Cycling in Waterloo Region

[danbrotherston]

They only work for cyclists who are comfortable taking a lane, and riding in front of a line of traffic.  Most cyclists are not comfortable with this, and worse, many drivers seem to not accept it either.

Makes sense, since it's illegal, although it's part of the 99% of the Highway Traffic Act that's never enforced.

I'm not sure what exactly you're referring to here, but you are 100% incorrect on this. Cyclists are permitted to take the lane as necessary.

First, the turnout law doesn't apply to the circumstances I'm discussing. You probably mean to link to the "slow moving vehicles (including bicycles) must keep right as practicable".

But that word practicable has a very specific meaning, and I will refer you to the MTO's cycling skills guide which gives explicit instructions for cyclists:

"Where do you ride?
Because bicycles usually travel at a lower speed, there are two rules of the road to
which cyclists must pay special attention:
1. slower traffic stays right
2. slower traffic must give way to faster traffic when safe and practical
Accordingly, cyclists should ride one meter from the curb or close to the right hand
edge of the road when there is no curb, unless they are turning left, going faster
than other vehicles or if the lane is too narrow to share."

Source: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/...skills.pdf

So, cyclists may take the lane if the lane is too narrow to share with a car, or should ride one meter out from the curb. On most lanes in our city 1 meter out from the curb is effectively taking the lane. This is the government's document recommending specific cyclist behaviour. Later, the same document repeats it:

"Taking a lane
In urban areas where a curb lane is too narrow to share safely with a motorist, it
is legal to take the whole lane by riding in the centre of it. "

Taking the lane is entirely legal in Ontario if the lanes are not wide enough to share with a car, which is almost all lanes, except for extra wide parking lanes.