"A mukluk wearing troll" wrote in message
...
There are sections of suburbia, both in city limits and in the
surrounding muncipalities where I would not ride on the road in peak
volumne traffic. The roads are designed (and used) as six lane high
speed arterials - there is just too much difference in speed to bike
safely. I'm thinking of Dixie Road in Mississauga, from Eglington
north toe the 401 and north of the 401 to past Derry Rd. Cars
routinely travel at 100kph,, and there is no shoulder, just curbs. I'm
also thinking of the Queensway from Kipling to Dixie Rd. Massive
volumne, a highway interchange with a 400 series highway, a
destination shopping mall and a mushrooming group of outlet malls.
Lots of cars travelling at highspeed, then braking and turning.

On these sections, I soemtimes ride on the sidewalk. It's just safer.
I'd rather not bounce a hundred metres down the road. Pedestrian
traffic is very light.

Hi Shirley,

I've not been on those roads in rush hour for years. I remember Dixie as
having very wide lanes. If highway speed drivers give me 6 feet I feel
ok for destination travel but as volume mounts to rush hour I find it
less and less enjoyable. Wondering when someone is going to hit me is
only one aspect. Tire and engine noise, grit, exhaust, ugh! You get that
on the sidewalk too. I would try to find a more pleasant route where I
might be able to hear a bird sing or smell a flower.

Expressways are barriers forcing traffic to the few bottleneck roads
crossing them. In Toronto city limits there are a number of easier ways
to cross Highway 401. Two very nice crossings are part of the river
pathway systems. Another is just north of the Avenue Road/Wilson
intersection where I had my accident. Through traffic is calmed to
suffocation so aside from cars entering the expressway there's very
little traffic, and on the north side you can hear birds!

The more ways a city can open up it's expressway, rail line and
subdivision barriers to bike crossing the easier it will be for cyclists
to find satisfactory routes on existing streets.

Downtown, OTOH, is a different story. Due to daytime congestion, bikes
can move faster than cars in many neighbourhoods. Here, they belong on
the road and only the road. In fact, if I'm riding the trails on the
weekend, I make a point of doing so early in the morning, before the
majority of the dog walkers and families with kids are out. The parks
get heavily used after 10 am.

Amen to both those points!

Doug
For email, a sense of wonder.