07-09-2016, 09:56 AM
(07-09-2016, 09:45 AM)Canard Wrote: It may have to do with rail lubrication. In the curves with a restraining rail (anything r<150m), there is a gap below the restraining rail to permit debris and grease so on to fall through. It may not be possible with an off-the-shelf solution to fill the gap with a rubber filler strip (I know what you're talking about - you often see it on heavy railways on newer crossings). There is a lot of wear on the curves from the flanges of the trains (especially since ours are fixed-bogie) so it's very possible that it's not as simple a matter as filling the gap with a rubber strip.
In the video you posted, I think the cyclist would have been fine if they had very firmly snapped their handlebars to the left at the moment of rail-to-wheel interface. The trick is if you're just loosely holding your handlebars, and going parallel enough to the tracks, it'll fall into the gap and throw you off. If you're very firmly holding the handlebars and bias the opposite way, you win out over the track and you're fine. I really should post a little video about this technique. You can "feel it" very easily once you've done it a few times.
There are definitely off the shelf products used by tram lines in other cities very similar to ours, I cannot believe it is not possible at least in some locations, I can believe that it would cost more in maintenance. This is still different from the rubber guides used on mainline rails, I've never seen this used anywhere in Canada, although I haven't exactly looked.
Yeah, you can cross safely by turning sharply, and its easy to practice now, but when riding in traffic, its easy to be distracted at the wrong moment. I think it's much safer to encourage crossing at a safe wide angle to begin with, then there is little risk of getting it wrong. The problem in some cases will be surrounding traffic forcing cyclists to take a dangerous angle, for example turning right across the tracks in some locations, I would make the turn wide, and cross at a 90 degree angle, but if a car was forcing me towards the curb at that moment, I may not be able too. Sharrows showing cyclists the safe route to take will do some good, but at the end of the day, proper cycling infrastructure is always better. Still, I'd just be happy to see sharrows and warning signs at this point, because right now, I haven't heard a peep about any plans.