Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

[danbrotherston]

[Canard]

[jamincan]

It was a great day to be on the bike! I stayed off the trails. We were considering taking the Mill Race trail into St. Jacobs from Three Bridges Road, but it ended up being way too icy still.

[UrbanCanoe]

Winter Bike to Work Day 2018 is February 9. You have a week to gather your gear, re-inflate your tires, and prepare to embrace the winter weather for your commute.

Register online at winterbiketoworkday.org

Currently there are 48 participants in Waterloo Region, while only 32 in Toronto. Edmonton & Victoria are leading Canadian Cities with more than 100, but I'm sure we can catch up to them.

   

[danbrotherston]

The Waterloo Chronicle posts a picture of an illegally parked car, doesn't even MENTION the fact that the no parking bylaw is not being enforced.

God I get so angry about this.

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-st...sidewalks/

[Pheidippides]

“... we clear the bike lanes for the bikes ...” said Durrell.

Since when?


The statement, part of an update on the City's website, shows you the power of the BIA:
“Under normal circumstances, any areas where construction is not complete would be fenced off...Consensus between the Uptown Business Improvement Association, the city and the region was to clear King Street and any construction equipment, fencing, signs, etc., by Dec. 1 to encourage customers to come to the uptown area...motorists...could be causing damage to the work by parking on them."


The areas have been deemed unsafe, and we're probably going to damage the brand new cycling infrastructure we just spent millions on, but damn the safety of the public and invested infrastructure dollars, and clear that clutter!


Anyone who has tripped and fallen this winter in the rutted bike lanes could easily win a liability suit against the city with such a self-incriminating statement. Why was the BIA the only interest group consulted in this decision?

[danbrotherston]

An update on King St. bike lanes....still filled with cars, no tickets or flyers that I can see.

And as a bonus, they appear to have actually plowed the lanes, you know, so cars can park more easily...because it's certainly not for biking.

[Canard]

Un. Real.

When will the media say something about this? Why isn’t Tritag pushing this issue?

[ijmorlan]

Un. Real.

When will the media say something about this? Why isn’t Tritag pushing this issue?

We were promised segregated bike lanes, and did not get them (except where there is supposed to be parking, ironically!). I don’t think a roll curb counts as segregation — if people feel comfortable rolling up it to park, then it doesn’t segregate the lane.

Also I would like to point out that the signage is not actually correct. The lanes aren’t no-parking zones; they aren’t even no-stopping zones. They are “your car doesn’t belong here, just like it doesn’t belong on the sidewalk, or on the skating rink, or inside Waterloo Town Square” zones. Nobody has any business with their car in the bike lane for even a microsecond, for any purpose. They should actually be labelled as diamond lanes, not that most vehicle operators would understand what that really implies.

[Canard]

The No Parking signs currently in place are temporary.

I’m also not surprised to see roll curbs considering we couldn’t even figure out how to properly separate A TRAIN from the road in a similar manner.

[ijmorlan]

OK, I just read the article. If cars may be damaging the space by parking there, why haven’t they put a line of cones to mark it off as unusable? This is just irresponsible on the part of the City, never mind the whole issue of bicycles vs. cars, double standard, and all that sort of discussion.

Also, I’m not impressed. Durrell should be pushing for sidewalk clearing everywhere, which would also address the concern from the other councillor (who obviously should also be advocating for sidewalk clearing everywhere). It’s the only pro-pedestrian choice in this matter.

[ijmorlan]

The No Parking signs currently in place are temporary.

I’m also not surprised to see roll curbs considering we couldn’t even figure out how to properly separate A TRAIN from the road in a similar manner.

The signs are still wrong, but OK, I’ll wait to see the permanent signage.

The train roll curb would be OK if the train was allowed to just bulldoze any obstructions out of the way

Somehow I suspect their operating rules won’t allow that.

[danbrotherston]

The No Parking signs currently in place are temporary.

I’m also not surprised to see roll curbs considering we couldn’t even figure out how to properly separate A TRAIN from the road in a similar manner.

The signs are still wrong, but OK, I’ll wait to see the permanent signage.

The train roll curb would be OK if the train was allowed to just bulldoze any obstructions out of the way  

Somehow I suspect their operating rules won’t allow that.

Some of the signs are permanent.  And in fact, the entire segment will be signed no parking.  CoK bylaw has stated unequivocally that they will never ticket a vehicle parked in a bike lane unless there is a no parking sign.  Why our city continually refuses to enforce the bylaws we're expected to live by is a continual source of frustration for me, and a strong incentive to ignore any laws which are inconvenient to me.

[ijmorlan]

The signs are still wrong, but OK, I’ll wait to see the permanent signage.

The train roll curb would be OK if the train was allowed to just bulldoze any obstructions out of the way  

Somehow I suspect their operating rules won’t allow that.

Some of the signs are permanent.  And in fact, the entire segment will be signed no parking.  CoK bylaw has stated unequivocally that they will never ticket a vehicle parked in a bike lane unless there is a no parking sign.  Why our city continually refuses to enforce the bylaws we're expected to live by is a continual source of frustration for me, and a strong incentive to ignore any laws which are inconvenient to me.

Well, they should at least be no stopping, not no parking. It’s really not OK for somebody to pull over even for a second into the bicycle lane, given that they are supposedly segregated (even though they really aren’t). Agreed about the bylaw enforcement: either enforce or repeal.