Trails

[ijmorlan]

I just say might, no guarantee, but riding alongside the train without any kind of separating feature is something I can imagine politicians, planners, and people being uncomfortable with. I do realize that it is far easier to get sucked under a pickup or delivery truck on a road than to somehow fit under an LRV, but these are the perceptions we have.

That is where the station is. There ought to be a short fence along the track opposite the platform to discourage people running for the platform ahead of a train arriving at the station. Generally speaking I think the separation between LRT and pedestrians is over done in many areas, but in this case there actually is a specific hazard and there is no separation at all. The same short fence would also separate people riding along the freight track from the LRT.

The overall design of that area is botched however. There absolutely should be a(n official) pedestrian track crossing immediately east of the platform, and it should connect to the parking lot and access into what used to be Yogurty’s Froyo. As it is, theoretically pedestrians have to walk past the west end of the platform to the vehicle access crossing and back. Also there should be a path immediately north of the tracks from Erb/Caroline over to the vehicle crossing near ValuMart. Implementing this would require moving (not even eliminating) 2 parking spaces.

[Canard]

I just say might, no guarantee, but riding alongside the train without any kind of separating feature is something I can imagine politicians, planners, and people being uncomfortable with. I do realize that it is far easier to get sucked under a pickup or delivery truck on a road than to somehow fit under an LRV, but these are the perceptions we have.

Not following - I think you're confused, I'm not riding alongside the train anywhere in the path I mentioned. If you're thinking I meant I ride my bike on the paved tracks North of the Platform... that's not what I would (ever!) do. I ride through Waterloo Public Square on the South side of the station, between the station and Cora's, which is a wide sidewalk-type construction.

At no point would I ever endanger myself or others by doing something stupid or unsafe like riding on tracks.

[timc]

I agree with Canard on this. There is a sidewalk south of the tracks that is, as far as I can tell, explicitly built for this purpose. There are even tactile bumps and everything. The only thing that seems to be missing is better signage, because it took me forever to figure it out.

[Canard]

And I guess if you really wanted to rap my knuckles, by all means call me a hooligan because I ride my bike across the (2) crosswalks at Erb/Caroline, instead of dismounting. And ride briefly on the sidewalk between the entrance to WTC off of Caroline and the intersection itself. Horrors!

[ijmorlan]

I just say might, no guarantee, but riding alongside the train without any kind of separating feature is something I can imagine politicians, planners, and people being uncomfortable with. I do realize that it is far easier to get sucked under a pickup or delivery truck on a road than to somehow fit under an LRV, but these are the perceptions we have.

Not following - I think you're confused, I'm not riding alongside the train anywhere in the path I mentioned.  If you're thinking I meant I ride my bike on the paved tracks North of the Platform... that's not what I would (ever!) do.  I ride through Waterloo Public Square on the South side of the station, between the station and Cora's, which is a wide sidewalk-type construction.

At no point would I ever endanger myself or others by doing something stupid or unsafe like riding on tracks.

I think riding along the freight tracks is what he is referring to. However, the only danger worth mentioning associated with that is dropping into the flangeway, which would almost certainly cause a spill. This is also an issue with the area between the buildings east of King. There is no significant danger from freight traffic in that location, and none during the day when there is no such traffic.

They should have used this from Hughes Lane to the crossing near Valumart:

https://www.environmental-expert.com/pro...rip-126618

Voilà! No more flangeway gap!

[Viewfromthe42]

The building definitely makes for a safer experience than the North side. As for crosswalks, I always wonder a bit about the legality around riding in them. If I was vehicular cycling, and staying as far to the right as is comfortable, I would be legally riding right next to a lot of crosswalks. When I ride through crosswalks, I always leave the sidewalk and immediately go to the intersection side, not between the painted lines, and ride that way (e.g. following the MUP that leads to the Spur line's Weber entrance).

[Canard]

You so lost me.

A) there is no “north side” - that’s tracks. It’s not allowed to walk, bike or drive there.

B) what is “vehicular cycling”?

[robdrimmie]

The building definitely makes for a safer experience than the North side. As for crosswalks, I always wonder a bit about the legality around riding in them. If I was vehicular cycling, and staying as far to the right as is comfortable, I would be legally riding right next to a lot of crosswalks. When I ride through crosswalks, I always leave the sidewalk and immediately go to the intersection side, not between the painted lines, and ride that way (e.g. following the MUP that leads to the Spur line's Weber entrance).

From a legal standpoint, it's illegal to be riding a bike inside a crosswalk (you can travel across/perpendicular to it like any other vehicle). It's also illegal to be on a bike on a non-MUT sidewalk. 

The reason for both (as I understand it) is that it is very unsafe to come off a sidewalk at typical cycling speeds.

On a personal note, there's several sidewalks (especially around the Homer Watson/Ottawa roundabout, some of which are technically MUTs but none of them are labelled) that I cycle on. I try to mitigate the risk by moving at close to walking speeds. I'll dismount in scenarios where the cities or region have posted those "fine for riding on the crosswalk" signs, but more so that drivers have one less excuse to yell things at me.

[KevinL]

You so lost me.

A) there is no “north side” - that’s tracks. It’s not allowed to walk, bike or drive there.

Doesn't stop people from doing it.

B) what is “vehicular cycling”?

Cycling in the manner of a motor vehicle - taking the lane, etc.

[danbrotherston]

....

B) what is “vehicular cycling”?

Cycling in the manner of a motor vehicle - taking the lane, etc.

A bit of context here, there is a group of folks who have argued against bike infrastructure (variously, of *all* kind, and of segregated kinds) because they believe that "if only everyone can learn to get along" cyclists can be perfectly safe on the roads.

They're one of the bigger obstacles to building safe cycling infrastructure.

And they exist today, in our region, making decisions about bike infrastructure................

[ijmorlan]

You so lost me.

A) there is no “north side” - that’s tracks. It’s not allowed to walk, bike or drive there.

Just to make sure, we’re talking about the freight track where it runs parallel to the LRT?

Now to my actual question: You have evidence that walking or biking is not legal there?

It’s not legal to drive there from King, because there are “No Turn” signs, and the traffic lights reinforce this by giving a straight-ahead green arrow, not the usual green circle. In the other direction I’m not aware of explicit signage, but I would agree that vehicles should not use it as an exit from the parking lot to King St. For pedestrians and bicycles, however, I’m not aware of any reason to believe it is not legal to use that space.

[ijmorlan]

....

Cycling in the manner of a motor vehicle - taking the lane, etc.

A bit of context here, there is a group of folks who have argued against bike infrastructure (variously, of *all* kind, and of segregated kinds) because they believe that "if only everyone can learn to get along" cyclists can be perfectly safe on the roads.

They're one of the bigger obstacles to building safe cycling infrastructure.

And they exist today, in our region, making decisions about bike infrastructure................

Wow. “if only everyone can learn to get along”

Completely idiotic. While motorists should drive better (i.e., learn to get along), both overall and specifically in how they relate to cyclists and pedestrians, and cyclists as a group could also improve their game, a road like Fischer-Hallman is inherently dangerous for cyclists. The only way to make it safe is to slow it down so much that it doesn’t serve its main function of moving motor vehicles from here to there. In some places, that really is the answer — but not everywhere. And I say that as someone whose preferred city plan is radically different from what we actually have. Also, bicycles are slow traffic for a fundamental reason, and it’s just stupid to suggest that large volumes of motor vehicle traffic should be required to move at bicycle speeds on major thoroughfares.

[kitborn]

I came across these platforms while walking through the park. What are they for?

   

[panamaniac]

Benches and rubbish bins?

[KevinL]

Benches and rubbish bins?

Yup, and maybe bike racks... anything that needs a solid mount to keep it in place.