General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[casaguy]

It's unfortunate, but such accidents could also be avoided if cyclists going straight pass on the left vehicles seeking to make a right turn, or take the lane to avoid such situations. The good driver on both two wheels and four seeks to avoid such potentially dangerous situations and recognizes that there are unpredictable drivers. Sometimes one must boldly ride away from the curb to ride safely.

If drivers and cyclists always signalled their intentions well before-hand this would also solve many problems.

However, I'd have to blame the cyclist for most accidents. If cyclists would anticipate the car turning right, the car door opening, etc. then the cyclist would be going at the appropriate speed to stop instantly.

Let's face it, the car is bigger than you and it will win everytime. So if cyclists used their heads more and cycled defensively I think we'd all see a lot less accidents.

As a daily avid cyclist I can't count the times I've been embarrassed for my fellow cyclists behaving as though they own road and then acting all self righteous when they get into an accident they didn't see coming because their self-entitlement was blurring their vision.

 

[UD2]

If drivers and cyclists always signalled their intentions well before-hand this would also solve many problems.

However, I'd have to blame the cyclist for most accidents. If cyclists would anticipate the car turning right, the car door opening, etc. then the cyclist would be going at the appropriate speed to stop instantly.

Let's face it, the car is bigger than you and it will win everytime. So if cyclists used their heads more and cycled defensively I think we'd all see a lot less accidents.

As a daily avid cyclist I can't count the times I've been embarrassed for my fellow cyclists behaving as though they own road and then acting all self righteous when they get into an accident they didn't see coming because their self-entitlement was blurring their vision.

It must be because my skills in prophecy are not trained enough, but how do you foresee an opening car door?

And I’m sorry to disappoint you but records show the majority of bike/auto accidents are at the fault of the drivers. I'm a driver too and I can't tell you how many times I've almost ran over a cyclist because I didn't check my right hand blind spot while turning right after stopping at an intersection.

Nor can I tell you how many times when drivers passed me within two inches to the left while I’m on the bike and I thank the almighty Lord every time when the Buick driven by the elderly lady didn't run me over. And then there are the 18 wheeled semis that just does not want to fully change into the other lane.

On the lake, man powered boats like kayaks and canoes have the right of way over motor boats. I believe this should be the case on the road as well.


Oh and BTW. You are required to check your right blind spot before turning right. If you run into a cyclist while making a right, it's you who is the idoit and not the biker.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Councillors' axle of evil
By JOE WARMINGTON

Drunk with power -- and flaunting it.

How else do you explain the scheduling of a low-end bicycle race that closed off four major streets in downtown Toronto during Friday night rush hour? What kind of city council would allow such a thing?

Toronto's, of course. It's not a war on cars. It's a war on sanity. And they seem to be winning.

"It's absolutely insane," says Councillor Rob Ford, who adds his new job is "fighting communism."

Veteran Councillor Case Ootes doesn't go that far but says he's never seen anything like this. "It's no longer what we can do for the public but how can we promote our agenda?"

For example did they really have to have that silly race at that time?

Lance Armstrong wasn't there so have it on Sunday morning. But that wouldn't make the same anti-car point.

In the meantime seven members of council are packing their bags to leave Monday for Vienna for a transit conference. They are not travelling on their bikes.

"There would be eight going but one is part of the 12 councillors going to Whistler, B.C. and can't make both," said Ford sarcastically. "It's an appalling waste of money."

Ootes agrees. "We have $350 million worth of potholes that need repair and we are going to spend $6 million to remove a lane on Jarvis St. for a few bicycles? "

And never mind the bike lane to nowhere on Eastern Ave. We're neglecting the basics of municipal government. We have billions of dollars worth of sewers and water pipes that need to be replaced and we are screwing around with all this other stuff!"

Perhaps while in Vienna they will come up with some more brilliant ideas of how to retrofit transit vehicles to accommodate bikes.

Taxpayers spent $9 million to put those racks on the front of the TTC buses and I have never seen a bike on one. Nor have I once seen an $85 ticket handed out to a cyclist riding on a sidewalk.

"Wonder what would happen if I drove my car up on the sidewalk?" AM 640's Mike Stafford wisely asked this week.

One thing we do see a lot of is the parking assassins nailing people like secure courier professional Sean Callacott who gets five tickets a day -- usually from the same one.

Hey, somebody has to pay for the trips to Vienna and Whistler. Maybe one day those talented parking officers could be retrained to police bad cyclists who should be made to have licences and registration if they are going to be on the roads.

Think of the cash that would bring in that the city could waste.

Reader Bill McDonald makes a good point -- if there is a $127.09 city permit needed to pave your driveway, these bikers can pay their share, too.

 

[toraerach]

Toronto's, of course. It's not a war on cars. It's a war on sanity. And they seem to be winning.

"It's absolutely insane," says Councillor Rob Ford, who adds his new job is "fighting communism."

I wonder if there's anywhere else on the planet where ~2km of bike lanes and a bike race constitute either "war" or "communism."

 

[casaguy]

It must be because my skills in prophecy are not trained enough...

^ Great line.

Who's to blame is pointless. Defensive driving/cycling with an emphasis on prevention is what's missing from equation. Have as many laws as you want but I think in the end common sense will rule.

Yes drivers do stupid things. (I'm guilty of that). Yes cyclists do stupid things. (I'm sadly guilty of that too). But since cyclists are probably the ones who'll be hurt the most in an accident, the onus should be on the cyclist to be more aware.

The car/bicycle relationship is an evolving one. The weaker player in this relationship needs to know his place while all parties become more educated and experienced.

I've seen so many cyclists get pissed off with a driver who cuts him off while turning right. I don't understand this. To me the cyclist is the idiot for not anticipating the possible right turn of a car. Yes, the driver is the a**hole here, but the cyclist is the stupid one for not being prepared for it. (Didn't everyone learn this concept in their Young Driver's of Canada classes?)

It's just common sense. There's no magic or prophecy involved.

 

[kettal]

I would never bike the same way many other cyclists in the city do.

When anywhere near parked cars, I always go slower and ring my bell if I suspect there is a person in one of the cars.

It seems to piss off other cyclists when I do this, though. They always think I'm ringing at them.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

If drivers and cyclists always signalled their intentions well before-hand this would also solve many problems.

However, I'd have to blame the cyclist for most accidents. If cyclists would anticipate the car turning right, the car door opening, etc. then the cyclist would be going at the appropriate speed to stop instantly.

Let's face it, the car is bigger than you and it will win everytime. So if cyclists used their heads more and cycled defensively I think we'd all see a lot less accidents.

As a daily avid cyclist I can't count the times I've been embarrassed for my fellow cyclists behaving as though they own road and then acting all self righteous when they get into an accident they didn't see coming because their self-entitlement was blurring their vision.

Well put. That's how I've survived all these years. It's a simple case of taking a half hour to learn cycling safety skills and your off.

It must be because my skills in prophecy are not trained enough, but how do you foresee an opening car door?

When I cycle, I presume every car/courier/cab door is going to open in front of me so I'm always in a defensive mode or I swerve left to avoid a door opening providing it is safe to do so. Special attention must always be paid to cabs which are stopped in a bike lane, or right hand lane. College Street is very bad for this. I cycle on College Street a lot, it being my most common east-west route.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Roosevelt Island Bike Racks Cleared … So Cyclists Can Use Them

Bureaucrats in New York City are giving bicyclists on Roosevelt Island a hard time. Check out this original link for the problem they are having getting rid of derelict bicyclist left for months on bicycle racks and the "solution" the bureaucrats came up with to combat bicycles left overnight. Bicycles removed are kept for 48 hours and then donated to a thrift store. Why they don't the same with cars, I don't know. There is also an updated link with additional information.

I especially like one comment to the article:

Cyclists, please do not use the bike racks. Please leave them free for cyclists who wish to park their bikes. Cyclists using the bike racks and thus preventing cyclists from using the bike racks will have their bikes removed so that other bikes may be parked and subsequently removed to make room for bikes.

Derelict bicycles are a problem here in Toronto. I have seen bicycles chained to posts over the winter, getting wrecked by the snowplows, and reappearing from under the snow all bent out of shape.

 

[typezed]

I was riding east on St. Clair just past Warden Station yesterday evening. I'd rode up from downtown following the park trails (Don Valley -> Taylor Creek -> Warden Woods) to avoid battle in the war on cars, eating clouds of little bugs all along the way. If I follow the off-road paths that stretch of St. Clair between Warden and Midland is the only area between my place in Scarborough and the Esplanade where I need to deal with traffic. A lineup of cars and buses clearing the Warden intersection was passing me when I felt a thump in the side of my ribcage. Someone in an older red van (which turned further down St. Clair into the parking garage of one of a couple older apartments on the south side) decided to whip a half-eaten banana at me. What can you do, we're so vulnerable out there, and the armour of the vehicle has a way of intensifying some character flaws in people.

In other news, that bicycle race was made unwatchable by the dude in the Ferrari who had to gun up the straightaways at the back of the pack.

 

[casaguy]

Oh, and this pet peeve: Those cyclists in full official get-up who bomb along the multi-use bike paths like it's their own private race track while I'm enjoying a brisk ride lost in my thoughts far to the right and then they come up from behind and yell at the top of their lungs "ON YOUR LEFT!!!" while they streak by at mach speed and scare the sh*t out of me. Not cool. Please stop that.

 

[Twisted Son of Gumby]

Councillors' axle of evil
By JOE WARMINGTON

Taxpayers spent $9 million to put those racks on the front of the TTC buses and I have never seen a bike on one. Nor have I once seen an $85 ticket handed out to a cyclist riding on a sidewalk.

This leads me to something I thought about after listening to Joe Warmington vs. Joe Fiorito about a week or so ago on AM 640 regarding the bike issue.

I think it was a waste of expense to fit every TTC bus with a bike rack, however I think it would've totally made sense to put racks on buses that serve routes which run near major bike trails (e.g. Martin Goodman, ravine trails), and/or extend near transit deficient areas (e.g. NE Scarborough, near N Pickering).

If you look on a TTC route map, you'll realize that Toronto is pretty well saturated with bus routes. Very few people will lug their bike on a bus rack in order to ride the last couple of blocks to their destination - it's less trouble to just walk to point B.

I do however think it would be a potentially great idea to invest in continuous bike trails along hydro rights-of-way and every major ravine. Talk about an analagous 400-series equivalent for cyclists - now that would get people riding more than some bullshit plan to take away road space from Jarvis or Danforth.

 

[junctionist]

I hate when a large problem is invoked to make minor programs seem worthless. Take Case Ootes in the article above. $350 million of "pothole repairs" are needed (road repairs), so suddenly bicycle lanes seems to be a worthless issue which should be disregarded.

The most competent and wise individuals can handle both small and large matters of significance to the city, rather than dismiss the small as absolutely worthless, but then this argument is inspired by an anti-cycling agenda (specifically on Jarvis).

 

[Automation Gallery]

Well put. That's how I've survived all these years. It's a simple case of taking a half hour to learn cycling safety skills and your off.

When I cycle, I presume every car/courier/cab door is going to open in front of me so I'm always in a defensive mode or I swerve left to avoid a door opening providing it is safe to do so. Special attention must always be paid to cabs which are stopped in a bike lane, or right hand lane. College Street is very bad for this. I cycle on College Street a lot, it being my most common east-west route.

Fear and cycling on Jarvis
Christopher Hume
Urban affairs columnist

Other than a courier with a really tight deadline and a death wish, most would prefer to avoid Jarvis. To ride this street is to take your life into your hands. Dangerous isn't the word; it's foolhardy.

Every sort of driving behaviour happens here, all made worse by speed. There are those who like to play chicken with cyclists, daring you to move from your space in the gutter. One inch to the left and you die, one to the right, you hit the curb and get airborne.

That, of course, means hitting potholes head-on, skidding over cracks and negotiating other roadway imperfections. No wonder male cyclists have lower sperm counts.

Then you have the door-openers, usually older men unaware that drivers are now expected to share the roads with bicycles. Most irritating are the ones who get mad at the cyclist after nearly killing or maiming him. It's your fault, they spit angrily; what were you doing on my road?

There are other hazards, too, including drivers who switch lanes at the last minute to get around someone turning left or right. This is when cyclists suddenly find themselves the meat in a car-and-sidewalk sandwich.

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/642825

 

[rbt]

I hate when a large problem is invoked to make minor programs seem worthless. Take Case Ootes in the article above. $350 million of "pothole repairs" are needed (road repairs), so suddenly bicycle lanes seems to be a worthless issue which should be disregarded.

Not to mention that the roads department gets a blank cheque every single year for repairs. The problem isn't the lack of funds but, rather, their inability to spend everything they're given.

They typically spend about 50% of what they're given. If doubled their budget, they would spend under 25% of what they were given. Their tendering/engineering processes needs an overhaul.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

This leads me to something I thought about after listening to Joe Warmington vs. Joe Fiorito about a week or so ago on AM 640 regarding the bike issue.

I think it was a waste of expense to fit every TTC bus with a bike rack, however I think it would've totally made sense to put racks on buses that serve routes which run near major bike trails (e.g. Martin Goodman, ravine trails), and/or extend near transit deficient areas (e.g. NE Scarborough, near N Pickering).

If you look on a TTC route map, you'll realize that Toronto is pretty well saturated with bus routes. Very few people will lug their bike on a bus rack in order to ride the last couple of blocks to their destination - it's less trouble to just walk to point B.

I do however think it would be a potentially great idea to invest in continuous bike trails along hydro rights-of-way and every major ravine. Talk about an analagous 400-series equivalent for cyclists - now that would get people riding more than some bullshit plan to take away road space from Jarvis or Danforth.

9 Million seems like a lot of money for bike racks on the front of buses. Anyway, buses are moved around, they don't run the same route forever so outfitting buses in areas where the bike racks are more likely to be used would result in some buses having them, and some not. My take is it's better to be consistent and not go about the matter in a half-assed manner.

I don't think many people use the racks to ride a few blocks to their destination. I see them more likely to be used in a scenario such as someone who doesn't want to ride in city traffic. They get off at (example) Sherbourne subway, load the bike on the rack and rides the bus down to the end of Sherbourne to hit the Martin Goodman trail.

Get used to losing some parallel parking and a lane here and there, bikes and cyclists aren't going anywhere. In the next few years I believe we'll see substantial growth with people cycling for pleasure, and as a means of getting around as more and more bike lanes are added around the city. I've seen dramatic change in just the past 5 or so years with the numbers of cyclists I see on the streets today thanks to the City slowly moving towards their goal of completing the 1,000km Bikeway Network within the City of Toronto.