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Cycling in Waterloo Region
Starting something on Twitter can't hurt. Lets hope for some RTs and the attention of the Region
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Just passed not one, but 2 vehicles on the bikelane in uptown with their hazard lights on, so I guess that makes it OK then.
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Reading this international article about Calgary's cycle tracks was up-lifting heading in to Monday's election.

With the right leadership this could be our community in 20 months...instead of 20 years...

"A little over a year later, Calgary’s downtown cycle-track network was delivered two months early and $2m under budget – reallocating just 2% of downtown street space to induce 1.2 million bicycle trips over 18 months, with little to no driver disruption."

"...the Peace Bridge has become one of the most-travelled walking and cycling routes in the city, with more than 5.5 million crossings, an average of 28,000 per week – not bad for a region that enjoys a meagre 1.75% modal share for cycling."
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Speaking of cars being where they shouldn't, I saw in the free daily in Montreal today that the suburb of Montreal-East is installing bollards to protect people waiting in bus shelters. (After the mayor's daughter got hit by a car while waiting in a shelter. But he says he would have done it even if it wasn't his daughter). And that's on the sidewalk, with vertical separation, unlike say our King St cycle paths. Which are better than they used to be but it's still far too common to see cars in the bike lanes.


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To quote regional staff: "Bollards won't keep cars out of the bike lane".
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Ummmm? What? Really?
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Yeah, honestly...it was a struggle for me to be polite in that meeting.
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What about a concrete wall? Would that keep them out?

Do they know what bollards are?
I have so many questions. I wish you could see the disgusted look on my face right now.
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I suspect I saw it in the mirror that evening.

To be fair, it is possible for cars to drive around bollards, or over them...and also possible for cars to drive up curbs.

But this refusal to acknowledge there's a huge difference between it not being impossible to break the law and endanger people, and facilitating that law breaking and endangerment just drove me up the wall.

It's frustrating though, I am quite sure that staff fully believe they are doing the right thing here, that their design is the right one...but that's really the core problem. They either lack the skills, or the willingness (or permission) to implement truly good designs. This has the potential to destroy our chances of implementing good infra, the optics of dangerous experiences mixed with cyclist protests on the premier bike lane in the core of the city will make people think there is no way to make cycling safe.
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(11-05-2018, 12:41 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: I suspect I saw it in the mirror that evening.

To be fair, it is possible for cars to drive around bollards, or over them...and also possible for cars to drive up curbs.

But this refusal to acknowledge there's a huge difference between it not being impossible to break the law and endanger people, and facilitating that law breaking and endangerment just drove me up the wall.

It's frustrating though, I am quite sure that staff fully believe they are doing the right thing here, that their design is the right one...but that's really the core problem.  They either lack the skills, or the willingness (or permission) to implement truly good designs.  This has the potential to destroy our chances of implementing good infra, the optics of dangerous experiences mixed with cyclist protests on the premier bike lane in the core of the city will make people think there is no way to make cycling safe.

I think Rob Deutschmann would have been far better than Karen Redman on this issue, and that was probably the key factor in my regional chair vote. I am hopeful that the Uptown Waterloo pilot project is better. But I just don't understand why staff don't seem to understand the problem with the King St lanes.

On another note (somewhat related), I saw that the Bicycle Network of Australia was advocating for a pilot project making helmets not mandatory on footpaths and cycle tracks. They point out that personal protective equipment should be the last line of defence and there are many other things to consider for safety of those on bicycles. Also, bicycle numbers in Australia are terrible.
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(11-05-2018, 12:59 PM)plam Wrote:
(11-05-2018, 12:41 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: I suspect I saw it in the mirror that evening.

To be fair, it is possible for cars to drive around bollards, or over them...and also possible for cars to drive up curbs.

But this refusal to acknowledge there's a huge difference between it not being impossible to break the law and endanger people, and facilitating that law breaking and endangerment just drove me up the wall.

It's frustrating though, I am quite sure that staff fully believe they are doing the right thing here, that their design is the right one...but that's really the core problem.  They either lack the skills, or the willingness (or permission) to implement truly good designs.  This has the potential to destroy our chances of implementing good infra, the optics of dangerous experiences mixed with cyclist protests on the premier bike lane in the core of the city will make people think there is no way to make cycling safe.

I think Rob Deutschmann would have been far better than Karen Redman on this issue, and that was probably the key factor in my regional chair vote. I am hopeful that the Uptown Waterloo pilot project is better. But I just don't understand why staff don't seem to understand the problem with the King St lanes.

On another note (somewhat related), I saw that the Bicycle Network of Australia was advocating for a pilot project making helmets not mandatory on footpaths and cycle tracks. They point out that personal protective equipment should be the last line of defence and there are many other things to consider for safety of those on bicycles. Also, bicycle numbers in Australia are terrible.

I agree.  Another issue that it coming up tomorrow is the IPS at the Laurel Trail on Bridgeport.  Staff are still trying to justify removing the IPS at Peppler in favour of the one at the Laurel trail, while I agree we should have one at the Laurel trail, I don't think we should keep both (it's cheaper to not remove the old one to boot).  Rob Deutschmann suggested on Twitter leaving the existing one on a trial basis, which I think is . a great idea.  Hopefully council will consider it, as I have tweeted it to some of them.

That's great news in Australia, given how detrimental their helmet law is.
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(11-05-2018, 12:41 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: I suspect I saw it in the mirror that evening.

To be fair, it is possible for cars to drive around bollards, or over them...and also possible for cars to drive up curbs.

But this refusal to acknowledge there's a huge difference between it not being impossible to break the law and endanger people, and facilitating that law breaking and endangerment just drove me up the wall.

It's frustrating though, I am quite sure that staff fully believe they are doing the right thing here, that their design is the right one...but that's really the core problem.  They either lack the skills, or the willingness (or permission) to implement truly good designs.  This has the potential to destroy our chances of implementing good infra, the optics of dangerous experiences mixed with cyclist protests on the premier bike lane in the core of the city will make people think there is no way to make cycling safe.

I keep coming back to the Ottawa Laurier Ave pilot project in my head.  All they did was put down the concrete parking barriers that they use at the end of parking spots over top of the painted on bike lakes.  Instant segregated bike lanes.  And they saw a massive increase in number of cyclists, and an increase of the confidence and feeling of safety by those cyclists.  

I sound like a broken record because I keep bringing this up, but it's so simple, fairly cheap.  Why not try it the way Ottawa did.  If it doesn't work, you just stop it.  But it will.
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(11-05-2018, 02:27 PM)Spokes Wrote: I keep coming back to the Ottawa Laurier Ave pilot project in my head.  All they did was put down the concrete parking barriers that they use at the end of parking spots over top of the painted on bike lakes.  Instant segregated bike lanes.  And they saw a massive increase in number of cyclists, and an increase of the confidence and feeling of safety by those cyclists.  

I sound like a broken record because I keep bringing this up, but it's so simple, fairly cheap.  Why not try it the way Ottawa did.  If it doesn't work, you just stop it.  But it will.

They've done that in other parts of Ottawa too, I rode through one that was on the edge of Kanata or maybe it was in Stittsville; it wasn't really someplace that one would expect to have segregated infra but there it was.
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(11-05-2018, 02:34 PM)clasher Wrote:
(11-05-2018, 02:27 PM)Spokes Wrote: I keep coming back to the Ottawa Laurier Ave pilot project in my head.  All they did was put down the concrete parking barriers that they use at the end of parking spots over top of the painted on bike lakes.  Instant segregated bike lanes.  And they saw a massive increase in number of cyclists, and an increase of the confidence and feeling of safety by those cyclists.  

I sound like a broken record because I keep bringing this up, but it's so simple, fairly cheap.  Why not try it the way Ottawa did.  If it doesn't work, you just stop it.  But it will.

They've done that in other parts of Ottawa too, I rode through one that was on the edge of Kanata or maybe it was in Stittsville; it wasn't really someplace that one would expect to have segregated infra but there it was.

Nice!
They launched the Laurier Ave pilot in my last year in Ottawa before moving back here, so I missed all subsequent projects.  But that shows that it works!  And how simple it is.
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Also on the planning and works agenda is Church street in Elmira. Where staff have removed parking and included some bike lanes but stop them just as you get close to Arthur Street, when you would really want them.

The reasoning is a lack of space to fit the lanes. But just so you felt safe they increased the car traffic lanes to 4.2m each. There is lots of feedback from residents suggesting they want cycle tracks in that section but regional staff have suggested it isn't possible. Also the side walks although AODA compliant seem really small for what is essentially a main route into the core of Elmira.
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