ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[danbrotherston]

I talked to Coun. Tom Galloway about this today. He said, as many of you already know, that they are not bike lanes, but paved shoulders. In part they are there to direct drivers, and in winter, they will be where the snowplow leaves the snow. Cyclists are welcome to use King St., he said,, but the lack of infrastructure indicates the planning model that encourages cyclists to stay off busy regional roads like King St. I didn't know that -- I thought bike lanes were supposed to be built whenever a road was rebuilt. Coming away from this I thought a) there should be a sign warning it is not a bike lane; b) As a pedestrian, PLEASE don't use the sidewalks unless you are willing to get off and walk when passing a pedestrian. It is very scary when a bike swoops by and misses you by half an inch. And it is also illegal to be on the sidewalk except for kids' bikes. Solving your own problem by endangering other people is not great public relations for the group.

Which is about as much as I expected.  "It wasn't designed for bikes, so... oh well!"
As for the sidewalk cycling, I will continue to make judgements based on my safety.  The new sidewalks in this section are thankfully much wider, reducing conflict.

This answer from Galloway really bugs me.  I'm willing to accept a policy whereby cyclists are encouraged to use other routes to destinations and avoid busy through roads.  But King is not a through road.  I want to go places on King St.  How can I do that?  Am I as a cyclist simply not allowed to safely visit those businesses?  If I was a business owner on that road I would be livid about such an answer.