MisterF
Senior Member
Ironically enough, Mexico City has lots of bike lanes and they make it pretty easy to get around if you don't want to cram onto the metro or metrobus.
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- Thread starter rp07
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nfitz
Superstar
I doubt very much bike lanes will have any impact on the election. Might just flip a riding if it's a tie, but that's unlikely.
But, if Ford goes a full year early, and doesn't wait until 2026 (or at least late 2025), then based on what happened in 1990, I don't expect a PC landslide. The Liberals slipped 11 to 18 points after the election call (depending on which pollster you look at), because the electorate was furious at them for the cynical early election call, when the Liberals were polling at about what they were in the previous election. If the same numbers held, that would put the Tories down to 24 to 31 percent. In 2014 the Liberals won a majority when the PCs got 35.5% (and the Liberals got 37.7%).
On the other hand, Ford reminds me of Reagan. It's like he's covered with Teflon - doesn't matter how stupid something he says is - or how much money get's diverted - it slides right off of him.
81-717
Active Member
This e-biker's not much better:
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Disagree. The main reason the Bloor West lanes are being taken out is that the views of local residents and business were raging at the Etobicoke-based Premier and MPP. Ford, who hates bike lanes seized upon these local views as an impetus to going to war against all bike lanes. Without those local views, I don’t know if we’d be here now.
TwinHuey
Active Member
Apologies if this is too off topic for the thread, but interesting to hear about bike lanes in Mexico City.
We're currently in Merida, Yucatan's capital city.
Paseo de Montejo, one of the major streets in the city centre, has protected cycle infrastructure..
Paseo de Montejo has a scaled down University Avenue vibe.
Every Sunday from 8am to noon several km are closed to traffic, Merida's version of Open Streets TO. Very popular, we rode it Sunday amongst throngs of locals.
Added to Paseo de Montejo, several more streets are closed creating a 12 km circuit around the core passing several historic sites.
Brilliant!
MisterF
Senior Member
I've heard good things about Merida but I haven't been there myself. But your first pic is similar to what impressed me about Mexico City - the amount of greenery and landscaping on their major streets. Trees, shrubs, linear parks, and the sidewalks are largely made of stone or unit pavers. Here in Canada you see a lot more expanses of poured concrete and asphalt and an overall lower level of streetscaping. Yes, you could argue that this mainly exists in the richer Mexican neighbourhoods where foreigners go, but Canada is so much richer than Mexico that we have no excuse. So when we've made good progress on streets like University Avenue with its new landscaping, it makes it all the more infuriating when the province wants to undo that.
The state of Mexico City's bike infrastructure is actually pretty similar to that of Toronto. Lots of quick-build lanes on major streets, boulevard paths that tell you to dismount at intersections, and outlying parts of the city being a lot less bikeable than the central areas. Of course they'll be well ahead of us once Doug Ford is finished swinging his axe.
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J Bacon
New Member
Obviously that can't be entirely true, "locals" always rally to save their street parking.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Indeed. I think Toronto's biggest bike lane fans are coming to the slow realization that their neighbours do not share their support.
facepalming_brooklynite
Active Member
You mean neighbours like the Bloor Annex BIA?
Annex businesses tell Ford to back off Bloor bike lanes
Stores in the Annex say the Bloor bike lanes have been a big boost to business. As Michelle Mackey reports, the neighborhood's BIA wants the province to back off its new bill that could see the lanes removed.
toronto.citynews.ca
TheGrimSweeper
New Member
Ontario Society of Professional Engineers on Bill 212
ospe.on.ca
Response to Bill 212: Why We Need to Rethink Bike Lanes and Embrace Multi-Modal Solutions
In Ontario, we are facing an increasingly complex transportation challenge. 80-90% of personal trips in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) are made by single-occupant vehicles, and transportation systems are disjointed, contributing to extreme congestion and significant challenges...
ospe.on.ca
goreckm
Active Member
These are games that he will more than happily play and win as red meat for his base, and because they're popular outside of downtown. He thrives on this kind of conflict, and probably makes him more popular. The only solution here is an electoral defeat of Ford and Fordism. The first one will be difficult enough, and probably require a unified liberal / ndp. The second is tougher and will require dealing with the causes of the anger amongst voters, and something nobody is seriously tackling.
nfitz
Superstar
Hopefully any professional engineer who signs off on the construction plans to remove and downgrade bike lanes, which leads to increased deaths, is disciplined and loses their licence to practice engineering.Ontario Society of Professional Engineers on Bill 212
Response to Bill 212: Why We Need to Rethink Bike Lanes and Embrace Multi-Modal Solutions
In Ontario, we are facing an increasingly complex transportation challenge. 80-90% of personal trips in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) are made by single-occupant vehicles, and transportation systems are disjointed, contributing to extreme congestion and significant challenges...
turbanplanner
Senior Member
TBF it's funny everyone is acting as if this is the only time a decision where deaths are a trade off is made. The $200 rebate checks could go to healthcare and save lives, closing YTZ which so many people are in favor of would lead to lives lost (by disconnecting the downtown hospitals from organ transfers and air ambulances)
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Yup. Like it or not, in a world of limited resources, there is a "Value" of a life. It's a terrible truth, but one we need to acknowledge.
There is always options to spend more money to save more lives. But we live in a world of finite resources and need to unfortunately prioritize. And the reality is that basically every government policy choice can be framed as "saving" or "costing" lives.
Bike lanes save lives - absolutely. but if the bike lane triples congestion ,reducing economic output - is it worth it for the added safety for a handful of cyclists? that's a moral decision we as society have to make. It's not a professional liability for an engineer like signing off on the structural design of a bridge may be.
To be clear - I am not supportive of ripping out the bike lanes as Dougie has proposed. Simply stating that it's not appropriate to claim that an engineer has a professional liability to create bike lanes.
TheGrimSweeper
New Member
The issue here though is we know from data, facts, studies from every angle around the world that ripping out bike lanes won't do a damn thing to fight congestion in and around Toronto.
There is no ROI to doing it.
What percentage of roads in the GTA have bike lanes? 1% or less? So something that does not exist in 99% of roads and all highways somehow is going to magically make congestion better? It's utter nonsense and the premier likely knows it.
I live in Toronto and own a car too, I fully know traffic sucks, but let's put time and money into real solutions.