New Bike Lanes on University, Bay, Spadina, and Other Roads

[spider]

If you ever venture south of Bloor once in a while, you will see that thousands of businessmen, doctors, nurses, and others already bike to work every day.

The vast majority of your bikes are ridden by "others", deceive yourself if it feels good but please don't try to elevate your wishes to facts for consumption by the rest of us.

Had the post read something like this -- "If you ever venture south of Bloor once in a while you will see thousands who cycle to work everyday including doctors, nurses and businessmen", I would not have replied. I have no problem sharing the road with cyclists who reciprocate that respect, it is the militant sharp edge of so many activists that I find annoying. I make no distinction between cyclists with regard to their means of making a living, why do you?

 

[kettal]

Had the post read something like this -- "If you ever venture south of Bloor once in a while you will see thousands who cycle to work everyday including doctors, nurses and businessmen", I would not have replied.

The statement I made was true. May I ask what part of my "wish" was not a fact?

 

[kettal]

As for me, I live in downtown Burlington and am walking distance to my office. Some days I walk and some days I drive if I know I will have appointments or errands at various different locations. I am planning to buy a bike in the next month or so because we do have bike lanes throughout my neighbourhood. When I come into the city I always drive because the train schedule is too infrequent and it connects to a transit system that cannot get me efficiently to the various places I may need to go, whether for business or pleasure.

GO transit will be doubling the service frequency on Lakeshore lines soon. Nobody knows exactly when, but as of now, the necessary track installations are almost complete.

If you would like to buy a durable bike which is business suit friendly, keep an eye out for Batavus Bub. It's just entering the Canadian market this month, Curbside Cycle will have it, and so will a shop in downtown Hamilton.

 

[Tewder]

Thanks for the recommendation. That one looks sweet!

 

[tkip]

Absolutely....

Here's my take on the siutation. Bike lanes on major roads doesn't make sense and just causes more problems. I have friends who ride bikes and they agree that bike lanes should be on quieter roads and not major, busy ones like University and Jarvis. And let's face facts. Toronto is not a bike city.

 

[Parkdalian]

I have friends who ride bikes and they agree that bike lanes should be on quieter roads and not major, busy ones like University and Jarvis.

Your friends are either not telling you the full truth because they don't want to get into an argument, or they are telling you the truth but are not bicyclist commuters. If you commute, you sometimes need to use these streets. If there are bike lanes, they will be safer. They may not *say* they want them, but they'll still appreciate them when they are there.

And let's face facts. Toronto is not a bike city.

Other arguments that follow in this vein:

Let's not beautify our streets. Let's face facts: Toronto is an ugly city.
Let's not make the subway wheelchair accessible. Let's face facts: Toronto is not for the disabled.
Let's not make our buidlings environmentally sustainable. Let's face facts: Toronto is not environmentally friendly.
etc etc

 

[W. K. Lis]

Here's my take on the siutation. Bike lanes on major roads doesn't make sense and just causes more problems. I have friends who ride bikes and they agree that bike lanes should be on quieter roads and not major, busy ones like University and Jarvis. And let's face facts. Toronto is not a bike city.

The side streets are not as good as the main streets for bike lanes because:

• stop signs legally require bicyclist to stop and start, very tiring
• incomplete through streets, requiring extra time to ride up and down blocks to get to another connection to continue the trip
• one way streets, legally speaking they may be going in the wrong direction
• missing shops, most shops on main streets, for stopovers
• speed bumps, not nice to ride over by bicycle
• bridges are mostly on main streets, else they have very narrow bridges which must shared with joggers and strollers
• wrong direction, only the main streets are going in the direction you want to go to (curse of the cul-de-sac)

 

[TOareaFan]

Your friends are lying to you because they don't want to get into an argument, or because they are not bicylist commuters.

So, anecdotal evidence in favour of bike lanes is good and taken as fact "thousands of doctors and nurses bike to work" without needing support......but anecdotal evidence in opposition to bike lanes (my early in this thread out of my office window observation that Univeristy avenue does get congested with cars) is false or, worse, in this fella's case a lie!!

Let's get some balance into this debate. If his cycling friends tell him they don't want to cycle on main streets accept it as true....it may not be reflective of every cyclist but to call them liars is just over the top! (IMO)

 

[kettal]

And let's face facts. Toronto is not a bike city.

I think it's probable that downtown Toronto has the greatest concentration of commuter cyclists in the western hemisphere

Here's what Bay & Dundas looks like 5 days a week


This is what the Sick Kids staff bike cage looks like 7 days a week:


Nope. Totally not a biking city.

 

[Parkdalian]

Let's get some balance into this debate. If his cycling friends tell him they don't want to cycle on main streets accept it as true....it may not be reflective of every cyclist but to call them liars is just over the top! (IMO)

Sorry, I agree, my first comment was contentious. I've toned it down and I apologize.

What I meant to say was: if you commute on bicycles, then you have to use the main streets. It's absurd to argue that you won't. That's like saying, "all my disabled friends tell me that they don't need to use the subway." How is that an argument? Sure, those people might not, but you have other people saying they need it.

What I would like to point out is that bicyclists are saying: bike lanes give us safety. Car drivers are saying: bike lanes inconvenience me. This argument drives me nuts.

And I'll end there cause I'm only making my blood pressure rise.

 

[junctionist]

Cyclists are just like drivers in that they have destinations to go to and need the fastest and most efficient way to get there. They cycle on arterials because those roads typically provide the most efficient ways to get to where they need to go. Arterials also are lined with destinations like employment, retail, services, and restaurants. To suggest that cyclists not use arterials is simply anti-bicycle rhetoric no matter who says it.

 

[spider]

Cyclists are just like drivers in that they have destinations to go to and need the fastest and most efficient way to get there. They cycle on arterials because those roads typically provide the most efficient ways to get to where they need to go. Arterials also are lined with destinations like employment, retail, services, and restaurants. To suggest that cyclists not use arterials is simply anti-bicycle rhetoric no matter who says it.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that cyclists not use arterial roads, they have a perfect right to do so, but they do not have the right to deny the use of any portion of those roads to automobile traffic.


Your friendly neighbourhood iconoclast.

 

[junctionist]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that cyclists not use arterial roads, they have a perfect right to do so, but they do not have the right to deny the use of any portion of those roads to automobile traffic.

I argue that they have the right to safety on arterial roads. Not addressing their presence on arterial roads marginalizes them, as if they're not supposed to be there.

 

[spider]

What do you suggest as a compromise?

 

[MisterF]

What do you suggest as a compromise?

Bike lanes are a compromise.