Cycling in Waterloo Region - Printable Version +- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com) +-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Forum: Transportation and Infrastructure (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=25) +--- Thread: Cycling in Waterloo Region (/showthread.php?tid=186) Pages:
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RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tomh009 - 08-17-2023 (08-17-2023, 11:28 AM)creative Wrote: The city of Kitchener doesn’t plant those twigs anymore. I had a chat with the person in charge at the city and they indicated that they are only planting larger trees now. They also have a crew that goes around and waters these trees. But a fully shaded walk? No, that's not happening, not while 40% of the boulevard is taken by driveways. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timio - 08-21-2023 (08-17-2023, 11:28 AM)creative Wrote: The city of Kitchener doesn’t plant those twigs anymore. I had a chat with the person in charge at the city and they indicated that they are only planting larger trees now. They also have a crew that goes around and waters these trees. The water truck comes by once a week and refills the bags. Anecdotally speaking, approximately 20-25% of the trees planted in the neighbourhood last year didn't survive the winter. Hopefully they get replaced in the next round of planting. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - dtkvictim - 09-05-2023 Curbs at crossings on the Weber St MUT (Water St to Spur Line) have been replaced and widened, and crossrides (or whatever they are called) have been painted. It is now much easier (and legal) to cycle through these intersections. Though definitely still used caution crossing Weber/Victoria... I hate this intersection. Also didn't notice until posting this, but it looks like bicycle signals are being installed too (maybe required for crossrides). Hopefully, politics willing, these can be used one day to provide safer signalling. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 09-05-2023 (09-05-2023, 02:40 AM)dtkvictim Wrote: Curbs at crossings on the Weber St MUT (Water St to Spur Line) have been replaced and widened, and crossrides (or whatever they are called) have been painted. It is now much easier (and legal) to cycle through these intersections. Though definitely still used caution crossing Weber/Victoria... I hate this intersection. Yeah, this intersection doesn't get enough attention for how badly designed it is. It is right in the heart of the downtown, two blocks from the LRT right at the main train station. And yet you have an intersection designed with 100% of the priority on moving cars quickly. It is extremely dangerous for those walking because drivers always take turns very fast. Crossing distances are long, and the train station doesn't even have a fucking walkway to it. And yet it was designed with bike infra. It shows that even when directly instructed to, our regional engineers are unwilling or unable to build anything but car infra. And yet, almost nobody will talk about it. Engineers think it's fine, politicians don't notice or care. Even pedestrians and cyclists barely have a word to say. Because it is exactly that, utterly utterly normal. This is why I'm a radical...because this is not an acceptable normal. The crossride is a bandaid...it's not a bad thing to put on...but we need to stop the madmen with machetes who are shredding our city. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - bravado - 09-05-2023 (09-05-2023, 04:43 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:(09-05-2023, 02:40 AM)dtkvictim Wrote: Curbs at crossings on the Weber St MUT (Water St to Spur Line) have been replaced and widened, and crossrides (or whatever they are called) have been painted. It is now much easier (and legal) to cycle through these intersections. Though definitely still used caution crossing Weber/Victoria... I hate this intersection. I hear what you’re saying fellow citizen, but the Standards Book over here says otherwise. Have a nice day and try not to die! RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 09-05-2023 (09-05-2023, 12:23 PM)bravado Wrote:(09-05-2023, 04:43 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Yeah, this intersection doesn't get enough attention for how badly designed it is. It is right in the heart of the downtown, two blocks from the LRT right at the main train station. And yet you have an intersection designed with 100% of the priority on moving cars quickly. It is extremely dangerous for those walking because drivers always take turns very fast. Crossing distances are long, and the train station doesn't even have a fucking walkway to it. *cries*...so real... Also..."Don't worry, I'm an avid cyclist as well!" RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - bravado - 09-10-2023 Here's some badly needed data from Kitchener about local cycling trends. https://x.com/mattjrodrigues/status/1700915326945239159 https://pub-kitchener.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=58734c81-bc19-4315-b4fa-21f5add84071&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Chris - 09-11-2023 Overall I like the cycling infrastructure additions but the implementation is not very good. This is looking down Weber at Wellington. The post here is in an awful spot. The curb cutout is awkward and forces you to move over instead of being able to go a little more direct. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 09-12-2023 I mean...none of that is accidental. The turn radii are huge...so the crossing always has to be set back...that could be managed by routing the trail well, but that was also never going to happen. And that traffic signal post... Well, it doesn't really matter...what's important is the pavement markings are there, so cyclists will no longer be automatically at fault in case of a collision. Cops will have to work hard to justify blaming them. Edit: Wait wait wait....after looking at Google Maps...that post is new and they did significant reworking there. Okay...they can't blame this on retrofitting...once again I'm going to have to go back to putting this on our regional engineers being incapable or unwilling to build good infrastructure. Like...honestly...these people should go back to school. *sigh*...I was going to say if I was this bad at my job, I'd be fired, but I have been in a job where my job description was a lie and my real tasks were completely different, so...I guess it's a systemic failure. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - cherrypark - 09-12-2023 Incompetent or overly cheap - I can never really tell. I would bet that aside that the pole is new, they just didn't want to spend the money on any subsurface changes or placing that post in a new spot. New pole, same intersection subsurface layout. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - dtkvictim - 09-13-2023 Does anyone have insight on the design of the first ~400m of the Albert St bike lanes, coming from Weber St? I hadn't biked this end of Albert before and it's kind of wtf. Despite the rest of the street being excellent, there are no curbs for the bike lane here, and there is (I think) parking next to the curb instead of floating and protecting the bike lane. It seems like they've added construction pylons where curbs should have been because the paint coming from Weber St is confusing. And the unprotected bike line is quite literally floating in the middle of the road. And minor gripe compared to above. The extended disappearance of the curb (due to a driveway, though the curbs should still be a lot tighter...) aligning with both a pedestrian island and a bend in the road made getting passed at this exact spot feel like the truck was being encouraged to encroach on the bike lane. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - danbrotherston - 09-14-2023 Lol...oh man...so on brand for Waterloo engineers. "Lets give the maximum amount of forgiveness to drivers, and the minimum amount of protection to cyclists that we can get away with." RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - ijmorlan - 09-14-2023 (09-14-2023, 01:30 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Lol...oh man...so on brand for Waterloo engineers. I’d like to see massive concrete pylons where the curb ends for a driveway. People can drive carefully when crossing the bike lane to or from the driveway, or scratch up their vehicle severely. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - ac3r - 09-15-2023 (09-12-2023, 10:53 AM)cherrypark Wrote: Incompetent or overly cheap - I can never really tell. I would bet that aside that the pole is new, they just didn't want to spend the money on any subsurface changes or placing that post in a new spot. New pole, same intersection subsurface layout. It was likely the wiring underground or possibly other buried infrastructure. It's inconvenient, but I'd hope cyclists have the sense to not drive into the pole to begin with. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Acitta - 09-19-2023 Kitchener reports on progress in active transportation Kitchener has made great progress supporting active transportation by investing in local trail networks, pedestrian crossings and cycling infrastructure, allowing residents to travel across the community safely. A progress report to Kitchener’s Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee on Monday, Sept. 18, found that the initial investments made by the city in pursuit of its Cycling and Trails Master Plan have gotten residents walking, rolling and cycling in greater numbers. The report found that the 55km of new sidewalks and walkways combined with the 84km of all ages and abilities trails and bikeways have led to greater numbers of Kitchener residents using active transportation options to move through our community. “I’m thrilled to learn that real data shows that our cycling and pedestrian infrastructure investments are already being well-used. We’re still early in our journey of strategic investments in key connections that will connect neighbourhoods across Kitchener and beyond, but I’m encouraged to see how much progress has been made so far,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “As a growing city, we need to provide transportation options for Kitchener residents that are healthier, take up less space on our streets and are more affordable than personal car ownership.” Key findings of the report include: Kitchener has installed 28 new pedestrian crossings at mid-block, trail, and roundabout locations. Construction of off-road trails is ahead of schedule, with 8 km of upgraded trails in the past two years alone. The Downtown Cycling Grid has seen a 164 per cent increase in ridership, with 54,781 cycling trips in the first seven months of 2023. There have been 23,821 Neuron e-scooter and e-bike trips in Kitchener since its launch in April. The Iron Horse Trail continues to grow in use, with an average of 2,894 daily users in June 2023, compared to 819 in June 2016, an increase of 270 per cent. In addition to expanding the active transportation network, progress has been made on 24 of the 35 actions identified in the CTMP, including preparing education campaigns for pedestrian crossovers and safe cycling. “We often hear that ‘if you build it, they will come,’’ said Councillor Paul Singh, chair of the Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee. “This report validates this and directly responds to what I hear from my constituents consistently – people want options to get out of the car, get active, reduce traffic and get around the city in a sustainable manner.” The City of Kitchener’s Cycling and Trails Master Plan is a plan to build a city where people willingly and joyfully choose active transportation for recreation and getting around. With a focus on planning and designing for all ages and abilities, the strategy aims to make it safer and more comfortable for everyone to get out walking, rolling and cycling. The full strategy can be found on the City of Kitchener’s website. |