News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
 8.4K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 39K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 4.7K     0 

Sorry @Northern Light - meant to post the update, but had a late day today :(

Yes - very glad that the bike lanes were made permanent, and totally unsurprised at Robinson and Holyday’s opposition. I think Tory was hoping that Burnside’s motion would pass, but…it did not.

At at rate, I’m happy that Toronto moved one step forward to having more of a cycling network. A well-connected, safe network will increase the number of cyclists and hopefully take more people out of cars.
 
Sorry @Northern Light - meant to post the update, but had a late day today :(

Yes - very glad that the bike lanes were made permanent, and totally unsurprised at Robinson and Holyday’s opposition. I think Tory was hoping that Burnside’s motion would pass, but…it did not.

At at rate, I’m happy that Toronto moved one step forward to having more of a cycling network. A well-connected, safe network will increase the number of cyclists and hopefully take more people out of cars.

No sorry required.

We all get busy, I hide it most of the time, but I do disappear periodically because the day job demands it............

****

I'm moderately surprised by Robinson, she usually has an allergy to being out on her own (which is really the same thing as voting w/Cllr. Holyday).

I don't consider her 'progressive'; but I have thought of her as politically savvy in the past, I am re-thinking that.
 
Consultations are happening this month, including a new online survey concerning Cycling Infra on Eglinton (Eglinton Connects) in the Keele - Mt. Pleasant section.


Lots of section by section panels, far too many to post here.

I'll just drop the overview panel here:

1675964754435.png


I would encourage those interested in the project to read the panels for each section which offer greater detail.

That said, the survey link is here: https://s.cotsurvey.chkmkt.com/eglintontoday-2023-02

You can choose to comment only at the general level; or on as many detail sections as you wish.

There is a write-in comment section at the end as well.

I chose to express my support, but also indicated that while I'm generally supportive of including turn lanes (on some panels called 'auxiliary'', I was generally less enthusiastic about sections including 2 travel lanes in the same direction.

I also suggested more effort to include bump-outs at side-streets, and consider them mid block as well where there is permanent parking (with a cut-through for the bike lanes (just a chance for an extra tree!) .
 
I'm honestly a bit puzzled by the desire for parking, too. Parking is a through-put killer, with cars holding up traffic to parallel park. 1 lane in each direction + turn lane tends to move as many people and leaves more room for trees/buffer between sidewalk and roadway.
 
I'm honestly a bit puzzled by the desire for parking, too.
I often wonder - without proof - how much of this is driven by business owners. There’s the often-quoted study that business owners wildly overestimate the number of their customers driving because they themselves do, and they equate their difficulty with finding parking with the difficulty experienced by their customers in accessing their store.

At any rate, what a lot of businesses do need are laybys for (un)loading as well as short-term parking for various contractors.
 
I often wonder - without proof - how much of this is driven by business owners. There’s the often-quoted study that business owners wildly overestimate the number of their customers driving because they themselves do, and they equate their difficulty with finding parking with the difficulty experienced by their customers in accessing their store.

At any rate, what a lot of businesses do need are laybys for (un)loading as well as short-term parking for various contractors.
Wonder how many of those parking spaces out front of some store is taken by the business owner and/or the employees? I can understand deliveries or loading, but they could use the side streets for that. What is needed is off-street Green P parking lot or garage, with delivery zones. Allow delivery zones in the Green P for 15 minutes free.
 
It’s kind of a catch 22 though. Crappy, unsafe bike parking means that people don’t feel comfortable leaving their bike. Give them something better and they will use it. Of course, that has to couple with safe biking routes to the GO station.
Firmly agree! I often consider biking places and then change my mind when I consider the risk of my bike being stolen. In fact, I'd say the risk of theft is sometimes more of a deterrent to me than lack of bike lanes.
 
Firmly agree! I often consider biking places and then change my mind when I consider the risk of my bike being stolen. In fact, I'd say the risk of theft is sometimes more of a deterrent to me than lack of bike lanes.
I agree completely. I’m a pretty confident and assertive (not aggressive!) rider and will forego riding somewhere if I feel the risk of bike theft is too high.
 
I rode the new bike lanes on Havelock and Gladstone today and have some thoughts and some pics.

Southbound on Havelock at Dufferin Park, there's a pinch point. I guess the cars on the left are parked illegally? Some enforcement may be needed to keep the contraflow lanes from being taken over by oncoming traffic here:
View attachment 415359

Good news! Pinch point gone :)

PXL_20230214_212324223.jpg

PXL_20230214_212340969.jpg


Also looks like some new permanent curb coming to the south of the Havelock/Bloor intersection

PXL_20230214_212458253.jpg
 

“Doug Ford is smart to stay out of the race. There really is no difference between Brad Bradford and Josh Matlow,” said Kouvalis, referring to Matlow, the Toronto-St. Paul’s councillor who also is planning a bid.

“They both voted to defund the police and to make the bike lanes permanent on Yonge Street,” he said.

“Ana Bailão has 12 years experience and four years as deputy mayor. She has great relationships at the city of Toronto, at the federal level with the Trudeau government and the Ford government provincially,” the veteran strategist added.

- - -

I guess now I know at least one (powerful) person who was really pissed off by these bike lanes. Is it too late to say that I really, really dislike (I’m understating) Nick Kouvalis?
 
I think that was 12 years ago now, though I recall one serious injury of this nature from 2022. Still, it's pretty rare.
True. But based on a lot of close calls I saw last summer between e-bikes and sidewalk folks I am not going out on a limb by saying that number will be heading north
 

Back
Top