[spider]

I took a drive today on Eglinton Avenue from Danforth Road to Royal York Road in order to observe the volume of bicycle traffic on this stretch of road. Today's weather is above freezing and a little drizzly, average for mid April. Today is also a Stat holiday so overall traffic is less than usual, I am not sure what difference to expect in the ratio of cars to bicycles. Here is what I observed.

2 Instances of cyclists crossing the road but not riding on it, at Laird and W of Dufferin.

One W.B. Cyclist near Mt. Pleasant, riding on the sidewalk.

A pair of cyclists E. Bound at Bathurst on the road.

A trio of cyclists E. Bound at Allen Road on the road.

A few trucks and buses and literally thousands of cars in both directions. Sidewalks were very lightly populated.

Not a compelling argument for removing a lane of vehicular traffic in favour of cyclists, trees and wider sidewalks. January and July were not available today so I worked with what I had.

 

[TFC]

Transportation consulting firms have more scientific ways of counting cyclists. I think the economic, environmental, health and social impacts of implementing cycle lanes on Eglinton aren't being considered. Everyone is focused solely on cycle lanes increasing auto travel times, that no one considers all of the non-auto benefits associated with the project.
Why aren't the externalities of keeping the auto lanes on Eglinton (vehicular emissions, stress caused by driving, obesity, etc) included in the conversations about Eglinton Connects?

 

[ehlow]

I took a drive today on Eglinton Avenue from Danforth Road to Royal York Road in order to observe the volume of bicycle traffic on this stretch of road. Today's weather is above freezing and a little drizzly, average for mid April. Today is also a Stat holiday so overall traffic is less than usual, I am not sure what difference to expect in the ratio of cars to bicycles. Here is what I observed.

2 Instances of cyclists crossing the road but not riding on it, at Laird and W of Dufferin.

One W.B. Cyclist near Mt. Pleasant, riding on the sidewalk.

A pair of cyclists E. Bound at Bathurst on the road.

A trio of cyclists E. Bound at Allen Road on the road.

A few trucks and buses and literally thousands of cars in both directions. Sidewalks were very lightly populated.

Not a compelling argument for removing a lane of vehicular traffic in favour of cyclists, trees and wider sidewalks. January and July were not available today so I worked with what I had.

Scarborough to Etobicoke, that's quite a long drive. FYI the only part of Eglinton being reduced to 3 lanes in Eg Connects is Avenue Rd to Mt Pleasant (places within a 10 min walk of Yonge, a 3 minute drive).

 

[spider]

Why aren't the externalities of keeping the auto lanes on Eglinton (vehicular emissions, stress caused by driving, obesity, etc) included in the conversations about Eglinton Connects?

Because they are not specific to Eglinton Connects, they are common to every road in Toronto.

Transportation consulting firms have more scientific ways of counting cyclists

See cyclists, make note. No science required, just a pencil and paper.

 

[LNahid2000]

I use my bike as my primary mode of transportation but never ride on Eglinton because that road is downright scary to bike on. It doesn't surprise me that you didn't see many cyclists on Eglinton for that reason. If there were bike lanes on Eglinton I bet that would change though.

 

[TOareaFan]

There are cities like Copenhagen with cold and snowy winters that have a large number of people cycling because of proper infrastructure and winter maintenance. Leaving snowbanks in bike lanes is improper road maintenance that shuts down cycling in the winter. The city's plowing standards are all created with driver safety in mind. Cycling requires faster snow clearance on local roads than the 8 cm standard. If the city's expressways weren't cleared of snow after 2.5 cm (say until 8 cm accumulated), would anyone risk driving on them? You could shut down driving in the winter if you didn't maintain streets with driver safety in mind--the bus stops would be crowded with people no matter how inconvenient transit is in many parts of Scarborough. Do you think it even matters, though? If 60% of road users in the summer are on bikes and 5% in January, the bike lanes are still solid infrastructure that helps a lot of people get around safely on an annual basis.

I have never been to Copenhagen.....thought about it a few times and recall that the winters there were described as moderate (sorta like, say, Glasgow or Amsterdam) and that while it rains a fair bit snow is "rare" but I guess you might have more knowledge.

I think though, the "you can bike in the winter" would be an argument better made to cyclists than people who are not.....because, clearly, that is not happening now and, as I said, doesn't happen in places like Montreal. Yes, some people continue to cycle year round.....but the great majority of them stop for the winter.

Which roads around here (or any north american city for that matter) actually have a situation where that bolded part is true?

 

[LNahid2000]

Which roads around here (or any north american city for that matter) actually have a situation where that bolded part is true?

College

http://cycleto.ca/news/2013/12/13/cycle-toronto-observes-more-bikes-cars-college-street

 

[ehlow]

I have never been to Copenhagen.....thought about it a few times and recall that the winters there were described as moderate (sorta like, say, Glasgow or Amsterdam) and that while it rains a fair bit snow is "rare" but I guess you might have more knowledge.

I think though, the "you can bike in the winter" would be an argument better made to cyclists than people who are not.....because, clearly, that is not happening now and, as I said, doesn't happen in places like Montreal. Yes, some people continue to cycle year round.....but the great majority of them stop for the winter.

Which roads around here (or any north american city for that matter) actually have a situation where that bolded part is true?

Well if no one is using bike lanes in the winter then we can use them to store snow and it won't be a waste

It probably happens already anyways, the roads are always narrowed by snow, so it's an extra buffer space for the snow banks.

 

[rbt]

Well, if we can't have both fire trucks and bike lanes whatever should we do?

Fire trucks we count on to save our lives and property 12 months of the year.

We don't count on that specific design of fire truck. We count on fire services, which could just as easily be provided using a smaller format.

In fact, we could double the number of vehicles each using half-sized teams and get firemen to location faster. Instead of sending 3 large trucks, send 6 small trucks.

 

[innsertnamehere]

even with current fire truck sizes, eglinton will be fine. Do you not think the planners didn't consult with the fire department?

 

[typezed]

literally thousands of cars in both directions. Sidewalks were very lightly populated.

Ford Math. Should have went for millions. So much bigger.

 

[junctionist]

I use my bike as my primary mode of transportation but never ride on Eglinton because that road is downright scary to bike on. It doesn't surprise me that you didn't see many cyclists on Eglinton for that reason. If there were bike lanes on Eglinton I bet that would change though.

It's intimidating to a lot of people to cycle on Eglinton, though the built form and walkable neighbourhoods along Eglinton are conducive to cycling. These are neighbourhoods without as great a cycling culture as downtown, but where many people could cycle if there was some infrastructure which promoted it as a safe way to get around.

I have never been to Copenhagen.....thought about it a few times and recall that the winters there were described as moderate (sorta like, say, Glasgow or Amsterdam) and that while it rains a fair bit snow is "rare" but I guess you might have more knowledge.

I think though, the "you can bike in the winter" would be an argument better made to cyclists than people who are not.....because, clearly, that is not happening now and, as I said, doesn't happen in places like Montreal. Yes, some people continue to cycle year round.....but the great majority of them stop for the winter.

Which roads around here (or any north american city for that matter) actually have a situation where that bolded part is true?

The average January temperature is 2 degrees in Copenhagen, which means a lot of cold days and snow. Toronto is a bit colder on average, but the climates are similar. In addition to College and Harbord which we have statistics for, I bet that cyclists are about 50% of the vehicles on St. George, Queens Quay, Queen West and maybe Bloor in the summer and fall as well. The status quo is 9 months of worry-free cycling. Better winter maintenance would close the winter gap. Fewer people drive in winter, anyway. I always see "snowed in" cars along side streets for at least a week after snowstorms. TTC use spikes as well. It comes down to road maintenance standards.

 

[1overcosc]

I took a drive today on Eglinton Avenue from Danforth Road to Royal York Road in order to observe the volume of bicycle traffic on this stretch of road. Today's weather is above freezing and a little drizzly, average for mid April. Today is also a Stat holiday so overall traffic is less than usual, I am not sure what difference to expect in the ratio of cars to bicycles. Here is what I observed.

2 Instances of cyclists crossing the road but not riding on it, at Laird and W of Dufferin.

One W.B. Cyclist near Mt. Pleasant, riding on the sidewalk.

A pair of cyclists E. Bound at Bathurst on the road.

A trio of cyclists E. Bound at Allen Road on the road.

A few trucks and buses and literally thousands of cars in both directions. Sidewalks were very lightly populated.

Not a compelling argument for removing a lane of vehicular traffic in favour of cyclists, trees and wider sidewalks. January and July were not available today so I worked with what I had.

Saying "there's not many cyclists here, no point building bike lanes" is a stupid way of reasoning.

By the same logic you can say "there's not many people swimming across the river here, no point building a bridge". By that logic no bridge in the world would have ever been built.

Or "there's not many people driving through this grass-covered meadow, so no point building that new freeway through here." By that logic Highway 401 would never have been built.

 

[rbt]

even with current fire truck sizes, eglinton will be fine. Do you not think the planners didn't consult with the fire department?

Of course. Just saying that we could do more with our roadway space if we weren't designing them around our current firetruck fleet.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I took a drive today on Eglinton Avenue from Danforth Road to Royal York Road in order to observe the volume of bicycle traffic on this stretch of road. Today's weather is above freezing and a little drizzly, average for mid April. Today is also a Stat holiday so overall traffic is less than usual, I am not sure what difference to expect in the ratio of cars to bicycles. Here is what I observed.

2 Instances of cyclists crossing the road but not riding on it, at Laird and W of Dufferin.

One W.B. Cyclist near Mt. Pleasant, riding on the sidewalk.

A pair of cyclists E. Bound at Bathurst on the road.

A trio of cyclists E. Bound at Allen Road on the road.

A few trucks and buses and literally thousands of cars in both directions. Sidewalks were very lightly populated.

Not a compelling argument for removing a lane of vehicular traffic in favour of cyclists, trees and wider sidewalks. January and July were not available today so I worked with what I had.

There is the Beltline Trail (officially Kay Gardner Beltline Park) running parallel to Eglinton between the Allan Road and Chaplin Crescent. Bicyclists could bypass that section and could also use Castlefield to continue their trips. The Beltline Trail is missing a bridge over the Allen Road, which would continue it to at least Caledonia Road. If done properly they cold connect the Beltline as part of a bike lane/path network along Eglinton.