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Cycling in Waterloo Region - Printable Version

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RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tomh009 - 02-02-2017

Rear wheel is bent.  Was he struck from behind?
http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.3268212.1486056073!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_960/image.jpg

The CTV article says the car was exiting 85 onto King St, so it must be either just S of Conestoga Mall (but I don't think there are enough trees there to match the photo) or at Martin Grove Road, which is well north of Conestoga Mall.  EDIT: it was just N of 85 on King St, S of Conestogo Road.

Also, based on the positions of the bicycle and the helmet, he was in the middle lane maybe?


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timc - 02-02-2017

I agree with Markster. It's likely that the cyclist was crossing the offramp from 85 onto King Street North in front of Conestoga Mall.

It's probably best to leave the forensics up to WRPS.

I see that the article points out that the cyclist was wearing a helmet, but does it mention whether that bike had lights? The time of the incident was before sunrise.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Osiris - 02-02-2017

(02-02-2017, 01:46 PM)Markster Wrote: Here is where the bicycle is laying in the photo from CTV:
https://goo.gl/maps/ciU5iKy1d7G2

That would mean the collision probably happened a little up the road.

My guess is that the cyclist was on the road, and was merging across the lane that enters in from the highway.  It's pretty bad cycling up there, because you're going uphill, slowly, and then suddenly you're now in the middle lane instead of to the right, and the right lane now has people coming in at highway speeds.  It's very difficult to get out the way of all the drivers.

The cyclist being in their 60s means they probably weren't familiar with the relatively new MUT.  This is how they've always cycled up King St.  The MUT does exist at this point.
 Though once you hit the ION station at Conestoga, they still haven't paved the sidewalk, so it would currently be a snowy mess after the Conestoga entrance.

I... uhh....

What?

If anything, my logic would deduce that someone in their 60s cycling on a Tuesday morning in February is an avid cyclist, one that would know and care about the trails around an otherwise concrete heap of land.

Unless you're inferring that their age absolutely makes this a pleasure ride they infrequently take, ignoring every other parameter.

Although owning a Fuji that likely cost a few thousand dollards doesn't scream "February morning ignorant pleasure ride" either.

Having seen it on my commute this morning from both directions - slowed on the expressway and retracing my usual route south on King - I agree with Markster's version of events - it very much looked like someone had taken the street in lieu of the snowed-over MUT (best view I could find was this photo from Twitter), and as the lane merged with the offramp, the driver doing highway speeds comes up from behind on the cyclist and sends them to their untimely death.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tomh009 - 02-02-2017

The bike looks nice but no obvious sign of lights. Of course the rider could have been wearing something, too.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Section ThirtyOne - 02-03-2017

As someone who rides that stretch on the regular in the summer, I always use the MUT on King north of Weber. Where the cyclist appears to have been hit is extremely treacherous, I treat that crossing with extreme caution as cars are really moving when exiting.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 02-03-2017

I was just out exploring this exact area last weekend, but gave up (heading North on the Forwell trail) at Manulife because I couldn't figure out how to get across there... Man, that's really sad. Sad


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - KevinL - 02-04-2017

Friends of the victim have identified him as local painter and art writer Robert Linsley.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - jamincan - 02-04-2017

http://robertlinsley.com/


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 02-19-2017

I've been getting a bit braver in exploring sections of the Region on my bike "off-trail" and doing a lot more on-road riding.  Last weekend, I figured I could really close out a nice loop between the North end of the Forwell Trail and Parkside/Weber (near where ion's Maintenance Facility is, which is a stop I routinely make) by going across Northfield.

Heading Westbound, after coming down Conestogo (to try and avoid King/Northfield), I turned left onto Northfield and merged in to the bike lanes that start there.  Pretty scary and narrow with cars coming by on both sides there (it cuts across the ramps).  Here's a video I made heading the other way:



A few things I realize after sitting back and watching this, that I did wrong:
  • It wasn't completely obvious to me at the time where the bike lanes started.  I see now they start much earlier, but I didn't notice them until I was about 1/3 of the way across the bridge.
  • I kept thinking the "Bike Lane" signs were pointing at the sidewalk, treating it as a "Shared Pathway" - when really they're pointing at the road... but the signs have to be off to the side, since there's no little strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road.
  • I feel like I need to say it, that I never, ever ride on the sidewalk - but I didn't think it was safe once I got partway across the bridge to stop and schlep my bike over the snow and ice onto the narrow, partially covered bike lane to get back in it, once I realized where it was.
  • Super nice of the driver at 0:47 to stop and let me go by!  I felt bad, since there was a big line of cars, there; I was perfectly willing to wait! (you can't see in the video, but he waved me through, which is why I went right away so as not to cause more of a delay)

I cut back over to the bike lanes at Conestogo but by the time I got up to King I was uncomfortable enough that I popped back up onto the sidewalk briefly and went through the Best Buy/Wendys parking lot to get back over to Conestoga Mall, where the MUT starts up again heading South to the Forwell trail.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Markster - 02-19-2017

(02-19-2017, 08:41 AM)Canard Wrote: Heading Westbound, after coming down Conestogo (to try and avoid King/Northfield), I turned left onto Northfield and merged in to the bike lanes that start there.  Pretty scary and narrow with cars coming by on both sides there (it cuts across the ramps).  Here's a video I made heading the other way:

I kept thinking the "Bike Lane" signs were pointing at the sidewalk, treating it as a "Shared Pathway" - when really they're pointing at the road... but the signs have to be off to the side, since there's no little strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road.
I feel like I need to say it, that I never, ever ride on the sidewalk - but I didn't think it was safe once I got partway across the bridge to stop and schlep my bike over the snow and ice onto the narrow, partially covered bike lane to get back in it, once I realized where it was.

The Northfield bridge really should have made the sidewalks wider, and declared them as MUTs. I saw that part of the confusion you had was that the bike lane was half full of snow. If they gave even half the width of that bike lane to a widened sidewalk, it could work.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 02-20-2017

New App Helps Cities Prioritize Cyclists

tl;dr: Siemens has come up with an idea for an app on your phone that would trigger a Green Wave for cyclists, if the conditions are right.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - ijmorlan - 02-20-2017

(02-19-2017, 12:43 PM)Markster Wrote:
(02-19-2017, 08:41 AM)Canard Wrote: Heading Westbound, after coming down Conestogo (to try and avoid King/Northfield), I turned left onto Northfield and merged in to the bike lanes that start there.  Pretty scary and narrow with cars coming by on both sides there (it cuts across the ramps).  Here's a video I made heading the other way:

I kept thinking the "Bike Lane" signs were pointing at the sidewalk, treating it as a "Shared Pathway" - when really they're pointing at the road... but the signs have to be off to the side, since there's no little strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road.
I feel like I need to say it, that I never, ever ride on the sidewalk - but I didn't think it was safe once I got partway across the bridge to stop and schlep my bike over the snow and ice onto the narrow, partially covered bike lane to get back in it, once I realized where it was.

The Northfield bridge really should have made the sidewalks wider, and declared them as MUTs.  I saw that part of the confusion you had was that the bike lane was half full of snow.  If they gave even half the width of that bike lane to a widened sidewalk, it could work.

On a long bridge it’s nutty to prefer bicycle lanes over a portion of the sidewalk. Bicycles and pedestrians next to each other is way safer than bicycles and motor traffic when there are no driveways and the motor traffic is travelling faster. The only reason to prefer bicycle lanes is if there are lots of interruptions to the straight flow of the traffic.

On this particular bridge they really should have seriously considered a path down the centre, separated from the motor vehicle lanes by the LRT tracks. Oh well.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 03-01-2017

Just received my Knog "Oi!" bike bell!

   

...the timbre is simply divine!  I can't wait to pleasantly scare the $#!+ out of people on the trails now!

(I always ring my bell, twice, Chutten-style, but no matter how early or late I do it, 50% of people seem to leap violently to the side, absolutely aghast at the fact that a cyclist could be approaching from behind at a leisurely 15 km/h and wish to signal a safe and courteous passing!)


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tvot - 03-01-2017

(03-01-2017, 01:21 PM)Canard Wrote: Just received my Knog "Oi!" bike bell!

Cool. I backed the kickstarter, although I ordered the wrong size (large instead of small) and by the time the new one arrived I was done riding for the year. 

I'm looking forward to using it in the spring.


RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timc - 03-01-2017

I have so far failed at finding a bell that fits the drop bars on my road bike. The large one might do the trick.