Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Silie]

I like the additional lanes, but I worry that aspects of them that are likely related to the temporary implementation will make them appear worse for motor vehicle traffic than they are. Specifically, at many intersections there is now only a single lane for left turning, right turning, and straight through traffic. In many situations this will not work with even moderate traffic levels.

Please note I am not saying that we need to build as many lanes for motor vehicles as people will use, but it is reasonable to expect that intersection capacities will not be much lower than the capacities of the sections of road which connect the intersections.

An example which should have been done differently is Erb St. eastbound at Westmount where the bicycle lane begins. Right now the bollards begin just west of the intersection, eliminating the ability of straight through traffic to bypass right turning traffic. If the right lane was instead designated as a right turn lane and the bollards began immediately the other side of the intersection, this would work much better. But in other locations this simple fix wouldn’t work without breaking up the bike lane into disconnected and therefore more dangerous pieces.

A permanent installation would presumably not have these issues; the roads could be rebuilt as one motor vehicle lane in each direction with appropriate turn lanes, plus bicycle lanes (preferably segregated) in each direction. I’m concerned that some will see the existing implementation and just see it as a mess, and — “that’s what happens when you build bicycle lanes” — some of the support or at least acceptance of the change will be lost.

Erb and Westmount is a bloody disaster for exactly the reasons you mention. Both cycling and as a pedestrian, I have now had a dozen close-calls (and witnessed many others) at the eastbound temporary lane "bit" on the southwest side of the intersection.

Northbound Westmount drivers attempting a left onto Erb are so busy anticipating an opening that a northbound pedestrian either cannot cross or will nearly be hit halfway across. Every time I've been out, I've watched a car screech to a halt at the crosswalk and a swearing match ensue between startled drivers and scared pedestrians. 

Eastbound cyclists and pedestrians end up with right-turning drivers either whipping around the pylons onto Westmount, or worse, angling into the temporary lane and blasting the horn as they find a cyclist "blocking" them. This goes for both right-on-reds and green traffic signals.

What's a nightmare intersection to begin with has been exacerbated by the temporary lane design on the southwest corner!