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(10-05-2018, 12:27 PM)Spokes Wrote: That's always bugged me, that some roads are regional responsibility, and other city.
Argument for amalgamation?
I think it's more argument for uploading responsibility to the Region, an alternative to amalgamation I think I first saw discussed here, and that I'm increasingly in favour of. I haven't formed any strong opinion about what things should or shouldn't be uploaded, but roads, pipes, public transportation, all those things should be consistent at least through Kitchener and Waterloo and I think a strong argument can be made for Cambridge as well. They're all such tightly coupled systems that respecting municipal boundaries seems likely to introduce problems - my favourite is travelling along Westmount or the IHT in winter and knowing exactly where the cities handover responsibility, down to the centimetre it seems.
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I had heard that the new, brief cycling lanes on Erb, between Caroline and Menno, were poorly done so I went to check it out.
The end of the lane going WB is bad, but at least understandable - at some point when they re-do the road it will continue.
The beginning of the WB lane is far worse in my mind because we are stuck with it for 30-50 years now when it easily could have been avoided. The turning transition from the Laurel Trail to the cycling lane is actually pretty well done, but then the lane ends and you have to merge in to a motor vehicle lane for about 20-30m before the lane starts up again:
The end of the EB lane could have been done better as well (on ramp to the MUT?). I'm not sure how the plan to continue that to the east in the future.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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What the actual shit!
This boggles my mind...
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There are so many ways to fix that beginning of the lane. Sadly none were taken.
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A cyclist was struck while riding on the Conestoga Parkway in the middle of the day yesterday.
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1509149
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(10-10-2018, 09:01 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: I had heard that the new, brief cycling lanes on Erb, between Caroline and Menno, were poorly done so I went to check it out.
The end of the lane going WB is bad, but at least understandable - at some point when they re-do the road it will continue.
The beginning of the WB lane is far worse in my mind because we are stuck with it for 30-50 years now when it easily could have been avoided. The turning transition from the Laurel Trail to the cycling lane is actually pretty well done, but then the lane ends and you have to merge in to a motor vehicle lane for about 20-30m before the lane starts up again:
The end of the EB lane could have been done better as well (on ramp to the MUT?). I'm not sure how the plan to continue that to the east in the future.
If a civil engineer signed off on this they should lose their license. Appalling.
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(10-10-2018, 09:14 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: What the actual shit!
This boggles my mind...
This. All kinds of this.
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Looking back at my photos I realize now that if the had just shifted the road to the north 1m or 2m then the WB lane would have aligned AND the EB would have room to continue going east without having to move the Ion signal arms.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(10-11-2018, 07:49 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: Looking back at my photos I realize now that if the had just shifted the road to the north 1m or 2m then the WB lane would have aligned AND the EB would have room to continue going east without having to move the Ion signal arms.
Which is super-easy because westbound traffic only needs one lane at the point, since it consists only of traffic making the right from Bridgeport/Caroline* plus a bus every few minutes turning left.
It’s not even like they made a trade-off and decided to give all the space to motor vehicles; it’s that they just do not care.
* Officially Caroline but anybody driving the stretch probably thinks of it as Bridgeport because it functions as such.
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(10-11-2018, 08:39 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: (10-11-2018, 07:49 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: Looking back at my photos I realize now that if the had just shifted the road to the north 1m or 2m then the WB lane would have aligned AND the EB would have room to continue going east without having to move the Ion signal arms.
Which is super-easy because westbound traffic only needs one lane at the point, since it consists only of traffic making the right from Bridgeport/Caroline* plus a bus every few minutes turning left.
It’s not even like they made a trade-off and decided to give all the space to motor vehicles; it’s that they just do not care.
* Officially Caroline but anybody driving the stretch probably thinks of it as Bridgeport because it functions as such.
This is entirely on point, and this is the most frustrating thing.
Even when they're forced to care (building a bike lane) often a half ass job is done of it.
Not always the case (Waterloo Park for example), but we are predisposed to remember the bad, and there is lots to remember.
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(10-11-2018, 08:58 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: (10-11-2018, 08:39 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: Which is super-easy because westbound traffic only needs one lane at the point, since it consists only of traffic making the right from Bridgeport/Caroline* plus a bus every few minutes turning left.
It’s not even like they made a trade-off and decided to give all the space to motor vehicles; it’s that they just do not care.
* Officially Caroline but anybody driving the stretch probably thinks of it as Bridgeport because it functions as such.
This is entirely on point, and this is the most frustrating thing.
Even when they're forced to care (building a bike lane) often a half ass job is done of it.
Not always the case (Waterloo Park for example), but we are predisposed to remember the bad, and there is lots to remember.
My guess is they are different designers. Waterloo Park was most likely done by City designers, whereas I’m guessing Erb St. was done by a Regional transportation road designer. Anyway we’re not asking for everything to be superb; we just want flagrantly abusive urban design not to be perpetrated, and it’s legitimate to insist that it not happen anywhere.
I think enthusiasm for appropriate transportation design varies enormously among municipal staff. I recall the person who provided updates on the Waterloo Park project also regularly tweeted about related issues, and I felt like he was “one of us” (not literally, as I’m not aware that he posts here, but figuratively). By contrast it’s quite clear that many of our Regional designers wish they were working for Robert Moses.
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Guys, seriously, bring this up to local media. Make it a public issue.
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What level of government is responsible for this?
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(10-11-2018, 07:47 PM)Spokes Wrote: What level of government is responsible for this?
It varies, but the most reliable offender is the Region, as it is in this case.
As for bringing it to the media's attention, it's very hard to get the right message.
The problems with the uptown bike lanes have more or less come out as "we hate bike lanes"...not "these bikelanes have easily correctible design flaws".
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