08-30-2017, 06:56 AM
(08-30-2017, 05:43 AM)Canard Wrote: Correct Tom! A month or two ago, some event was going on in the same location - someone had set up a tent and chairs, tables etc., completely blocking anyone getting through. The organizers looked confused as to why all these bikers looked annoyed trying to get by!
It’s more totally incompetent design. Personally, I ride along the freight track, where there is lots of space. I’ve noticed lots of people walk there. I don’t think it’s actually intended for pedestrians or cyclists, however. But if that is so, it means there is no direct path between King St./public square and that southeast corner of the parking lot — people are supposed to walk to the west end of the LRT stop to cross, I guess. But that is totally unreasonable given the overall situation.
At the west end of the parking lot, there is no proper path between the intersection and the end of the paved portion of the freight track. Usually westbound I use the driveway within the parking lot to get to the sidewalk on Erb, while eastbound I use the path which is near (but not along) the tracks.
Overall, it gives the impression that the design team didn’t understand that Laurel trail goes right through there. Again, as previously noted by me and others, more double standard — a design team would never fail to understand that a road went through an area and still needed to exist in the new design (a deliberate decision might be taken to close a road, but it wouldn’t happen accidentally).
A proper design would have the trail immediately parallel to the track on the north side from Erb/Caroline to where the tracks split up. A small number of additional parking spots (<10) would have to come out to fit this in.
While we’re talking about this intersection, anybody know what the extra traffic signal on top of the signal for northbound Caroline traffic is for? There is another mistake: they’ve used normal traffic signalling even though it’s a very special situation. Since no straight movements are allowed, and left turns are supposed to be transit only, there should be a regular traffic right arrow and a transit-activated transit left. As it is, the signal allows left turns even when there is no bus. Many people are still taking that left even though it’s not permitted. If the signal never allowed those left turns and was a transit signal I think we would see much higher compliance.