Cycling in Waterloo Region

[catarctica]

Duke between Frederick and Scott is closed one lane for construction now. I don’t think this is related to the bike lane but just want to post it here first. I’m not even sure if this section will have the bike lane later on.

[ZEBuilder]

Duke between Frederick and Scott is closed one lane for construction now. I don’t think this is related to the bike lane but just want to post it here first. I’m not even sure if this section will have the bike lane later on.

On the city of Kitchener road closures page it says it's for K-W hydro work so it isn't for a bike lane.

[danbrotherston]

And with that, the downtown cycling grid has passed the final (political) hurdle.

On to construction.

[tomh009]

Is there a map published of the final configuration?

[danbrotherston]

Is there a map published of the final configuration?

I don't think there was one, so I created one.

   

I'm pretty sure this is everything the city plans to build, including the thin black lines as "bikeways" which are really just signage and the traffic diversions which I've put markers over.

Taking Duke and Ontario out really hurt the grid concept here.

I am also frustrated by the removal of the traffic calming on Water St....you know, because those neighbours were worried about traffic...they umm...don't have enough of it I guess???

[taylortbb]

Taking Duke and Ontario out really hurt the grid concept here.

I am also frustrated by the removal of the traffic calming on Water St....you know, because those neighbours were worried about traffic...they umm...don't have enough of it I guess???

I don't think Duke is really out yet. It was always provisional, based on what the region wants, as any road with LRT tracks are regional roads. The message from city staff is still that they think the region will get on board.

The traffic calming on Water St reminds me so much that neighbourhoods really have no idea what they want, or what impacts what. It's like every fight over building height, where the neighbourhood declares victory for getting 2 storeys removed from a 25 storey building, not noticing that they've lost the proposed park. Fundamentally, people just don't want change, and traffic calming would be change.

[dtkvictim]

They posted this map today with the caption "Approved cycling routes" (Source: https://www.engagewr.ca/downtown-cycling...etwork-map). The only difference I see here between the original proposal is the missing section of Duke St. It still shows all of Ontario St so I don't think this map is correct.


Dan, your map has Water only going until Duke instead of Weber, is that a mistake or was that a change made? That would be super disappointing if it's not a mistake.

[danbrotherston]

They posted this map today with the caption "Approved cycling routes" (Source: https://www.engagewr.ca/downtown-cycling...etwork-map). The only difference I see here between the original proposal is the missing section of Duke St. It still shows all of Ontario St so I don't think this map is correct.


Dan, your map has Water only going until Duke instead of Weber, is that a mistake or was that a change made? That would be super disappointing if it's not a mistake.

No, you're right, my map is wrong, Water goes to Duke, thanks for pointing that out.

[tomh009]

They posted this map today with the caption "Approved cycling routes" (Source: https://www.engagewr.ca/downtown-cycling...etwork-map). The only difference I see here between the original proposal is the missing section of Duke St. It still shows all of Ontario St so I don't think this map is correct.

This one looks more grid-like ... but only because they are showing the LRT in addition to the cycling routes!

[danbrotherston]

They posted this map today with the caption "Approved cycling routes" (Source: https://www.engagewr.ca/downtown-cycling...etwork-map). The only difference I see here between the original proposal is the missing section of Duke St. It still shows all of Ontario St so I don't think this map is correct.
...

This one looks more grid-like ... but only because they are showing the LRT in addition to the cycling routes!

   

There, added the extension to Water to Weber. I also realized I had the bikeway on Bingemans instead of Chapel, and Chapel makes much more sense as it continues across East Ave.

The map also looks more gridlike as it shows the grid in context, which is somewhat fair, lots of that actually does exist (although Frederick does not, and that's pretty key), and even if it is extremely poorly designed (looking at you Weber St.) or comically inadequate (Queen St.) it definitely still can contribute. (I also give props to staff for not even drawing in the Victoria St. joke bike lane).

I'd rank my highest priorities POST Grid to be Frederick St., completing Duke St., then doing something about the hole around Queens Blvd. (it's hard to go West from downtown). You either go down to Stirling, which is pretty good, but a big detour, or you take the trail from Vic Park west, which is also a big detour for some, but also a pretty unpleasant ride...the crossings they installed, while a good effort, are incredibly uncomfortable for trail users--and also installed on the wrong road.  I think the cycling plan has infra on Spadina, but ultimately this area has some big challenges, putting infra on Queen St. would have been ideal, but that ship apparently sailed.

[Acitta]

'Certainly has to be done better': Cambridge Coronation Boulevard still on table for cycling lane

[danbrotherston]

'Certainly has to be done better': Cambridge Coronation Boulevard still on table for cycling lane

This is generally a pretty good article.  I do wish they (and by they I mean both the record AND our elected officials) would stop giving air to the lie that this impeded ambulances.  The ambulance drivers and the hospitals said it didn’t and we shouldn’t listen to the ranting and ravings of angry drivers who want to try and use fear of slowing ambulances to advance their anti cycling agenda.

[danbrotherston]

Wow...why would they have built the crossing there? It can't be because of the curve in the road because people have already been crossing the street there for the longest time. Is this just one of those "Waterloo Region things" that you're not supposed to put much thought into?

It’s a city of Kitchener project.  They put the crossing there because it makes it a 90 crossing which is preferred for sight lines. Also the curve makes the lanes wider, so the island would have had to be smaller, even though hydro forced them to use bullshit roll curbs there anyway. 

honestly, I think that crossing is so bad it wasn’t worth the money, but for a project manager to go to council and argue a project has been killed by compromises, well, that’s just a form of truth that we are not comfortable with in our society.

[Acitta]

ok, I am not even waiting for Dan to chime in,  that is ridiculous !!

Lol, you know me so well.

Yeah, that's pretty frustrating...ironically, the plow shows how the path probably should go.

It is a city path though, if you call the city contact centre, or even just tweet at them, should be pretty prompt in correcting it...

I am curious how the crossing of Victoria looks, there's a smaller, but even less justified misalignment there, and I kind of expect the plows to go straight through over the curb and grass.

The Victoria crossing was OK, a bit of snow but not impassable.

[jeffster]

ok, I am not even waiting for Dan to chime in,  that is ridiculous !!

HA! Facts.

I don't understand the configuration here either. I assume it has something to do with the way the road bends. I think in this case, traffic calming could have been called for, when travelling towards Victoria from Highland, which, I assume, was the problem.