Cycling in Ottawa

We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Last week we had a young woman killed and a kid seriously injured in
separate incidents. Both involved trucks. The kid was in a separated
bike path and was right hooked.

There was a report that near 40% of the serious cycling accidents
involve trucks. The push is to have mandatory cameras installed but the
unions are against it.

On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Your links are broken at the '-' but after fixing them, I can see that
I've been at that intersection and it's similar to the Maisonneuve bike
paths in Montreal. They are also dangerous at intersections.
Personally, I prefer bike lanes in the city rather than separated paths
that give us a green light with no regard to turning vehicles.

trail n eroor ...

the authorities are working for your protection.

On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 8:13:21 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane..
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Your links are broken at the '-' but after fixing them, I can see that
I've been at that intersection and it's similar to the Maisonneuve bike
paths in Montreal. They are also dangerous at intersections.
Personally, I prefer bike lanes in the city rather than separated paths
that give us a green light with no regard to turning vehicles.

Any intersection can be dangerous for a bicyclist. Add in being forced to be to the right of traffic and that danger to bicyclists increases expentially. Then add in big trucks turning right abd the danger is that much greater. the bigger the truck the greater the danger because there's even more likelihood of the bicyclist being in the truck's blind spot. For those reasons i refuse to stay ina bicycle lane at an intersection. I'll take the lane there then move right after passing the intersection. BTW, I consider any entrance to a plaza or mall or parking lot to be an intersection and i treat it as such. This is one of the reasons I started using a mirror on each of my bikes - either on the bike itself or on my glasses or helmet. Even then I have to be alert for those idiot drivers who'll drive up beside me, move ahead slightly and then suddenly decide to turn right into a plaza etcetera.

Thank goodness we don't have completelt segragated bike lanes here. I often think that whomever designs most bicycle lanes does not bicycle in traffic.. Most bicycle lanes I've seen are almost death traps for anyone using them.. For really stupid designs you should see some of the bicycle lanes near Kitchener, Ontario. They actually go around and part way down an on-ramp to the 401 highway. The bicyclist is expected to ride to the end of the lane, dismount and then walk across the on-ramp. The great thing is that the crossing point is right where a driver on thae on-ramp LEAST expects to see a bicyclist or pedestrian. Again I refuse to ride in that bike lane and I instead ride on the right of the right most traffic lane that goes straight past that on-ramp lane.

Cheers

On 02/09/2016 10:02 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 8:13:21 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Your links are broken at the '-' but after fixing them, I can see that
I've been at that intersection and it's similar to the Maisonneuve bike
paths in Montreal. They are also dangerous at intersections.
Personally, I prefer bike lanes in the city rather than separated paths
that give us a green light with no regard to turning vehicles.

Any intersection can be dangerous for a bicyclist. Add in being forced to be to the right of traffic and that danger to bicyclists increases expentially. Then add in big trucks turning right abd the danger is that much greater. the bigger the truck the greater the danger because there's even more likelihood of the bicyclist being in the truck's blind spot. For those reasons i refuse to stay ina bicycle lane at an intersection. I'll take the lane there then move right after passing the intersection. BTW, I consider any entrance to a plaza or mall or parking lot to be an intersection and i treat it as such. This is one of the reasons I started using a mirror on each of my bikes - either on the bike itself or on my glasses or helmet. Even then I have to be alert for those idiot drivers who'll drive up beside me, move ahead slightly and then suddenly decide to turn right into a plaza etcetera.

Thank goodness we don't have completelt segragated bike lanes here. I often think that whomever designs most bicycle lanes does not bicycle in traffic. Most bicycle lanes I've seen are almost death traps for anyone using them. For really stupid designs you should see some of the bicycle lanes near Kitchener, Ontario. They actually go around and part way down an on-ramp to the 401 highway. The bicyclist is expected to ride to the end of the lane, dismount and then walk across the on-ramp. The great thing is that the crossing point is right where a driver on thae on-ramp LEAST expects to see a bicyclist or pedestrian. Again I refuse to ride in that bike lane and I instead ride on the right of the right most traffic lane that goes straight past that on-ramp lane.

Cheers



I prefer riding on the road but there are some lanes that are useful.
Quebec law gives us the right to ignore bike paths when they exist but
the requirement to ride to the extreme right implies that if a bike lane
exists we should be in it. At intersections I usually move over when I
can though, or when there's an obstruction or a door zone or whatever.

The thing with trucks is that the roads in Montreal are often narrow
downtown and trucks should not be there. It's not just cyclists but
pedestrians getting hurt as well.

On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10:43:14 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 10:02 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 8:13:21 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Your links are broken at the '-' but after fixing them, I can see that
I've been at that intersection and it's similar to the Maisonneuve bike
paths in Montreal. They are also dangerous at intersections.
Personally, I prefer bike lanes in the city rather than separated paths
that give us a green light with no regard to turning vehicles.

Any intersection can be dangerous for a bicyclist. Add in being forced to be to the right of traffic and that danger to bicyclists increases expentially. Then add in big trucks turning right abd the danger is that much greater. the bigger the truck the greater the danger because there's even more likelihood of the bicyclist being in the truck's blind spot. For those reasons i refuse to stay ina bicycle lane at an intersection. I'll take the lane there then move right after passing the intersection. BTW, I consider any entrance to a plaza or mall or parking lot to be an intersection and i treat it as such. This is one of the reasons I started using a mirror on each of my bikes - either on the bike itself or on my glasses or helmet. Even then I have to be alert for those idiot drivers who'll drive up beside me, move ahead slightly and then suddenly decide to turn right into a plaza etcetera.

Thank goodness we don't have completelt segragated bike lanes here. I often think that whomever designs most bicycle lanes does not bicycle in traffic. Most bicycle lanes I've seen are almost death traps for anyone using them. For really stupid designs you should see some of the bicycle lanes near Kitchener, Ontario. They actually go around and part way down an on-ramp to the 401 highway. The bicyclist is expected to ride to the end of the lane, dismount and then walk across the on-ramp. The great thing is that the crossing point is right where a driver on thae on-ramp LEAST expects to see a bicyclist or pedestrian. Again I refuse to ride in that bike lane and I instead ride on the right of the right most traffic lane that goes straight past that on-ramp lane.

Cheers



I prefer riding on the road but there are some lanes that are useful.
Quebec law gives us the right to ignore bike paths when they exist but
the requirement to ride to the extreme right implies that if a bike lane
exists we should be in it. At intersections I usually move over when I
can though, or when there's an obstruction or a door zone or whatever.

The thing with trucks is that the roads in Montreal are often narrow
downtown and trucks should not be there. It's not just cyclists but
pedestrians getting hurt as well.

IIRC a lot of the roads in Montreal especially in the old section are quite narrow because they were built/designed in the late 1600's/early 1700's. That means there's not much they can do to widen them or make them safer if big trucks, buses or other large vehicles ar on them.

Here in Ontario you can ride in the lane although the HTA states to ride as far right as practicle and the MOT Ontario recommends keep 1 meter from the curb. The thing is, if you ever did get an impeding traffic ticket you might be hard pressed to prove that it was a neccesity to be that far in the lane for that long a time. I don't even know if a date-stamped image/video of the obstruction(s) would be enough evidence.

Cheers.

Cheers

On 02/09/2016 11:10 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10:43:14 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 10:02 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 8:13:21 AM UTC-4, Duane wrote:
On 02/09/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video



Your links are broken at the '-' but after fixing them, I can see that
I've been at that intersection and it's similar to the Maisonneuve bike
paths in Montreal. They are also dangerous at intersections.
Personally, I prefer bike lanes in the city rather than separated paths
that give us a green light with no regard to turning vehicles.

Any intersection can be dangerous for a bicyclist. Add in being forced to be to the right of traffic and that danger to bicyclists increases expentially. Then add in big trucks turning right abd the danger is that much greater. the bigger the truck the greater the danger because there's even more likelihood of the bicyclist being in the truck's blind spot. For those reasons i refuse to stay ina bicycle lane at an intersection. I'll take the lane there then move right after passing the intersection. BTW, I consider any entrance to a plaza or mall or parking lot to be an intersection and i treat it as such. This is one of the reasons I started using a mirror on each of my bikes - either on the bike itself or on my glasses or helmet. Even then I have to be alert for those idiot drivers who'll drive up beside me, move ahead slightly and then suddenly decide to turn right into a plaza etcetera.

Thank goodness we don't have completelt segragated bike lanes here. I often think that whomever designs most bicycle lanes does not bicycle in traffic. Most bicycle lanes I've seen are almost death traps for anyone using them. For really stupid designs you should see some of the bicycle lanes near Kitchener, Ontario. They actually go around and part way down an on-ramp to the 401 highway. The bicyclist is expected to ride to the end of the lane, dismount and then walk across the on-ramp. The great thing is that the crossing point is right where a driver on thae on-ramp LEAST expects to see a bicyclist or pedestrian. Again I refuse to ride in that bike lane and I instead ride on the right of the right most traffic lane that goes straight past that on-ramp lane.

Cheers



I prefer riding on the road but there are some lanes that are useful.
Quebec law gives us the right to ignore bike paths when they exist but
the requirement to ride to the extreme right implies that if a bike lane
exists we should be in it. At intersections I usually move over when I
can though, or when there's an obstruction or a door zone or whatever.

The thing with trucks is that the roads in Montreal are often narrow
downtown and trucks should not be there. It's not just cyclists but
pedestrians getting hurt as well.

IIRC a lot of the roads in Montreal especially in the old section are quite narrow because they were built/designed in the late 1600's/early 1700's. That means there's not much they can do to widen them or make them safer if big trucks, buses or other large vehicles ar on them.

Here in Ontario you can ride in the lane although the HTA states to ride as far right as practicle and the MOT Ontario recommends keep 1 meter from the curb. The thing is, if you ever did get an impeding traffic ticket you might be hard pressed to prove that it was a neccesity to be that far in the lane for that long a time. I don't even know if a date-stamped image/video of the obstruction(s) would be enough evidence.



Well since the cops can decide not to ticket someone for dooring a
cyclist I guess they can decide to not ticket someone for taking the
lane. BTW, I've sent an email to the mayor's office to ask him why the
cops have this latitude. I've posted on my club site the link so that
others can do the same. I'll be surprised if I get a reply.

Yes, many of the streets in downtown Montreal, especially in the old
port are narrow and in the old port they're mostly cobblestone so
they're loads of fun for bikes. We don't have the riders for taking the
lane that they have in Ontario but we have more stringent laws
describing how cars can pass bikes. These work fine with people that
would be cautious anyway. With nutbars, not so much.

"Andrew Chaplin" wrote in message
09.88...
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

While cycling on the footpath - as I gave way to a pedestrian, I noticed
another cyclist going the other way. Having cleared the pedestrian, I moved
well over so there was room to pass.

The other cyclist had different ideas and dropped off the kerb straight in
front of an approaching car.

All I can say is - the car driver must've seen that
coming...............................

On 9/2/2016 7:06 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
We had a cyclist killed by a dump truck while traveling in a cycle lane.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...laurier-crash-
1.3744035

Here they plug the segregated lane pilot project. I use it twice daily.
Frankly, I do not find it much of an improvement.
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public...rtation/cycle-
ottawaon-right-path-video

For years, I've been posting here that it's nuts to have a
straight-through lane to the right of a lane from which a motor vehicle
might turn right. But that's the standard configuration for bike lanes,
and especially the oh-so-fashionable "protected" bike lanes. (See how
protected that one is?)

For years, people here have been saying "Oh, you're just against all
bike facilities."


--
- Frank Krygowski