SkyDome bridge where I'd find the CN Tower elevator which would take me down to Bremner Blvd level.

A little tricky, but breaking on such a steep hill may not be too wise...
 
Was your problem at the intersection of Spadina & Lakeshore, beneath the Gardiner? I'm trying to visualize your problem as I've walked down to queens quay problem-free hundreds of times.

If you're going south, there's only one side you can't cross -- the west side. And you don't have to back track an entire block. Just cross the street to the east side of the intersection and continue south.
 
Yes, Spadina and Lakeshore. I was on the North-West side of of the intersection. There's a Gardiner on-ramp there and a sign warning pedestrians not to cross there.

There was no cross walk or pedestrian signals to the East side of Spadina at that intersection.

Walking across is doable because a lot of the times there is gridlock at the on ramp... but as a rollerblader, it's very difficult because you have little control over stopping and going when a gap between cars opens, specially when you're on the heavily textured roadway versus a smooth bike path.

Can't wait for 2011 :(
 
Why not just ride along Queen or King to Parliament, and then head south to the Distillery? These two streets are more bike friendly than a lot of those you mention on your itinerary...

Just gotta mind those doors.
 
Bike friendly yes, definitely not rollerblade friendly. Riding on Queen St. with cars trying to get ahead of streetcars, you'll often get pushed over into parked cars. Rollerbladers take up a full lane by themselves because of their stride. Bikes can easily be passed by because they go in a relatively straight line and take up no more than a few feet of street footprint.

The streets that I mentioned above have very light traffic except for some small sections of the itinerary.

Ideally, I would love to take a bike path the whole way.

Once the Portland bridge comes along, Queen's Quay gets the bike lanes from West8's plan and East Bayfront improves the Queen's Quay/Paraliament intersection, wheeled pedestrians will finally have a safe and enjoyable cross town corridor.
 
Not to rag on blading, because it's fine as a more enjoyable activity on pathways, but it's always seemed to be the worst way to get around the city. You've pretty much summed it up already, wheels that are bad over anything-but-smooth-terrain, space-taking stride, and less stop/go control. And then there's the issue of either having to carry a pair of shoes with you, or be limited to where you can go at your destination.
 
^I agree but it is a fun way to get around if you have a decent road along your itinerary.

I carry a pair of Old Navy foam flip flops. They weigh next to nothing and I can tie them to the back of my belt.
 
MetroMan said:
^I agree but it is a fun way to get around if you have a decent road along your itinerary.

I carry a pair of Old Navy foam flip flops. They way next to nothing and I can tie them to the back of my belt.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, flip-flops, I never even thought of those. And I bet there's fun to be had in trying to blade Queen St, it'd be quite the obstacle course.
 
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