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Cycling in Waterloo Region
Ha! I noticed the same thing as I was biking through Uptown today.
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I made the bike counter get to 2 just now... there aren't really usable bike lanes in Uptown at the moment (or even more so than usual). Spur Line and Laurel Trail are OK, but Central Promenade isn't.
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I am sure that the counter data will somehow be used against building further actual-protected lanes (i.e. "look no one uses it, why build more!?").

I went to run errands at lunch on my bike and had to use vehicle lanes on King.

The number of vehicles parked in the cycling lane was also much higher today as the slight bump of the roll curb blends in to the lumps of snow and it visually disappears.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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I was just re-reading the MINIMUM MAINTENANCE STANDARDS FOR MUNICIPAL HIGHWAYS and realizing that for cycling lanes most of our on-road facilities will fall in to the class 3 standard (only need reduce depth to 8cm within 24 hours), and this was the new revelation for me, if the municipality declares a snow event then no matter the depth of snow in the cycling lane they are deemed to be in compliance until the snow event is declared over.

So basically, as soon as there is enough snow to warrant the clearing of the bike lane that will also likely enough to trigger a snow event and no longer require the lane to be cleared.

If the uptown cycling lanes aren't going to be cleared all winter I think there is a requirement that they have to be signed as officially closed (if it is closed they are in compliance).
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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What a friggin joke, it's almost like it's designed to be a failure.
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(11-17-2018, 01:02 AM)clasher Wrote: What a friggin joke, it's almost like it's designed to be a failure.

Funny how the sidewalk is nice and clear though
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(11-16-2018, 11:49 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: I was just re-reading the MINIMUM MAINTENANCE STANDARDS FOR MUNICIPAL HIGHWAYS and realizing that for cycling lanes most of our on-road facilities will fall in to the class 3 standard (only need reduce depth to 8cm within 24 hours), and this was the new revelation for me, if the municipality declares a snow event then no matter the depth of snow in the cycling lane they are deemed to be in compliance until the snow event is declared over.

So basically, as soon as there is enough snow to warrant the clearing of the bike lane that will also likely enough to trigger a snow event and no longer require the lane to be cleared.

If the uptown cycling lanes aren't going to be cleared all winter I think there is a requirement that they have to be signed as officially closed (if it is closed they are in compliance).

And it also says that the municipality should clear the bicycle lanes within 24 hours after the end of the snow event (if practicable). 

I personally think this is reasonable; the number of people bicycling during a snow event (or in the first 24h after it) really is relatively small. I do recognize that others here will disagree with me.
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Back in the municipal election, Rami Said mentioned that the Uptown BIA had voted to run a pilot project this year clearing all the sidewalks along King Street and probably some other blocks in that area (I'm not sure what the boundaries are), so that explains the clean sidewalks. It will be interesting to see how it goes this year, considering how poor the clearing was at any pedestrian crossing LRT track area last year. Something tells me the BIA won't bother with the bike lanes.

On another mind-boggling note. After Thursday's snow people have started driving the wrong way down the one-way stretch of Dawson between Roslin & Beverly. Snow may have covered up the bike lane, but the two "do not enter" signs and the one way sign at Roslin are still there. I saw two people within 15 minutes on Thursday night (one of whom I waved down and informed them it was one-way), and one more this morning now that the bike lane is visible because of car tracks wearing away the snow.  On Thursday night when I was shovelling someone was walking in the bike lane and I warned him that I had seen people drive the wrong way and he just remarked that the bike lane wasn't visible with the snow, as if that made it OK, and also not getting that where he was walking put him in harms way because of those drivers.

The reason for one-way is that the new sidewalk made the road too narrow for two-way traffic, the comically short bike lane was just a bonus. I'm wondering when the first collision will happen.
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I was in uptown this morning, and the bike lanes had been very nicely cleared.
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(11-17-2018, 02:58 PM)jwilliamson Wrote: I was in uptown this morning, and the bike lanes had been very nicely cleared.

Agreed. Gotta give them credit for that.
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(11-17-2018, 02:58 PM)jwilliamson Wrote: I was in uptown this morning, and the bike lanes had been very nicely cleared.

Cleared or melted? It has been above zero since 6 last night.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(11-17-2018, 04:57 PM)Pheidippides Wrote:
(11-17-2018, 02:58 PM)jwilliamson Wrote: I was in uptown this morning, and the bike lanes had been very nicely cleared.

Cleared or melted? It has been above zero since 6 last night.

It was very obviously cleared. There was single stripe of bare concrete the width of a small plow, with snow a few inches deep on either side.
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That is good then. Hopefully it was just a bit of confusion for the first big snowfall of the season and the timeliness will improve.

Are there any penalties related to non-compliance the the minimum maintenance standards? If a municipality is not meeting them regularly (road, cycle lane, or sidewalk) who do you complain to? The MTO, municipal affairs? Surely the municipality isn't policing itself?
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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I think that not meeting their minimum maintenance standards leaves them vulnerable to lawsuits in the event that one suffers damages. Of course I'm not a lawyer.
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Hey, it's a City of Waterloo survey about the streetscape improvements! Deadline Nov 30.

https://www.waterloo.ca/en/living/uptown...vement.asp

I let them know what I think...
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