Telling cyclists and drivers to share the road with each other is an inconvenience to drivers and a serious safety hazard for cyclists. Cars will have to slow down to accommodate for a single cyclist and cyclists run the risk of being hit and killed by someone who didn't see them.
The problem here is not that cyclists and drivers are not accommodating of each other, or that either are bad people, but that bicycles and cars are fundamentally different vehicles. Cars are massive and generally go much faster than bikes. If you force a bike onto a lane in a multi-lane road, people need to swerve to avoid hitting them because they just can't go as fast.
Telling them to share the road is not a solution. It just discourages people from riding bikes, which for many is their only form of transport other than walking, and is better for both the environment and your health.
The solution here is to have more bike lanes or multi use paths. "Share the road" signs don't help anyone. If you don't want people riding on the sidewalk, which we all agree is bad, provide an alternative that isn't a massive safety hazard and doesn't inconvenience everyone.
Unfortunately, the only article I could find on this topic is a BlogTO article with a clickbait title. However, the issue is an important one, and the the article has some more information. The Crosstown LRT was envisioned to have bike lanes across the city from the beginning along its route, which would allow people to cycle across the city safely on a safe, straight, and continuous route.
With the whole street being reconstructed, there's an opportunity for safe and high-quality protected bike lanes. Yet, as we can see in the BlogTO article, the implementation is concerning. It looks like they're just going to paint lines on the road along the above-ground portion of the LRT line on Eglinton.
The central part of Eglinton where the LRT is underground doesn't even have continuous bike lanes of any kind planned and funded at the moment. Metrolinx is building bike lanes in front of underground station entrances only. It's an issue that needs to be raised and advanced with the mayor and council.
Eglinton could be a transformative street for cycling, but it looks like the cycling infrastructure is being neglected. Painted bike lanes with no buffer are substandard on the busy and congested parts of Eglinton in Scarborough. If that's simply tolerated and accepted, the Finch West LRT project's proposed cycling infrastructure may end up being substandard or missing as well.
We need to do better with these projects. There's no excuse not to build high-quality cycling infrastructure with the space available and the roads being reconstructed for the LRT.
I've been in Canada for the past 8 years and have been reading great headlines about expanding cycling infrastructure around Belfast. I've been back a few weeks and I'm yet to so almost any infrastructure and the little that there is is for a few hundred meters then you're kicked back in to traffic. Very disappointed
I understand that Oakville’s older bike lanes are horrible but the fact that they are still building them like this makes no sense.
Trafalgar Road and Dundas Street have grade separated paths but they don’t have proper cyclist crossings and they expect people to dismount their bikes and walk across every crossing which defeats the purpose of cycling since it takes forever. Plus they are only on one side of the road.
Lakeshore Road downtown was just redone and they have two lanes for parking, and two for cars, but none for cyclists. There are no bike lanes even though hundreds of cyclists use the road every day. They just have sharrows which are proven to be dangerous since they give cyclists a false sense of security.
Speers Road has lanes protected by curbs but there are so many dangerous busy driveways that divide them, and there are none at busy areas like Speers and Kerr, Cross, or Trafalgar.
There are photos depicting Amsterdam as a place filled with motor vehicles, however today it is one of the palces where cycling is used most as a primary method of transportation. What factors led the people to want to make a push for this, and why haven't we seen the same in other, surrounding european countries?
Google maps is good for finding the quickest route but I'd love to know if there was an app that creates routes with cycling infrastructure that are a bit longer. Don't mind spending a few extra minutes if it means a nicer route. Thanks
If there is something that I've taken notice of recently, its the increasing level of hostiliy towards cyclists in general. I remember cycling around my neighborhood when I was a kid to run errands and enjoying the whole process; but am I the only one who feels that cyclists in general aren't really welcome on both the roads or the sidewalks anymore?
I get that everyone needs be responsible road users and the kind of behavior displayed by some are inexcusable, but at the same time, I feel that our current cycling infrastructure isn't really up to par and just makes it dangerous for both pedestrians and cyclists by putting both of them next to each other without physical separation. Pedestrians still stroll into the cycling pathway (and vice versa).
What do you think of the current state of cycling infrastructure in Singapore and how would you change it to make it better if needed?
also side question: how popular is cycling in your area ?
I'm curious to know what forms of technologies are being implemented to improve and/or increase cyclist witin cities.
A few things which I found already in Denmark are as follows;
- A network of cycle lanes, separated from motorized (cars) traffic [Basics of a cycling infrastructure]
- The Cycle Super Highways, a safe, fast, and comfortable way of biking. A network with over 300km of cycle lanes [Source: PDF]
- Green Wave********^(1) for cyclists; As long as cyclists continue biking as a speed, they will be granted green light at an intersection. So they don't have to stop cycling [Source: Youtube Video]
- Introduction of variable message signs for cyclists - signs can display information about congestion on the bike track ahead, travel times, events, road works etc etc... [Souce: Web 1]
- 20 seconds Extra time (green traffic lights for bikers) to cycle when it's raining [Source: Web 2]
- Right turn Warning signs/(slow down) for motorized vehicles – warming them of bikers ahead [Source: Previous URL]
- The city of Aarhus Uses RFID chips (in bicycles) for Traffic Control [Source: Web3] [Youtybe]
- I loved this one (not tech-related but) Denmark Trains Provide Bike Seats! [Source:Photo]
Hope someone can provide me with some other sorts of technology that might be hidden, and implemented within the city.
Genuinely curious what people’s logic is. I ride the bike path along Bay Area blvd pretty frequently, the stretch between Middlebrook and Red Bluff. The road there is particularly dangerous. No shoulders, lots of traffic going 45+, winding road. There’s a designated bike path immediately beside the road, but ALL the time I see cyclists braving the traffic rather than getting onto the bike path. The bike path is mostly well paved, plenty wide, and has almost zero pedestrian traffic. The intersections are ‘mostly’ protected as well.
I could understand if you’re in a huge group riding in the road, but cannot fathom why groups of 1-3 choose to ride in the road basically every time I see someone on a road bike.
Today I was following behind another rider, I was on the bike path and he was in the street. I sat there and watched as 4-5 cars narrowly avoided him, then he turned South on Red Bluff and continued in the street despite the adjacent bike path. That’s a road where cars are doing 60+ with no margin for error.
Just astounds me that people are so keen to ride in the road when the city has built out legitimately good cycling infrastructure. Most people on urban and MTB are on the bike path, but probably <10% of road bikes are on the path. I can understand not wanting to ride in painted cycling gutters and other half assed attempts at cycling infrastructure, but why avoid the good stuff?
Quick question. My local tradesmen was complaining that new cycling infrastructure in our city would get in the way for workers such as scaffolders, plumbers, roofers , etc from coming around your house and doing the work effectively. Got any video footage of YT links of how this gets managed? Would really like to share this content with him.
It needs to happen all over the Greater Philadelphia Area, but this is a good start. https://youtu.be/wTtsmrT7y6k
I found this PDF for guidelines put forth by Ottawa, Canada detailing how to layout protected cycling infrastructure. I was just wondering what you folks here thought of the document and who at the city or state level would be good to send this document to as a resource/strong hint of the type of cycling infrastructure that is possible in North America to make all forms of transportation safer! (and take up some actual road space so there are more immediate consequences for idiots)
I got my bike working finally last weekend and have been riding around the city. It's really amazing that we have such an amazing biking infrastructure in place. Anyone who's lived anywhere else in the world will know that often bike routes are shared with major vehicle routes which means you are breathing exhaust for your entire ride. In Vancouver, we can ride along the side streets and breath pure fresh air the entire time. Feels so great getting exercise in the great weather with the fresh air.
I know a lot of bike haters on here. But try it out, you'll love it and feel great afterward.
