Cycling in Toronto

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html
--
Andrew Chaplin

On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 8:28:49 AM UTC-5, wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html
--
Andrew Chaplin

HI SUMMER

goo.gl/HgTmfS

On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),
wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html

Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally unusable for
everyone.

On 2/24/2017 1:05 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),
wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html

Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally unusable for
everyone.

Much agreed.
Meanwhile across the river from you, it seems that the
profusion of traffic loops by WISDOT the past couple of
decades was completely cooked up from thin air by traffic
engineers with no backup data, at great expense and the
actual blood of taxpayers. Vile things.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 2/24/2017 2:05 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),
wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html

Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally unusable for
everyone.

We've got very little of that stuff happening - one of the blessings of
being in a non-trendy area.

But as a guy who frequently walks across a busy 60+ foot wide five lane
road, I think I'd like the center refuge islands for pedestrians.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 2/24/2017 3:19 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 2/24/2017 2:05 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),

wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html


Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has
been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and
convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center
median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make
the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has
been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at
this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban
streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The
streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major
intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger
from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which
overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane
in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a
great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the
neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get
around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my
street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally
unusable for
everyone.

We've got very little of that stuff happening - one of the
blessings of being in a non-trendy area.

But as a guy who frequently walks across a busy 60+ foot
wide five lane road, I think I'd like the center refuge
islands for pedestrians.



Oh, sure. That sort of thing starts out almost benign. Once
every local politician and civil servant gets their piece/
kickback/ baksheesh, you're talking real money:

http://www.channel3000.com/news/loca...on-1/155920655

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 1:26:42 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 2/24/2017 3:19 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 2/24/2017 2:05 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),

wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html


Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has
been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and
convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center
median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make
the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has
been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at
this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban
streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The
streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major
intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger
from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which
overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane
in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a
great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the
neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get
around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my
street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally
unusable for
everyone.

We've got very little of that stuff happening - one of the
blessings of being in a non-trendy area.

But as a guy who frequently walks across a busy 60+ foot
wide five lane road, I think I'd like the center refuge
islands for pedestrians.



Oh, sure. That sort of thing starts out almost benign. Once
every local politician and civil servant gets their piece/
kickback/ baksheesh, you're talking real money:

http://www.channel3000.com/news/loca...on-1/155920655

Once its built, it will fill-up with cyclists -- they will come. The one constant through all the years, Andrew, has been bicycles. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But bicycles have marked the time. That trail, those bikes: it's a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh... people will come Andew. People will most definitely come. And they will buy their bikes at Yellow Jersey, yes they will.

-- Terence Mann.

On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 1:19:34 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 2/24/2017 2:05 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 05:28:47 -0800 (PST),
wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html

Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) there has been a trend in
the past few years to take four lane through streets and convert them
into two lanes with bike lanes and sometimes a center median. The
stated intent has been to facilitate bike use and to make the streets
pedestrian safer by installing the median. No data has been released
yet and I am not sure there are even any studies being done.

IMHO the results are awful, but of course I am looking at this from the
perspective of someone who has cycled city and suburban streets for 50+
years so I feel no need whatsoever for bike lanes. The streets are now
clogged with 1/4 to 1/2 mile-long backups to the major intersections.
The bike lanes are corridors of exhaust fumes and danger from drivers
trying to pull ahead early to get into a turn lane (which overlaps the
bike lanes, of course) and parked cars with the bike lane in the door
zone. Our local bike advocacy groups consider this a great victory.
But another consequence is drivers filtering through the neighborhoods
adjacent to these mangled through-routes, trying to get around the
congestion to get where they are trying to go. On my street, rush hour
traffic is probably five times higher than it used to be.

Apparently bike progress means making roads equally unusable for
everyone.

We've got very little of that stuff happening - one of the blessings of
being in a non-trendy area.

But as a guy who frequently walks across a busy 60+ foot wide five lane
road, I think I'd like the center refuge islands for pedestrians.

You're the guy playing frogger in real life that the truckers complain aboot?

1 April, 1971

nice bridge....off course ours are longer n highly scenic....no green slime here...


say...wait there's a news story coming in


UM STUDENT FOUND FLOATING IN LAKE NEAR BRIDGE AND BICYCLE.....

probably Chicago.

The RailRoad....how's the Pre Rump position on creosote and the Lake ?

RR spray the bed with toxic herbicides during spring?

well, skip the bridge then lets ride down Brool n inhale a couple Oz of particulates....

On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 5:28:49 AM UTC-8, wrote:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...s-numbers.html
--
Andrew Chaplin

I rode Toronto one day. Then out of town for the Erie Canal the next day. Funny thing is noone in Toronto knows how far it is to Hamilton, or St. Catharines. AFAICT. In fact in Burlington they don't know how far it is to Hamilton. (It is across the city limit). They just looked the bike and scowled and said "Far".

I enjoyed riding around town tho. The canal was too much stopping.