06-02-2021, 03:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-02-2021, 03:31 PM by danbrotherston.)
(06-02-2021, 09:02 AM)ac3r Wrote: Waterloo sidewalk closure a precursor to active transportation upgrades: https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-st...-upgrades/
Lol...I remember Weber....
It's very on brand for them to close all the sidewalks with no real consideration. I remember fighting this one at council...
I mean, the whole thing is stupid...a 1.5 m bike lane on a wide 4 lane truck route highway like Weber, what 8 year old wouldn't you trust to ride there.
But this really was the turning point for me, where I became very disillusioned with regional staff. They were initially proposing a 1.5 m bike lane on the bridge to replace the sidewalk (because reducing lanes is apparently unacceptable even when traffic volumes suggest there would be no congestion). The bike lane was immediately beside the concrete parapet. Now I felt this was highly dangerous, so I was strongly opposed to it. I did some research and found that the Ontario road standards prohibit such a configuration, if there is a vertical obstacle like a retaining wall or parapet it needs to have a 0.5m buffer (not that I think that's enough, but it clearly means the proposed regional design violates standards). I went to council, presented this, and council asked the transportation director point blank if this was true, and he said, no, there is no such requirement.
When I realized that I knew more about the standards for bike lanes than our regional transportation director I stopped trusting anything they say. As a technically oriented person who generally believes in the concept of expertise, it really has shaken my entire belief system, but ultimately at least when it comes to transportation (and urban) planning, the professionals are far too often wrong with deadly consequences.
FWIW, I walked out of that committee room angry and determined to speak to throw the book in their face at the actual council meeting. Of course, the project mysteriously disappeared off the agenda for the council meeting next week, and re-appeared months later with an undersized MUT replacing the bike lane, so I guess someone actually checked the book, but I never received an apology or even an acknowledgement and ultimately...most of the project keeps it's garbage bike lane (albeit not directly abutting a concrete barrier) and I keep my anger and cynicism about our transportation planners.