Cycling in Waterloo Region

[darts]

They probably don't want to change anything till winter's over and serious testing starts. Less surface area for them to have to plow.

or as a compromise to bia to have some parking, I can't imagine they would be too thrilled having lost some of november's shopping crowd

[danbrotherston]

There are already *some* no parking signs. Frankly all this does is train drivers to ignore signs and park in bike lanes. That's nothing new for the region though.

[ijmorlan]

There are already *some* no parking signs.  Frankly all this does is train drivers to ignore signs and park in bike lanes.  That's nothing new for the region though.

Totally ridiculous. They should have put up the right signs. What’s so hard about that? And agreed that the last thing we need now is training people to ignore laws. We have too many laws that are either nonsense and/or routinely ignored and unenforced.

[Canard]

Sigh

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">omg guys look at our ‼️amazing‼️ new <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bikeWR</a> lanes!!!!1 cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/citywaterloo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citywaterloo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UpTownWaterloo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UpTownWaterloo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WRPSToday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WRPSToday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kwawesome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kwawesome</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/whogivesashitaboutcyclists?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#whogivesashitaboutcyclists</a> <a href="https://t.co/YRfdphed1d">pic.twitter.com/YRfdphed1d</a></p>&mdash; ? Iain Hendry ? (@Canardiain) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canardiain/status/944313357313695750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2017</a></blockquote>

City of Kitchener is still shirking their responsibility:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kitchener/Waterloo border on the Spurline Trail. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bikeWR</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SpurLineKW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpurLineKW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/citywaterloo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citywaterloo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CityKitchener?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityKitchener</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/berryonline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@berryonline</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q08evCt22K">pic.twitter.com/Q08evCt22K</a></p>&mdash; ? Iain Hendry ? (@Canardiain) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canardiain/status/944308578353020928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2017</a></blockquote>

But this is so cool:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Now *this* is awesome! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bikeWR</a> <a href="https://t.co/gKSFekxZa4">pic.twitter.com/gKSFekxZa4</a></p>&mdash; ? Iain Hendry ? (@Canardiain) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canardiain/status/944317530239307776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2017</a></blockquote>

[KevinL]

Yes, love that sign. Hope to see more at trail crossings!

[Canard]

It put a huge smile back on my face after my normal grin was removed at seeing all the cars parking in the bike lanes.

Little touches like that sign just totally make a community, I think. It’s the stuff I notice when traveling other places, and that I hope others notice when they come visit here.

[timc]

I just hope that drivers don't see that sign and think that there is a road there to drive on.

[danbrotherston]

I just hope that drivers don't see that sign and think that there is a road there to drive on.

Drivers are already driving up that with some frequency.  I've seen it a number of times, and I'm only walking through.  Of course, I do know that most people know they're not allowed, and choose too anyway.

[Canard]

Northfield Drive in the winter: It's about as bad as it looks. It's worse going Westbound.

[Canard]

Here's the new section of the Spurline Trail, behind Len's Mill Store! I'm really glad they did some landscaping with the addition of trees along here. There are foundations for light posts too - I assume those will go in next spring.

[tomh009]

Of course, I do know that most people know they're not allowed, and choose too anyway.

I'm curious as to how you know that most people do it intentionally?

Personally I would apply Hanlon's razor in this case but maybe I am just misinformed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

[Canard]

There's a guy on Twitter who posts every time he sees a car drive down there - and half the time they get caught up on the curb. So I'm pretty sure it's unintentional.

It didn't help that they paved the tracks through there. Maybe a painted street mural, like the one on the Spurline trail between King and Regina, could be applied here? I'd be fine with the giant yellow hash-marks from Gold Coast Light Rail, but there's no reason it couldn't be something artistic!

[KevinL]

There are some British rail crossings where the barrier swings horizontally, not vertically - so when the road is open it blocks the tracks, and vice versa. I don't know what Transport Canada thinks of them, but I could see them used here.

[Canard]

I know the type you're talking about, Kevin - that's a good idea! The freight train has to stop anyway at King, so it's not like there's a huge risk of a train barreling through it.

My second instalment of Saturday Winter Bike Rides (in Waterloo Region):

[ijmorlan]

I know the type you're talking about, Kevin - that's a good idea!  The freight train has to stop anyway at King, so it's not like there's a huge risk of a train barreling through it.

My second instalment of Saturday Winter Bike Rides (in Waterloo Region):

The horizontal-swing gates would be no good there. The tracks are also a multi-use trail so shouldn’t be blocked off (at least east of King. I’m not entirely clear what is supposed to be happening west of King; I am sufficiently untrusting of planners at this point that I’m not confident that anybody is clear on what is supposed to be happening west of King).

What would work is retractable bollards between the rails, one on each side of the street. They could be activated the same as the usual crossing protection except in reverse — retract when the crossing protection would be activated. Put regular bollards on either side of the tracks as close as possible while still clearing the freight envelope. That should be effective.

Incidentally, does anybody know if the signals are hooked up to the train? King should get a red when the freight goes through even if there isn’t railway-style crossing protection.