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So today the Regional Transportation Master Plan was deferred. A big reason for that was Berry Vrbanovic taking the region to task on the use of some of their language as well as on the fact that they felt the region should look to be a leader in both new mobility and minimum grid.
This means it will come back to council in mid-June. I am guessing they aren't going to be able to make massive changes but I am also hopeful they will. Many of the regional councillors around the horseshoe made it evidently clear that changes needed to be made to the way we build roads.
What irked me the most being there was hearing a member of staff remind everyone that "Roads are for traffic" at the end of the day. The master plan in itself actually seems okay, but the implementation has been awful, specifically on regional roads.
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https://www.facebook.com/RegionWaterloo/...=3&theater
Quote:Progress in Uptown Waterloo! Bike lanes have been poured on the west side and we’re in the process of completing the paving stone work. East side work is scheduled to start next week and the bike lanes are expected to be completed by the end of June.
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05-29-2018, 04:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-29-2018, 04:44 PM by danbrotherston.)
(05-29-2018, 03:08 PM)welltoldtales Wrote: So today the Regional Transportation Master Plan was deferred. A big reason for that was Berry Vrbanovic taking the region to task on the use of some of their language as well as on the fact that they felt the region should look to be a leader in both new mobility and minimum grid.
This means it will come back to council in mid-June. I am guessing they aren't going to be able to make massive changes but I am also hopeful they will. Many of the regional councillors around the horseshoe made it evidently clear that changes needed to be made to the way we build roads.
What irked me the most being there was hearing a member of staff remind everyone that "Roads are for traffic" at the end of the day. The master plan in itself actually seems okay, but the implementation has been awful, specifically on regional roads.
Major changes are unlikely, even dissenting councillors agreed only wording would change.
And yes, staff reminding everyone "Regional roads, unlike city roads, are primarily for traffic", and several councillors also expressing this sentiment was extremely frustrating.
People on bikes ARE traffic, and they ALSO have places to go.
This shows that regional staff wish to continue treating cycling as something that can be added where possible, and ignored where it would inconvenience drivers. This is expressed in the wording of the document, and confirmed by the statements of some councillors and staff. It's the exact opposite of the request to put the priority on cycling and walking, and directly contradicting the vision and goals of the master plan.
Until we decide that accommodating people on bikes, transit, and foot safely is *more* important than shaving 5 seconds off a measurement of traffic performance, we simply aren't going to see meaningful changes in either our infrastructure, and resultantly, our modal share.
The discussion today gave me confidence in many politicians in both directions. Berry Vrbanovic really pushed hard for improvements, as did David Jaworsky, and this absolutely affects how I will be voting in the upcoming election.
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It also gives the impression that they don't consider all our roads to be a network - the region has theirs and the cities have their own and they shouldn't consider the big picture. Very frustrating.
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I was talking to the manager at the Stag Shop today, and she said someone from the region told her they would start towing anyone parked in the bike lanes soon.
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I want to post this here, because I think it's important to realize, and frankly, in an election year especially, that some councilors do not accept that biking, transit, walking are valid forms of "getting things done" and not just "recreation".
I bike to work, many coworkers do, so it's incredibly disappointing to argue that the primary purpose of regional roads is moving goods and traffic, and that active transportation uses are secondary to that, my active transportation *IS* moving goods and people for economic purposes. And a whole lot more people *want* that as an option, and that is an explicit goal of the plan.
http://view.earthchannel.com/PlayerContr...ca&eID=462
Sean Stricktland's comments begin at 1:21:45
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(05-29-2018, 08:16 PM)jwilliamson Wrote: I was talking to the manager at the Stag Shop today, and she said someone from the region told her they would start towing anyone parked in the bike lanes soon.
But the Region doesn't do parking enforcement... so I'd take it with a grain of salt.... Waterloo seems to have their own agenda for some reason...
Coke
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(05-22-2018, 09:50 AM)Acitta Wrote: My bike was stolen yesterday from my home on Queens Blvd. in Kitchener. Here is a twitter link to a video excerpt from my security camera.
Bike stolen
Any luck getting your bike back ? Or have you heard if an investigation has been done ?
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Along the west side of King today they continue to put the last of the decorative bricks between the sidewalk and bike lane in. There are a few more small concrete pours to do as well. As a result, a lot of the construction fence has started to come down.
While good that the west side is progressing I was hoping they might just leave the construction fence between the road and the cycling lane up for a few weeks after construction is complete as a deterrent for parking and driving in the cycling lane.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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I wonder when the paint will go on the bike lane.
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The bike lane is not going to be painted. The concrete is already stained brown. That is the final colour.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(05-30-2018, 05:33 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: The bike lane is not going to be painted. The concrete is already stained brown. That is the final colour.
There will however, be bike lane restriction symbols painted on it.
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(05-30-2018, 07:36 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: There will however, be bike lane restriction symbols painted on it.
Yeah, sorry, that is what I meant.
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A section of separated (not protected) cycling lanes on University (Erb to Westmount) will begin construction this month:
"Construction is scheduled to start on June 18, 2018 and be substantially complete by October 31, 2018. A full road closure of University Avenue between Erb Street and Keats Way will be implemented during construction of the new road pavement structure to facilitate the construction of this project. The planned detour route will include Erb Street east of University Avenue and Westmount Road south of University Avenue. Surface asphalt will be completed in 2019."
Unless the plans have changed the lanes will be a 0.6m painted buffer:
The Preliminary Design Concept includes 1.5m wide buffered on-road cycling lanes that would be built as an extension of the asphalt road surface but would be separated from vehicular lanes by a 0.6 metre wide painted buffer to increase the separation distance between vehicles and cyclists.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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06-04-2018, 09:38 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-04-2018, 09:43 AM by danbrotherston.)
(06-03-2018, 10:59 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: A section of separated (not protected) cycling lanes on University (Erb to Westmount) will begin construction this month:
"Construction is scheduled to start on June 18, 2018 and be substantially complete by October 31, 2018. A full road closure of University Avenue between Erb Street and Keats Way will be implemented during construction of the new road pavement structure to facilitate the construction of this project. The planned detour route will include Erb Street east of University Avenue and Westmount Road south of University Avenue. Surface asphalt will be completed in 2019."
Unless the plans have changed the lanes will be a 0.6m painted buffer:
The Preliminary Design Concept includes 1.5m wide buffered on-road cycling lanes that would be built as an extension of the asphalt road surface but would be separated from vehicular lanes by a 0.6 metre wide painted buffer to increase the separation distance between vehicles and cyclists.
I recall this coming up at council. I know council was pushing staff quite hard to build "(probably roll) curb separated" bike lanes. [These terms are all fuzzy, so its probably better to be specific]. On account of staff saying they didn't want to transition the onroad bike lane to the curb separated bike lane, which is a great excuse to never change anything. And frankly, they were called out in council for apparently not being able to conceive of this very mundane infrastructure: https://bicycledutch.files.wordpress.com...ions03.jpg
Did council not succeed in convincing (or...instructing?) staff to design it properly?
(In staff's defence, they have demonstrated very poor infrastructure transitions in the past...recent past...)
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