Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

[Tuscani01]

We (as a city) need to stop measuring congestion based solely on vehicle travel times. Congestion on Bloor should be measured by taking into account the commutes of everyone along the route. That means cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, and transit users. It should be about the average time taken between all of these methods together, not focused on any single form of transit on its own.

 

[salsa]

We (as a city) need to stop measuring congestion based solely on vehicle travel times. Congestion on Bloor should be measured by taking into account the commutes of everyone along the route. That means cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, and transit users. It should be about the average time taken between all of these methods together, not focused on any single form of transit on its own.

Besides, staff said that the driver delays are a fixable problem. This is a lot like the Jarvis debate, where staff identified an intersection bottleneck than they wanted to fix, but council said “let’s get rid of bike lanes instead.”

 

[amnesiajune]

If they both have the same number of people being transported.

If "number of people being transported" is what matters, wouldn't you consider this project a failure? There are 1,200 more bike trips, but 4,500 fewer car trips. Based on the ~1.25 people per car figure, that means Bloor now moves 4,425 fewer people than it did before the bike lanes - a decrease of 13%.

So maybe look at subjective things like safety and the quality of the neighbourhood, not just throughput of people.

 

[muller877]

The city will make alterations to the Bloor Bike lanes based on preliminary data that was collected last Sept and Oct (6 weeks after the installation).

- Cycling increased by 36%, from 3,300 per day to 4,500
- Approx 25% of those are new cycling trips, while the rest have re-routed from Harbord/Dupont
- Car traffic volumes decreased by 22%
- Driving times in the afternoon peak are 8.5 minutes longer
- Driving times in the morning peak are 4 minutes longer
- Driving times on parallel roads are unaffected
- 64% of local residents and businesses believe the lanes make Bloor St safer.
- 63% of motorists feel safer driving next to cyclists on Bloor, compared to 14% before the pilot
- 53% of local business reps surveyed agree the bike lanes are worth the tradeoffs
- Staff will collect a second round of data in May and June, after the modifications have taken place

The city's GM of transportation says that by changing the timing of traffic signals, implementing turning and parking restrictions, and tweaking the bike lane design at trouble intersections, she fully expects to reduce the negative impact on car traffic. Areas of specific concern for traffic bottlenecks are where Bloor St. intersects with Bathurst St., and at Avenue Rd., where the bike lanes begin.



http://www1.toronto.ca/City Of Toronto/Transportation Services/Cycling/Files/pdf/B/Bloor_Pilot_February_2017_Update_web1.pdf

They don't want to show the number of trips per car. But we can do the math. This per day.

New bike trips on Bloor = 1200
Fewer bike trips on Harbord/Dupont = 900
Net new bike trips = 300

net decrease in car trips = 2500 (calculated estimate)
(not this is not traffic volume but mode share...number of users vs number of cars)

Total decrease in throughput = 2200

So there are 2200 fewer trips on Bloor. Unless the bike trips pick up significantly it is a hard business case for the trial to become permanent. The actual use of the road vs the warm and fuzzy stuff....numbers are easier to sell.

 

[amnesiajune]

net decrease in car trips = 2500 (calculated estimate)
(not this is not traffic volume but mode share...number of users vs number of cars)

What's that "calculated estimate" based on? The report says "traffic volumes on Bloor Street have decreased from approx. 24,500 to 20,000" and "there has been no significant impact to traffic volumes on Dupont St. or Harbord St."

So there are 2200 fewer trips on Bloor. Unless the bike trips pick up significantly it is a hard business case for the trial to become permanent. The actual use of the road vs the warm and fuzzy stuff....numbers are easier to sell.

I don't see why this is the case. The bike lanes went in and it hasn't been the end of the world. Usage of Bloor is a bit lower but the city's transportation system isn't falling apart. I think this will just dispel the "separated bike lanes anywhere and everywhere" crowd, but I'd expect the city to expand these bike lanes at least as far as Lansdowne (and hopefully connect them to Dupont) and build something similar from Sherbourne west to Main Street or Warden.

 

[Tuscani01]

Also keep in mind that these lanes were put in late in the year, and the numbers represent counts done throughout winter. Lets wait for a full climate cycle before jumping to conclusions perhaps?

 

[PinkLucy]

If there is less through traffic on Bloor, is that a bad thing? That should actually make things better for local businesses if Bloor is used more as a destination than as a major thoroughfare. But where are those 2200 trips? Using different mode of transportation or driving their cars elsewhere?

 

[salsa]

They don't want to show the number of trips per car. But we can do the math...

It's in the document I linked. Traffic volumes on Bloor Street have decreased from approx. 24,500 to 20,000 (-22%).

 

[salsa]

If "number of people being transported" is what matters, wouldn't you consider this project a failure? There are 1,200 more bike trips, but 4,500 fewer car trips. Based on the ~1.25 people per car figure, that means Bloor now moves 4,425 fewer people than it did before the bike lanes - a decrease of 13%.

A reduction of car traffic on an urban street should be considered a success, not a failure. Especially if most of the motorists are choosing to switch to the subway or cycling as a result. I'd be interested to know if that's the case.

Unless the bike trips pick up significantly...

The best way to make that happen would be to extend the lanes across the entire corridor. Bloor has the potential to become an extremely useful part of the cycling network compared to the short stub that's in place now.

 

[amnesiajune]

Also keep in mind that these lanes were put in late in the year, and the numbers represent counts done throughout winter.

Not true. The report explains this on page 11. The measurements were from October 2016, and there's another set coming in June 2017.

 

[amnesiajune]

A reduction of car traffic on an urban street should be considered a success, not a failure. Especially if most of the motorists are choosing to switch to the subway or cycling as a result.

Most of them obviously aren't switching to biking, as shown by the 13% drop in people using that stretch of Bloor. I'm not sure if the TTC is co-operating for this report, but I'd guess that a lot of it is just people who take the Gardiner or do whatever they wanted to do in another part of the city.

 

[steveintoronto]

So maybe look at subjective things like safety and the quality of the neighbourhood

lol...that's exactly the basis to wish to reduce the number of cars on the road.

 

[UserNameToronto]

Most of them obviously aren't switching to biking, as shown by the 13% drop in people using that stretch of Bloor

Not people - cars. For all we know they're carpooling and the street is transporting more people in cars.

 

[BMO]

Not people - cars. For all we know they're carpooling and the street is transporting more people in cars.

Guarantee this wouldn't happen unless there's an incentive. Carpooling would still leave them traveling in a what? 8 minute delay compared to prior conditions? I don't see any reason why people would inconvenience themselves even more by coordinating the carpool and driving. More likely shifted onto Transit or Another roadway beyond the scope of the study that provides cross-town travel (which Davenport, Dupont and Harbord do not provide)

 

[ADRM]

Safety is not subjective.