[PL1]

I saw this recently (3 weeks ago) in Vancouver on Union Street, east of Main. It was great!

 

[Admiral Beez]

They are eliminating parking on one side of the street, so one side will run beside live traffic, and the other behind parked cars.

How did they get this past TPS and Toronto Fire? Normally they demand the ability to drive up the bike lanes, or park on them.

 

[UserNameToronto]

Finally given up driving and decided to start cycling to work. Feels great! Here's my route, it's awesome because it feels like it's 80% bike path. But I have two transitions on to the road which I find are a bit awkward. Would love some input on whether there's a better route for these little sections circled in purple.

Well done - hope it is working out for you!

I start from Cabbagetown as well, and use the Richmond / Adelaide lanes to get across the core and they run basically to Strachan. Less scenic than the lakeshore for sure, but quicker. Have you tried the new lanes?

Google map w/ the route:
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/43.6...fe876903231!2m2!1d-79.4239546!2d43.637829!3e1

 

[ADRM]

Going back a bit, the Bloor bike lanes pilot will not feature protected lanes that are at-grade with the sidewalk, as I think had been previously asked.

With regard to fire and TPS, Toronto Transportation Services consulted extensively with each during the construction of the pilot project and made amendments to plans to diminish the likelihood that emergency vehicles of any sort will be impeded along the piloted stretch of Bloor. One of those concessions I found most interesting arose as a result of the substantial width of our fire trucks (Toronto has very wide fire trucks), pertaining specifically to their turning radius. In many spots approaching intersections, it was the turning radius of the fire trucks that dictated where the physical protection of the bike lanes needed to stop to accommodate turning trucks.

And, except in case of emergency, no TPS car should be parking in any bike lane anywhere in the city, ever. It is illegal to do so, regardless of whether your car has sirens on top.

 

[the lemur]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to give it a shot tonight and see how things go.

How did it go? I was going to add that depending on where you need to be on Kipling, you might want to cut through the South Kingsway area instead of taking the Queensway.

 

[the lemur]

Excellent! You've just made me a devoted supporter of the plan. I haven't been following the nuances of this, just the major issues as considered by the press, but this is a *huge* factor to making this work.

Wow!

I've been biking Bloor (between Bathurst and Avenue) a bit more than usual since the plan was approved, just to try to imagine what it would look like, and I'm convinced that allowing parking on Bloor, especially in the middle of the day, is a bigger contributor to congestion than anything else. Some drivers think putting bikes on a separated track would slow cars down somehow, but right now what really gums up the works is drivers changing lanes to get around stretches of parking and then move back.

 

[LNahid2000]

but right now what really gums up the works is drivers changing lanes to get around stretches of parking and then move back.

That and having to wait for drivers who fail at parallel parking.

 

[Northern Light]

I've been biking Bloor (between Bathurst and Avenue) a bit more than usual since the plan was approved, just to try to imagine what it would look like, and I'm convinced that allowing parking on Bloor, especially in the middle of the day, is a bigger contributor to congestion than anything else. Some drivers think putting bikes on a separated track would slow cars down somehow, but right now what really gums up the works is drivers changing lanes to get around stretches of parking and then move back.

As someone who drives, walks, bikes, and uses the TTC, I can say, as a driver, I prefer the bike lane configuration on roads that support mid-day curbside parking, for just this reason.

Dodge and weave is a big problem, as parked cars, even if in legal spots, often leave the curb lane feeling a bit tight for drivers (never mind those who park beyond the legal area), and as a result you get a lot of sudden movements to change lanes.

I would also add, the one-lane each way configuration w/bike lanes and parking allows for turning lanes at intersections (where this no parking) which also really helps smooth traffic flow.

Those lanes don't exist now, in many cases, because the curb lane is required for through traffic in rush hour.

There are lots of drivers who don't 'get' this. Its an unfortunate impediment to a better cycling network, and I would argue, better functioning roads.

 

[Northern Light]

Having looked over the 10-year bike plan, I see a couple of things that bother me.

Several projects which were already approved in principle for 2016 implementation show as occurring much later.

Woodbine - 2017
Bellamy - 2018
Willowdale - 2019

We only approved these as the 2016 work plan, last year!

Cycling as a unit needs to get its head on straight. That means, you propose, you deliver. No one is perfect, but surely, you get 80% of what you propose done, the same year.

To be clear, these project all have no more complexity that painting lines on the road. (ie, not cycle tracks etc).

 

[ADRM]

Yeah, it's an important point—if you've driven or cycled along the Richmond/Adelaide pilot area, you'll know that there are loads of areas where there's no or inadequate protection for cyclists which are fairly routinely abused.

 

[ADRM]

Having looked over the 10-year bike plan, I see a couple of things that bother me.

Several projects which were already approved in principle for 2016 implementation show as occurring much later.

Woodbine - 2017
Bellamy - 2018
Willowdale - 2019

We only approved these as the 2016 work plan, last year!

Cycling as a unit needs to get its head on straight. That means, you propose, you deliver. No one is perfect, but surely, you get 80% of what you propose done, the same year.

To be clear, these project all have no more complexity that painting lines on the road. (ie, not cycle tracks etc).

Yeah, and to add to that, I was disappointed to see the relative dearth of protected north-south infrastructure, along with a comparatively small number of projects slated for the downtown core. Yonge is the obvious exception to the N-S comment, though I have a feeling that one doesn't have a shot at getting approved, even as a pilot, with the current council, having observed the Bloor debate).

 

[the lemur]

As someone who drives, walks, bikes, and uses the TTC, I can say, as a driver, I prefer the bike lane configuration on roads that support mid-day curbside parking, for just this reason.

You mean you prefer the setup where 'floating' parking is what separates bikes from moving cars?

 

[salsa]

Several projects which were already approved in principle for 2016 implementation show as occurring much later.

Woodbine - 2017
Bellamy - 2018
Willowdale - 2019

We only approved these as the 2016 work plan, last year!

I don't see Bellamy in the 2016 implementation plan. And this year Woodbine will only get bike lanes north of Danforth and south of Kingston Rd, whereas the 10 year bike plan proposes a bike lane along the entirety of Woodbine.

 

[salsa]

Overall I think it's a pretty solid bike plan if we actually build all of it. One of my only disappointments is that it doesn't do enough to complete the Finch and Gatineau corridor trails. As usual, wherever a bridge or tunnel would be required to cross a highway or rail line, the city finds a cheap way out by either dead-ending the trail or rerouting it onto city streets.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Yup, the city seems to have a phobia for pedestrian bridges. They have only one major highway crossing proposed, and its a minor trail tunnel under the 401. That tunnel is going to be very dark and ugly, I think, given the width of the 401.

I think a lot of it comes from how a single pedestrian bridge can cost an entire year's budget. They need special funding injections for them from the feds or elsewhere, like many of the larger scale bike projects.