07-19-2018, 01:20 PM
City of Waterloo quarterly cycling email, on the UpTown protected lanes:
3. I'm a bit confused. To me, I wonder if how far back from the intersection the cyclists are waiting makes it more likely that a left- or right-turning vehicle will miss them, compared to pedestrians right at the curb.
4. The off-set crossing locations "provide more time for motorists turning to react and stop" similar to Uni/King seems horrible to me. Daily, the more off-set a crosswalk is, the more that drivers who have a stop line behind it tend to drive right over the crosswalk and use either the far crosswalk line, or the curb of the intersecting street as their "stop line" (more often their slow slightly line). It also widens the viewing range a driver has to comb over in order to see crossing vulnerable road users.
5. The refuge area is offset sideways, in order to accommodate the crossing offset from 4., which makes it a less-obvious place for drivers to look, making VRUs more likely to be missed.
6. The meander and speed change, on one hand I think a cyclist moving fast enough that a driver could think they could turn but would hit a cyclist, that kind of speed is more likely to see the cyclist in traffic. The twisting and speed changes make it more likely that a cyclist might alarm pedestrians who think the cyclist is going to run into them, brings the cyclist closer to the pedestrians, and makes pedestrian/cyclist interference more likely. The changing speeds/movements also makes it more likely that a driver misjudges and times their turn improperly; you think a cyclist is going to comfortably ride through, check a different area before judging the correct delay in your turn, but turn into a cyclist who was slowed down, whether your judgement of their clearing time was based on the speed in the cross-ride or protected lane, because of the differential at the transition. Cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians all know that navigating around others is easiest when the others move consistently in direction and speed. When a person stops to tie their shoe, a bike dodges left and right, or a car slows down or switches lanes without warning, our ability to navigate safely around them is very much worsened, not improved, by the change.
- shorter crossing distances for cyclists and pedestrians;
- continued separation for cyclists (versus having to merge back into traffic);
- safer refuge for cyclists to wait at the signals for the lights to change;
- off-set crossing locations which provide more time for motorists turning to react and stop when a cyclist/ pedestrian is crossing the street (similar to the crosswalk design at University and King);
- more visibility for cyclists/pedestrians as the refuge area is further ahead from vehicles stopped at the light (motorists can look to their side as opposed to over their shoulder) and;
- a meandering approach for cyclists entering the intersection which encourages cyclists to slow down before crossing the street.
3. I'm a bit confused. To me, I wonder if how far back from the intersection the cyclists are waiting makes it more likely that a left- or right-turning vehicle will miss them, compared to pedestrians right at the curb.
4. The off-set crossing locations "provide more time for motorists turning to react and stop" similar to Uni/King seems horrible to me. Daily, the more off-set a crosswalk is, the more that drivers who have a stop line behind it tend to drive right over the crosswalk and use either the far crosswalk line, or the curb of the intersecting street as their "stop line" (more often their slow slightly line). It also widens the viewing range a driver has to comb over in order to see crossing vulnerable road users.
5. The refuge area is offset sideways, in order to accommodate the crossing offset from 4., which makes it a less-obvious place for drivers to look, making VRUs more likely to be missed.
6. The meander and speed change, on one hand I think a cyclist moving fast enough that a driver could think they could turn but would hit a cyclist, that kind of speed is more likely to see the cyclist in traffic. The twisting and speed changes make it more likely that a cyclist might alarm pedestrians who think the cyclist is going to run into them, brings the cyclist closer to the pedestrians, and makes pedestrian/cyclist interference more likely. The changing speeds/movements also makes it more likely that a driver misjudges and times their turn improperly; you think a cyclist is going to comfortably ride through, check a different area before judging the correct delay in your turn, but turn into a cyclist who was slowed down, whether your judgement of their clearing time was based on the speed in the cross-ride or protected lane, because of the differential at the transition. Cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians all know that navigating around others is easiest when the others move consistently in direction and speed. When a person stops to tie their shoe, a bike dodges left and right, or a car slows down or switches lanes without warning, our ability to navigate safely around them is very much worsened, not improved, by the change.