General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[amnesiajune]

What? He's all about ideology.

That's not true at all. He changes his opinion on issues all the time when it's convenient for him. He has the same general ideology as the city as an aggregate (i.e. being moderate-to-conservative on fiscal issues, but somewhat progressive on social issues), because that's what following the path of least resistance means. But generally speaking, whatever position he takes on an issue will be the one that has the least opposition, or the one where getting past the opposition costs the least political capital. That's true of nearly everything, from bike lanes to road tolls to public transit to supervised injection sites to ranked ballots.

 

[W. K. Lis]

New York City cops really don't like bicycles, and especially not e-bikes.

From link.

The mayor (NYC) is rushing ahead with a punitive approach to e-bike use instead of shaping policy based on how the food delivery business actually works.

So far this year, NYPD has confiscated 923 e-bikes and issued nearly 1,800 summonses to people who’ve committed the crime of riding an e-bike, according to City Hall. Mayor de Blasio wants you to know that’s just the beginning.

Starting in January police will also ticket businesses that employ workers who ride e-bikes with an initial $100 fine and $200 for each subsequent offense, in accordance with 2012 city council legislation that NYPD had previously said was “impractical” to enforce.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday on the Upper West Side, the epicenter of NYPD e-bike enforcement, de Blasio said the crackdown is part and parcel of his administration’s goal to eliminate traffic fatalities. “Vision Zero is about making us safe regardless of what the threat is — making us safer when it comes to our streets,” de Blasio said.

But he admitted that e-bike riders had not actually caused any fatalities — the enforcement is based on complaints. Neither de Blasio nor NYPD Chief of Patrol Terry Monahan could cite injury or fatality data to justify the crackdown. The mayor said the city would provide available collision data following the press conference, but NYPD officials later told Newsday that they “do not track to [that] level of specificity.”

“I’ve had a lot of people at town hall meetings say to me that they are concerned that they want to make sure we address reckless behavior by these electronic bicycles,” de Blasio said. “We got more and more complaints from people around the city so it’s obvious that something that used to not be as big a problem had gotten really substantial.”

Chief among the complainers is Matthew Shefler, an investment manager from the Upper West Side whose one-man quest to get e-bikes off city streets was profiled by WNYC over the summer. In August, Shefler called in to the station’s “Ask the Mayor” segment to directly confront de Blasio on the issue.

Yesterday, a little over two months later, the mayor delivered on Shefler’s request, with no apparent input from delivery workers or the businesses that employ them. “It’s a very good thing when one citizen thinking of his own community and thinking of thousands of other people, steps up, brings up an issue, brings up a way of solving an issue, and puts the kind of time and energy in that Matthew did,” de Blasio said.

The focus on businesses reflects the mayor’s belief that “employers purchase the bikes.” That’s not how the food delivery business actually works, however. Most delivery workers own their bikes, according to Do Lee, a researcher at CUNY Graduate Center and an organizer with the Biking Public Project, which collects delivery workers’ stories.

Most delivery workers are independent contractors, Lee told Streetsblog. And NYPD has said independent contractors will have to pay the fines themselves.

Even looking at the issue through the prism of nuisance complaints to 311, the mayor’s reflex to respond with fines probably won’t do much to change the status quo, because City Hall and NYPD have done little to understand the punishing economics of the food delivery business, which all but ensure that workers will seek to augment human-powered bicycles.

For a delivery worker, income is a function of how many deliveries you can make in a day, and delivery zones are expanding as apps like Seamless and GrubHub introduce new incentives for restaurants to cover more turf. Especially for older delivery workers, e-bikes are the only feasible conveyance for daily shifts that routinely clock in at 12 to 16 hours long. On top of it all, many immigrant workers are paying off tens of thousands of dollars in debt to the networks that smuggled them into the country.

“The city has never really talked with delivery workers about their own conditions, and how to design a system around delivery work — about streets, about the commercial cycling ordinances, about e-bike laws,” Lee said. “We’re totally ignoring the people who have the most intimate knowledge of city streets.”

The fine for operating an e-bike on city streets can be as high as $500. That, along with the seizure of property worth several hundred dollars, can upend the life of delivery workers getting by on tips and little else. Even the fines on businesses can trickle down to workers’ pocketbooks.

“If they don’t get their bikes back, if they can’t afford to get a new bike, they’ve lost their livelihood,” Lee said. For undocumented immigrants, the inability to pay that fine could lead to deportation. “It’s troubling because we’ve seen that ICE has picked up undocumented folks at all sorts of court levels, even at traffic court,” Lee said.

De Quan Lu runs the Chinese Mutual Group, a collective of a few hundred Fujianese delivery workers based in Chinatown. He said the crackdown poses a direct threat to the lives of the workers he represents.

“I’m very disappointed that the mayor is only listening to powerful people, and has never come to Chinatown to listen to what the workers have to say,” Lu said through a translator. He said that workers would have to go on strike in response to any crackdown.

“I fear that a lot of delivery workers, a lot of Chinese, are going to leave Chinatown because they can’t make a living here [otherwise],” Lu said. “We’re willing to be regulated if they can have speed limits, if they can have some rules and licenses for the e-bike riders, but this [crackdown] is definitely wrong.”

A non-punitive approach to the issue might involve encouraging the use of pedal-assist bikes for delivery work, which amplify human power but require the rider to expend some energy. De Blasio said older delivery workers should use those bikes, which are not banned under NYC law, unlike e-bikes that can be powered by just a motor. But instead of talking to delivery workers and trying to reach a solution that fits the demands of the job, the mayor and NYPD have jumped straight to penalizing them.

“I want to stop the status quo right dead in its tracks, then we can talk about what that idea will be,” de Blasio said. “I personally don’t have a strong vision of what that idea is. I know what I don’t like and I want to address that.”

“If because of the area they’re delivering to they need to use a car, use a car,” he continued. “If someone couldn’t make those deliveries anymore, my hope would be that they can find some other type of work with that restaurant or that business, but I have to put public safety first, that’s the bottom line.”

Advocates slammed the mayor for confusing 311 complaints with substantive public safety risks. “Clearly, this e-bike crackdown is about listening to the loudest complainers, not listening to the data. In the Vision Zero era, there is no place for complaint-driven enforcement,” said Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Caroline Samponaro. “Rather than attacking the livelihoods of hard-working, predominantly immigrant delivery cyclists, the Mayor should follow the lead of California and work with the New York State Legislature to pass common sense e-bike legislation that establishes a framework for safe, pedal-powered, low-speed models.”

 

[steveintoronto]

New York City cops really don't like bicycles, and especially not e-bikes.

From my experience with e-bikers, I can understand the angst. Many ride recklessly without a licence when such vehicles should, by principal, be licenced. For all intents and purposes, they are electric scooters. Power assisted push bikes are to assist those without the muscle to be 'cyclists'. Fair enough.

To understand NYC's beef (pun fully intended) just consider the food delivery cyclists we have on the road in Toronto. With very few exceptions, they're dangerous and reckless.

[...]
“E-bikes are too often a danger on the City’s streets and sidewalks,” said NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “They’re illegal to operate here, but it seems like you can spot them everywhere – and that’s where our increased enforcement comes in. Officers are confiscating e-bikes from riders and issuing summonses that carry a stiff fine, and enforcement is up dramatically this year. Soon businesses will be held accountable too, because most e-bike riders are acting on their employer’s behalf. The NYPD is committed to keeping City streets safe for everyone and e-bike enforcement is an important part of the plan.”

E-bikes are illegal to operate on New York City streets. According to the City Administrative Code, an “e-bike” constitutes a “motorized scooter” and “no person shall operate a motorized scooter in the City of New York” (19-176.2.(b)). So far this year, the NYPD has seized 923 e-bikes compared to the 341 it confiscated this time last year, an increase of more than 170 percent. Nearly 1,800 civil and moving summonses have been issued to e-bike operators year-to-date.

Businesses that enable e-bike use and turn a blind eye to employees who operate them are also at fault. City law states that “a business using a bicycle for commercial purposes shall not possess any motorized scooter and shall not permit any person to operate a motorized scooter on behalf of such business” (10-157-(k)).

Beginning in 2018, the NYPD will issue a new department directive and provide officers with the necessary forms and training to execute civil enforcement against businesses much more efficiently by allowing officers to issue civil summonses to businesses through the mail. While the NYPD will continue confiscating e-bikes and issuing summonses to riders -- particularly those riding in a hazardous manner -- officers will step up enforcement activity against businesses that too often put their employees in a position to break the law.

Currently, riders caught operating an e-bike are subject to a civil summons, confiscation and fines of up to $500. Beginning next year, businesses that utilize e-bikes or allow employees to operate them will receive a civil summons and a $100 fine for a first offenses and a $200 fine for each subsequent offense (10-157-(g)).

"E-bikes are illegal in New York City, and are often operated in ways that make them unsafe for pedestrians and other bikers. E-bikes rate high among the complaints I hear from constituents, so I am pleased to see that the NYPD is increasing enforcement efforts, particularly by focusing on businesses that put their employees in harm’s way by encouraging illegal e-bike use,” said State Senator Liz Krueger.

“Electric bikes are dangerous nuisances in my Senate district for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Moreover, they’re illegal, so it’s outrageous that some irresponsible businesses in Manhattan brazenly flout the law by using E-bikes to make deliveries. I’m glad the Mayor is making enforcement against E-bikes a priority,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman.

“We’ve seen a number of incidents involving e-bikes and pedestrians on the Upper West Side, and I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for being so responsive to community concerns. It’s extremely important to hold restaurants accountable for the use of e-bikes when making food deliveries, whether the restaurants actually own the bikes or not. The onus of enforcement should not just be on delivery people. I look forward to continuing to work with the administration to make our streets and sidewalks truly safe for pedestrians,” said Council Member Helen Rosenthal.

http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-m...ans-crack-down-improper-use-electric-bikes#/0

As to NYC, keep in mind:

New York is singular in the U.S. for its treatment of e-bikes. According to Alex Logemann, director of state and local policy at the cycling advocacy group PeopleForBikes, the trend elsewhere has been to integrate e-bikes into existing transportation laws.

https://www.bicycling.com/culture/new-york-city-just-declared-war-on-e-bikes

I see two sides to this issue: First, a lot of bike food couriers, motorized or not, are fffing crazy. Second, legislation should come to allow scooters on NYC streets, and e-bikes are scooters!

It's a real tough, desperate job being a food courier. It doesn't follow that law and safety, let alone common sense should be overlooked to entitle them.

 

[W. K. Lis]

In regard to the demands that cyclists be licensed, how many adult cyclists (over 16) have a driver's license already (for ID purposes as one reason why)? If "caught", do they show their driver's license or some other form of ID?

 

[amnesiajune]

In regard to the demands that cyclists be licensed, how many adult cyclists (over 16) have a driver's license already (for ID purposes as one reason why)? If "caught", do they show their driver's license or some other form of ID?

You have to identify yourself if the police are ticketing you. If you have a driver's license on you and you're asked to produce it, it's illegal to refuse or say you don't have it. However, this doesn't (by law - yes, I know there are administrative mistakes made sometimes) affect your auto insurance or give you demerit points. If you get a ticket while biking, the ticket is supposed to clearly say that you were biking, not driving.

So there isn't really any difference between biking with a driver's license and biking without one.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Have there been any proposals for separated bike lanes on University, Queens Park and Avenue Road? They're perfect candidates for something similar to the cycling "superhighways" installed in London? Pair this with extended Bloor-Danforth cycle lanes, and we'd have two continuous, and relatively flat north-south and east-west cycle routes crossing much of the city.

 

[steveintoronto]

Have there been any proposals for separated bike lanes on University, Queens Park and Avenue Road? They're perfect candidates for something similar to the cycling "superhighways" installed in London? Pair this with extended Bloor-Danforth cycle lanes, and we'd have two continuous, and relatively flat north-south and east-west cycle routes crossing much of the city.

There was a short-lived proposal to put them on the outside lane (furthest from the sidewalk) but it was ludicrous in many respects. The bottom line for me and many others is: "Why would you want to share space, even separated, with cars moving that fast and potentially dangerously?" Intersections alone would be very difficult to deal with.

It is essential to connect the discontinuous sections together, but Avenue Rd and University Av are poor candidates for doing it.

If and when the Bloor lanes are made permanent by Council vote, I'm interested to see how seriously the City does permanent lanes there before doing more haphazardly like the Bloor lanes are now. I have a minority view on the Bloor lanes, I think they might be better than what existed prior, but they're still very dangerous and badly designed as is.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

There was a short-lived proposal to put them on the outside lane (furthest from the sidewalk) but it was ludicrous in many respects. The bottom line for me and many others is: "Why would you want to share space, even separated, with cars moving that fast and potentially dangerously?" Intersections alone would be very difficult to deal with.

Putting it on the inside lane is a little ludicrous, but I think they'd be fine on the right curb lane. As long as they were properly separated - meaning actual concrete curbs, that put plenty of distance between you and traffic (not a little concrete strip three or four inches thick and certainly not flexiposts).

 

[Admiral Beez]

New York City cops really don't like bicycles, and especially not e-bikes.

From link.

The mayor (NYC) is rushing ahead with a punitive approach to e-bike use instead of shaping policy based on how the food delivery business actually works.

IMO, the only ebikes legally permitted in Ontario should be pedal assisted, if you don’t pedal, there’s no electric motor. Anything else should be considered a moped, and be licensed accordingly.

Honestly, why does a gasoline powered moped need license and insurance when an electronic moped does not? http://moped2.org/laws/ontario.htm

 

[LNahid2000]

Putting it on the inside lane is a little ludicrous, but I think they'd be fine on the right curb lane. As long as they were properly separated - meaning actual concrete curbs, that put plenty of distance between you and traffic (not a little concrete strip three or four inches thick and certainly not flexiposts).

Putting them in the middle seems to work in Washington DC:

http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-a...orld-20150514/pennsylvania-ave-washington-d-c

 

[steveintoronto]

Putting it on the inside lane is a little ludicrous, but I think they'd be fine on the right curb lane. As long as they were properly separated - meaning actual concrete curbs, that put plenty of distance between you and traffic (not a little concrete strip three or four inches thick and certainly not flexiposts).

Just so we're using the same definition:

outside lanenoun
uk /ˌaʊt.saɪd ˈleɪn/ us /ˌaʊt.saɪd ˈleɪn/

outside lane noun (ROAD)
[ S ] UK informal outside the part of the road nearest the vehicles going in the opposite direction, used especially by faster vehicles:

She cruised by at 160 kilometres per hour on the outside/in the outside lane.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside-lane

I don't see the curb lane (inside lane) being that much better for Avenue Rd or University Av. There are much more suitable and relatively safer roads to use parallel to that, Bay Street being an obvious one, with an HOV status already established. (Though it's poorly enforced)

IMO, the only ebikes legally permitted in Ontario should be pedal assisted, if you don’t pedal, there’s no electric motor. Anything else should be considered a moped, and be licensed accordingly.

Honestly, why does a gasoline powered moped need license and insurance when an electronic moped does not? http://moped2.org/laws/ontario.htm

For the sake of cyclists and road vehicles alike, I absolutely agree. I've had many a close call with lumps sitting on un-licenced mopeds cutting in front of me to attain the cycle lane, and then slow me down. The revulsion for them is widespread in the western world, not least because many of them have lost their driver's licence because they're such shiddy drivers, so cyclists have to put up with them.

Again, there's a huge difference between electric assisted push bikes and e-bikes. Many on electric assisted ones have a medical condition preventing them from attaining what other fit cyclists can. They deserve the assist from trying. Most on e-bikes are slobs.

As for Washington's Penn Av...I wouldn't use it. It tingles every sixth sense as to danger for me. And I'm not the only one:

[...]
In Washington, D.C., the bike lane along Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and White House has proved popular since it was installed in 2010. But some cycling advocates grumble its design — located at the centre of the broad thoroughfare — is impractical and unsafe.

Greg Billing, head of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, says the centre lane design won’t be repeated as the lane is extended past the White House. New rubber barriers were also installed last year to discourage cars from making risky and illegal U-turns through the bike lane. [...]

https://globalnews.ca/news/2899289/bike-lanes-around-the-world-where-mere-paint-wont-do-it/

I'd feel like a sitting duck on those lanes, as I do on some sections of the Bloor lanes.
From the DC Gov DOT website:

https://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddot/publication/attachments/no-u-turns.pdf

Painted lines stop nothing.

 

[Tuscani01]

Got into my very first bike-car accident today! Rammed into a vehicle that made a right turn in front of me, as I was on a bike lane.

Proceeded to have her and another driver yell at me for not stopping, as if I didn’t try to do so. I’m fine, my bike is fine, her car has a nice big scratch. The cops were called since she was yelling at me to cover the damage - despite her being at fault. They didn’t show up because there was no injury.

How do police track these incidents if they don’t even investigate them? Worst of all - how is someone like her and the other motorist able to leave the scene without even getting a lesson on how to navigate around bike lanes?

I find it INSANE that her and this other driver are still on the street driving and thinking that a cyclist that is in a dedicated bike lane, with no stop sign, would be obligated to stop when a driver doesn’t look for cyclists.

She was from outside of the city. Clearly, driver training and licensing outside of the city completely ignores the concept of bike lanes. Until this is corrected, there really is no hope for safer streets.

 

[44 North]

Got into my very first bike-car accident today! Rammed into a Mercedes that made a right turn in front of me, on Adelaide.

Proceeded to have her and another driver yell at me for not stopping, as if I didn’t try to do so. I’m fine, my bike is fine, her car has a nice big scratch. The cops were called since she was yelling at me to cover the damage - despite her being at fault. They didn’t show up because there was no injury.

How do police track these incidents if they don’t even investigate them? Worst of all - how is someone like her and the other motorist able to leave the scene without even getting a lesson on how to navigate around bike lanes?

I find it INSANE that her and this other driver are still on the street driving and thinking that a cyclist that is in a dedicated bike lane, with no stop sign, would be obligated to stop when a driver doesn’t look for cyclists.

She was from Mississauga. Clearly, driver training and licensing outside of the city completely ignores the concept of bike lanes. Until this is corrected, there really is no hope for safer streets.

Got into a similar accident on a green painted lane. No harm no foul (at the time, tho later after adrenaline wore off realized foot was sprained). But the fact that she was yelling at you...I dunno, I think that's deserving of a shakedown. Maybe demand she give you five hundred bucks. If she resists she can call the cops.

 

[steveintoronto]

Gave both the above posts 'likes', because this conversation is necessary, and reveals two serious legal issues, beside the drivers being morons:

As far as I can tell, and I'm due for a meeting with Metro Police Public Relations on this, one of the reasons the cops didn't or wouldn't come, is that the law is unclear on bike lanes, save for a few described in the HTA, but probably not tested in court yet. I don't have the HTA handy, but I can tell you that before making a turn, *the lane must be acquired* (gist) closest to the curb if turning right, or to the most outside lane if turning left. There is an exception to this if it is a multi-lane street allowing multi-lane turns to another multi-lane street. (These are marked by dashed lines to indicate the lane you must stay in while turning). *Many* minor intersections where bike-lanes cross, the solid white line demarcating the bike lane is not broken, and thus forcing drivers to make an illegal turn.

It gets worse, most if not all of the demarcated cycle infrastructure, especially the green boxes, is not accommodated for in the HTA. In other words, if you think you are safe in a green box, but traffic is trying to turn behind you, you are actually in violation of a clause of the HTA. Under the HTA, cycling infrastructure offers very little if any protection from what happened to you, save for perhaps the driver failing to attain the innermost lane (the cycle lane) before turning.

Thank God both of you are OK, but the bottom line is that you thought you were protected and safe, with the right of way, but in fact, had you been hurt, your grounds for suing for damages might not hold in court.

Think about that, and why the City and cycling advocates are so silent on it. I've brought it up a number of times in the Separated Lanes string, repeated my request for answers after posting pics and examination of the Adelaide and Bathurst new installation, and got banned for two weeks because of it.

I'll supply details if challenged.

Start asking questions! I already have, to two levels of police divisions, the last one a traffic one, and was pointed to their public relations man, it's a hot potato, but off the record, I was counseled to keep pushing for answers, their hands are tied.

More on this later when I get more definitive answers, or a definitive response that there are no answers until Queen's Park brings the HTA up-to-date. And where's the City on this? A civil action could be started for them giving the false sense of safety on bike lanes, but it would be best based on someone in an accident suing for actual damages, not altruism.

Btw: Some of the green painted parts of the cycling infrastructure are extremely slippery when wet. The grit in the paint has a very short life-span. And if they really had safety in mind, they'd use discreet purpose-mixed asphalt instead of paint, as is done in nations where they're serious about safety, but I digress.

How do police track these incidents if they don’t even investigate them?

Indeed! There are thousands of accidents not being reported. And often persons hit find out later that they were injured.

When phoning it in, state you are injured. The endorphins that kick in (adrenaline is one) mask the pain of injury unless critical. You can be injured enough for a joint never to heal properly again in a simple impact like that, even a sprain can be recurring there-after.

Edit to Add: This may seem trifling, and wearing a helmet is personal choice, I'm not going to get into that one, other than to say those 'looking out for your safety' are spinning a yarn, but something you must consider, as they will be involved in 98% of accidents, are your hands!

Get gloves, good ones, not the silly Velcro ones sold as fashion statements now-days. A Kevlar patch on your palm is a necessity, as is padding and preferably a crochet or heavy leather back, in case your hand is caught under you while sliding on asphalt or worse.

Very difficult to find real cycling gloves now-days. I send to the US for them, excellent gloves, less than $20 a pair:
https://www.planetbike.com/store/pr...cycling-gloves/taurus-cycling-gloves-987.html

Shipping to Canada included.

Only problem? They're white. They stay that colour for less time than running shoes do...if you're fastidious, order a couple of pair, one for real adventure, the other for weddings.

 

[44 North]

Btw: Some of the green painted parts of the cycling infrastructure is extremely slippery when wet. The grit in the paint has a very short life-span. and if they really had safety in mind, they'd use discreet purpose mixed asphalt instead of paint, as is done in nations where they're serious about safety, but I digress.

Realize I should retract the "green painted lane" part. It was the lanes on Wellesley, which have floppy plastic bollards and double-wide lines filled in with hatch marks. Though not where the accident occurred since it was the intersection. But yes, paint on asphalt is slippery. Though with our pitted, cracked, and heaving asphalt we usually get some traction to balance it out.