Cycling in Waterloo Region

[danbrotherston]

...can I grumble about this here?



I guess it's really no different than when cars park temporarily on the "wrong side" of the very narrow street that we live on, and if I'm driving along, and a car is approaching in the other direction, I have to yield to it and wait for it to pass, then drive out around the vehicle that is blocking my path.

You will be in good company if grumbling about this here. But you're also welcome to "grumble" to bylaw about it. Any car I see parked in a bike lane that looks like it'll be there long enough for bylaw to respond, I call in.

[DHLawrence]

I've seen worse; they put bike lanes in along Water Street in Peterborough but there's still a parking zone outside the police station that blocks it.

[Coke6pk]

...can I grumble about this here?



I guess it's really no different than when cars park temporarily on the "wrong side" of the very narrow street that we live on, and if I'm driving along, and a car is approaching in the other direction, I have to yield to it and wait for it to pass, then drive out around the vehicle that is blocking my path.

You will be in good company if grumbling about this here.  But you're also welcome to "grumble" to bylaw about it.  Any car I see parked in a bike lane that looks like it'll be there long enough for bylaw to respond, I call in.

Canada Post (like most Federal Government vehicles) is exempt from most city by-laws.  But feel free to grumble!

[danbrotherston]

You will be in good company if grumbling about this here.  But you're also welcome to "grumble" to bylaw about it.  Any car I see parked in a bike lane that looks like it'll be there long enough for bylaw to respond, I call in.

Canada Post (like most Federal Government vehicles) is exempt from most city by-laws.  But feel free to grumble!

So, two things.

First, citation needed. I've heard this before, frequently from drivers parking in bike lanes, I don't believe it to be true. It's possible it's true for government vehicles, it is definitely not true for all the private companies which represent the vast majority of illegally parked vehicles.

Second, it isn't exactly a city by-law, while the "no parking in bike lanes" bylaw is a city bylaw (in all municipalities in the region), bylaw enforcement doesn't enforce that bylaw under any circumstances (as I have been told), they ONLY enforce no parking zones, as marked by no parking signs, which are in theory supposed to always coincide with bike lanes. I have been told that they will not enforce no parking in bike lanes until signage is added. And the no parking sign, is a provincial regulatory sign, appearing in the HTA. And last time I checked, Canada Post does have to follow the HTA.

[MidTowner]

I guess it's really no different than when cars park temporarily on the "wrong side" of the very narrow street that we live on, and if I'm driving along, and a car is approaching in the other direction, I have to yield to it and wait for it to pass, then drive out around the vehicle that is blocking my path.

Is the other side of the street allowed? If so, it's illegal parking, but in practical terms no different impact than parking on the other side- no matter what, one direction of traffic will have to yield.

But it's different. When you had to pass this Canada Post vehicle on bike, you have to merge into mixed traffic that isn't expecting bicycles to be there. It's potentially a dangerous situation.

danbrotherstone recommended grumbling about it to bylaw. I'd recommend grumbling about it in a friendly note to Canada Post. Maybe they'd be interested in knowing that their postie is making it a habit to break bike lanes. Is that their standard operating procedure? Maybe it is; I don't know. But I doubt it.

[Canard]

Yeah, the light had turned green (this was Parkside, heading South, just below Weber) - and there was a city bus just over my left shoulder. The bus driver saw what was going to happen and slowed down, so I merged in (while taking the photo ) and gave 'em a "thank you" wave. If he hadn't decelerated I would have stopped, of course, and waited until it was safe to go around.

All in all, not really a big deal, but I see the tweets on twitter all the time from Toronto of people complaining about vehicles stopping in bike lanes there, so felt like I should mention it.

[danbrotherston]

Yeah, the light had turned green (this was Parkside, heading South, just below Weber) - and there was a city bus just over my left shoulder. The bus driver saw what was going to happen and slowed down, so I merged in (while taking the photo ) and gave 'em a "thank you" wave. If he hadn't decelerated I would have stopped, of course, and waited until it was safe to go around.

Good driver! Some take a slightly different approach. Smart cycling, to watch for cues.

I have tried contacting Fedex when I've seen Fedex vehicles stopped, I never got any response. It's incredibly frustrating. If you have suggestions on how to get a response, I'm all ears.

[MidTowner]

If you're on twitter, maybe try tweeting them. I have contacted Purolator and DHL both in the past through their general inquiry e-mail addresses, and have received responses back to the effect that they apologize and that does not reflect their protocol and they will follow up, blah blah.

Parkside is my commute, and I see delivery vehicles in the bike lane in front of various buildings between McCormick and Weber, since the parking lots are behind. It's not a busy street, so 90% of the time it makes practically no difference. But it's bad practice for them to do that anywhere.

[chutten]

Since no one's actually posted references to specific phone numbers and contact methods for suspected violations of parking by-laws, here are the ones I've found for KW:

Waterloo:
From http://www.waterloo.ca/en/government/parking.asp

Enforcement

If you believe someone is violating the parking by-laws and would like to file a complaint, please contact us online or by calling 519-747-8785.

Kitchener:
From https://www.kitchener.ca/en/livinginkitc...ations.asp

By-law Enforcement
By-law Enforcement, 33 Ontario Street North, Kitchener, ON N2H 4Y3
T. 519-741-2330
TTY 1-866-969-9994
F. 519-741-2640

They also have an online contact form whose JS link won't work from here (they ought to know better than to have JS links... yeesh.)

[timc]

This vehicle may not actually be parked. According to the Highway Traffic Act,

“park” or “parking”, when prohibited, means the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when standing temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers; (“stationnement”)

Considering that it is a mail delivery vehicle, it seems possible that merchandise is being unloaded.

You are still free to grumble about it though.

[Canard]

Oh absolutely, I saw the guy go into the building. I knew he was just going to be there for a minute or two.

I probably shouldn't have mentioned it.

PS, I absolutely *adore* my Trek Verve 3. Since I got it in May (I think?), I've put on 944 km... probably will roll over 1000 km by Sunday!

[Coke6pk]

Canada Post (like most Federal Government vehicles) is exempt from most city by-laws.  But feel free to grumble!

So, two things.

First, citation needed.  I've heard this before, frequently from drivers parking in bike lanes, I don't believe it to be true.  It's possible it's true for government vehicles, it is definitely not true for all the private companies which represent the vast majority of illegally parked vehicles.

Second, it isn't exactly a city by-law, while the "no parking in bike lanes" bylaw is a city bylaw (in all municipalities in the region), bylaw enforcement doesn't enforce that bylaw under any circumstances (as I have been told), they ONLY enforce no parking zones, as marked by no parking signs, which are in theory supposed to always coincide with bike lanes.  I have been told that they will not enforce no parking in bike lanes until signage is added.  And the no parking sign, is a provincial regulatory sign, appearing in the HTA.  And last time I checked, Canada Post does have to follow the HTA.

1) You are correct, DHL/UPS/Purolator are not exempt, and do get tagged...  Canada Post does not. 

2) While the signs are posted in the HTA, the charge of "parking in a no parking zone" is defined in City and/or Regional by laws.  While you are correct that Canada Post must follow HTA, not all Federal dept's are controlled by it.  [ie. When I was in the military, I never had an ON licence, just a federal one]  Federal vehicles are actually outlawed from carrying insurance on their vehicles. 

Coke

[Pheidippides]

Looks like Krug is the next battleground for bike lanes versus vehicle storage.
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6910...t-dilemma/

[clasher]

Looks like Krug is the next battleground for bike lanes versus vehicle storage.
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6910...t-dilemma/

Ugh, almost every house on that section of the street has a huge driveway that should be able accommodate a few cars of their guests. Most if not all the houses also have garages. Seriously, check it out on google maps, some people have parking lots for driveways. People in older neighbourhoods somehow manage without nearly as much driveway space and street parking as these folks have. So what if they have let a few guests park around the corner or down the road a piece.

[rangersfan]

Here we go again!!!