Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

[steveintoronto]

I'll be afraid to put a bicycle in this sort of corral, with suburban drivers around.
[...]
I can expect the city going on the cheap with corrals.

The flimsy corral shown (and the triangular hoops on the Toronto ones too) have an inherently weak point: the weld where the hoop attaches to the frame rails; That can be snapped by flexing the hoop back and forth until the weld(s) fail. A muscular thief could snap the one shown above within a minute, even faster if he/she has a cordless grinder to notch the weld point.

It may seem selfish, and another bike can be locked the other side so as to double the security, by locking a bike *across* two hoops endwise with two locks would make for a *much more secure* situation. A thief would have to break two hoops to steal a bike, an unlikely scenario (although still very possible, given enough time and passersby not asking questions).

 

[P23]

I'll be afraid to put a bicycle in this sort of corral, with suburban drivers around.

I can expect the city going on the cheap with corrals.

They will likely be the same as the ones on Harbord, someone posted a photo of them earlier I think. They have metal panels on the sides facing the street.

 

[steveintoronto]

Just did some Googling to find definitive reference on what to expect for further corrals. I'm not fully reassured by the result, but I suspect it's safe to assume that for the Bloor and other main cycle lanes, the 'enclosed' model will be used:

Bike Corrals Program

Bike corrals are seasonal on-street bicycle parking that use car parking in the curb lane to park bicycles without further congesting the sidewalk. Typically, 24 hour on-street car parking spots are used, parking up to 14 bikes where one motorist would normally park. The City installed its first corral in Chinatown on Spadina Avenue in 2010.

Bike corrals are installed where demand for bicycle parking exceeds the limited space on the sidewalk or the boulevard behind it. Usually corrals are installed near the intersection to be relevant to as many destinations as possible for the user. A further advantage of using the roadway is its high-profile location, where bicycles are in full public view and near busy retail and employment destinations.

Corrals are removed before plowing season (which starts 1st of December), and re-installed in the springtime. Currently there are two designs: vertically staggered bike racks (that prevent pedal and handlebar tangles when full) with flex-posts on the road-side, and a newer 'parking stall' design that is enclosed on three sides. Bolting racks to the street allows more flexibility in size. The self-contained parking stall is 5.5 metres long, the space of a single car parking stall.

View a google map of Bicycle Corral and Bike Shelter locations.

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/c...nnel=daf4970aa08c1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

The low profile ones are not only highly insecure in a number of ways, they also allow someone to bend your wheels just by pushing your bike sideways.

It's a point we might have to be vigilante about.

Btw: Note that the only occurrence I can see in all those pics of *reversing* your bike into the rack is in the third pic down. All the others are ostensibly secured by front wheel only, albeit some might have a heavy chain or cable that goes through the frame as well.

It's well beyond time the City started promoting *lock safety* when securing bikes. The city is littered with front wheels securely locked to posts, fences and corrals, and nothing left of the rest.

I'm gritting my teeth as I type that. What the hell are they thinking? And who? I thought they were being guided by "cyclists". You really have to wonder...

Edit to Add: Been staring at the lowest pic posted. Ummmm....lol...what a dog's breakfast of conflicting and ambiguous missives.

 

[W. K. Lis]

...

It's well beyond time the City started promoting *lock safety* when securing bikes. The city is littered with front wheels securely locked to posts, fences and corrals, and nothing left of the rest.

I'm gritting my teeth as I type that. What the hell are they thinking? And who? I thought they were being guided by "cyclists". You really have to wonder...

It's the fiscal conservatives, AKA penny-pinchers, who nominate the cheapest, seconded by the auto-centrists, and passed by the suburban councillors.

 

[steveintoronto]

It wouldn't affect the budget an iota to post signs on the corrals as to how to securely lock the bike with one lock, let alone two.

 

[W. K. Lis]

 

[steveintoronto]

Revisited the Bloor lanes today and yesterday: They're dangerous. And absolutely no sign of more bollards going up. Parking is as bad or worse than ever, many drivers are now realizing that cheating has no consequences. Misuse of parking is rampant.

On the up-side, the lanes are very popular. I went east on College and up Spadina during rush hour (a cheese purchase at Global Cheese in the Market made it all worthwhile) before taking Bloor west, just to gauge usage compared to known standards, and Bloor by far the busiest.

The City has got to get this right, and they're a long way off right now! It's a suicide strip as it now stands.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Construction doesn't finish until August 26 according to the construction notice. More work may still be to come.

 

[steveintoronto]

Fri., Aug. 12, 2016
"[...]City staff say the project, which cost about $500,000, is about 80 per cent complete, and weather-permitting will be finished by early next week.[...]"
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/08/12/bloor-st-bike-lanes-open-to-fanfare.html

The weather has "been permitting" for days. It's now the end of the week.

Thu Aug 04 2016
"[...]Mike Layton, the Ward 19 councillor who championed the bike lane pilot, said he’ll be asking for an enforcement blitz when the lanes are finished – likely by the end of next week, weather permitting.

“Right now, we haven’t changed any of the signs to give a clear indication that it’s a bike lane,” Layton said. “When the lanes are fully installed, that’s when we need to take a stronger approach to enforcement.”[...]"
http://www.metronews.ca/news/toront...already-parking-in-the-bloor-bike-lanes-.html

That was two weeks ago. Do they get their cues from Rio?

Tell me, would the City allow drivers on a road that's not ready and dangerous to drive? Why should cyclists' lives be worth any less? The lanes are freakin' dangerous. Every time I've used them, my sixth sense has been on max, for good reason. It's a run to the slaughter house.

I think the news media has been misquoting their words. It's not "weather permitting"...it's *whether permitting*. Freudian slap...(sic)...

 

[Fred.S]

In the last few days, I've seen people marking spots where the bollards go. You'll notice pink dots on the grounds where I presume they're gong to install them. Though it does seem like it's taking unusually long for this, seeing as they managed to rearrange all the lanes and signage so quickly.

 

[steveintoronto]

In the last few days, I've seen people marking spots where the bollards go. You'll notice pink dots on the grounds where I presume they're gong to install them. Though it does seem like it's taking unusually long for this, seeing as they managed to rearrange all the lanes and signage so quickly.

Let's put another spin on this, and one that I hope is the case: They've realized there's serious design flaws that have to be addressed.

I just cycled from Union to the Junction, (just got in from a Rail-Trail jaunt, detail later), and coming along Richmond, realized it has glaring design problems too, mostly as that relates to how vehicles turning right across the lane aren't given the chance to assume it before turning (solid white line breaks for two car lengths), saw a lot of very close calls. No shortage of idiot drivers, vehicular and cyclist, alike. I just stop and let the cars turn if it appears to be out of control, all the cyclists then start dinging their bells. And then they all swing around the turning car, not letting it complete the turn safely, into other lanes, none of them look. Or even care.

It does not bode well at all for this city ever achieving the finesse and protocol of the American cities, let alone the Dutch or Danes.

 

[LNahid2000]

And then they all swing around the turning car, not letting it complete the turn safely, into other lanes, none of them look. Or even care.

Right, none of them look or care and you're the only good cyclist in Toronto. This looks like typical confirmation bias.

 

[steveintoronto]

Can't take the criticism? There's some excellent cyclists out there, I've never stated otherwise, but Toronto cyclists are their own worst enemies in ways, and most of the awful ones are those so ready to berate motorists.

I've lived and cycled in a number of nations and cities, none with cycling as bad as Toronto. Even London UK looks behaved compared to Toronto, but then again, it's ingrained in the culture.

If you can't the see the problem, you're blind. And part of the problem. Do you think zooming through crosswalks brushing past kids and mothers, jumping through red lights, en masse, turning without signalling and squeezing other cyclists out their lanes is good cycling? Because it's rampant in Toronto.

Not that you've noticed, evidently.

There's no shortage of articles on how bad many cyclists are, and how they give all the other cyclists, sensible law abiding ones, a bad name.

How's David Suzuki for being a right wing and anti-cycling zealot, eh?

[...]A lot of criticism of the growing number of cyclists in cities is valid: too many blast through stop signs, don't give pedestrians the right-of-way, refuse to signal turns, ride against traffic, don't make themselves visible enough and use sidewalks. Many seem to have a sense of entitlement compelling them to ignore laws. It doesn't take much to learn and follow the rules, and investing in proper gear — including lights and reflectors — is absolutely necessary. You'll not only be safer; you'll also be less likely to anger motorists, pedestrians and fellow cyclists.

Some jurisdictions have resorted to increased regulations and penalties to make cycling safer and to reduce conflicts between cyclists and drivers. In Chicago, bike riders face increased fines for disobeying traffic laws, as do motorists who cause bike accidents. The fine for "dooring" a cyclist (opening a vehicle door without looking and hitting a bike) doubled from $500 to $1,000.

There's really no doubt: anything that increases bicycle use, from separated lanes to bike-sharing programs, makes cities more liveable and citizens healthier. Cyclists must do their part to build support for initiatives that make cycling easier, safer and more popular.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/sc...-smart-but-some-cyclists-need-to-get-smarter/

Lots more online...many articles in Toronto newspapers and media stating same. Not that 2000 or some other cyclists care to know.

 

[LNahid2000]

If you can't the see the problem, you're blind. And part of the problem. Do you think zooming through crosswalks brushing past kids and mothers, jumping through red lights, en masse, turning without signalling and squeezing other cyclists out their lanes is good cycling? Because it's rampant in Toronto.

There is no criticism to take since I don't do any of those things, and don't think the majority of cyclists in Toronto do those things.

 

[steveintoronto]

There is no criticism to take since I don't do any of those things, and don't think the majority of cyclists in Toronto do those things.

You're welcome to you opinion, but here's what you stated:
"Right, none of them look or care and you're the only good cyclist in Toronto. This looks like typical confirmation bias."

You're the one with attitude. The trouble is, many cyclists don't realize how bad their cycling is, because they act like one of the mob. I don't claim to be perfect, never have, save for in your and a few others' opinions.

I'm far from the only one, especially in the more established cycling community, to note the horrendous habits of many cyclists. What you can't tolerate is for the reality of it being pointed out to you.

So you get snarky with me. That speaks volumes...about YOU.