Toronto Queens Quay & Water's Edge Revitalization | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto

.. and I witness a car make a illegal right from Simcoe to the Harbourfront Centre and get its front end creamed by the streetcar. And even after that - people continued to make illegal right hand turns.
 
Napoleon said:
It's funny...I was biking along the trail and politely cautioned another bicyclist that that very moment was not a good one to run the red light. She proceeded to tell me to f* off, entered the intersection and came so close to being hit by a car with a protected left turn that she ended up falling over anyway.
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Yeah, I was stopped at a red the other day and a car began to move through the intersection on a green. Cyclist coming towards me ran the red, car fortunately stopped, cyclist continued on her way, oblivious. Darwin Award candidate.
 
I am starting to see why drivers are running the red left turn signals. Driving Westbound I noticed that the placement of the left turn signal isn't in the drivers' line of sight. I believe drivers are looking ahead, seeing a green light, and assuming they can inch forward as they would do at any other left turn. It isn't until they pass the stop line that they notice the left turn signal, if at all.

The signals need to be aligned so they are all directly over the roadway, and not over the streetcar tracks and bike path.

That being said, I can finally say I am one of the people who got confused driving along Queens Quay! Heading Westbound through Bay, where the transition between a 4 lane road to 2 lanes happens, I moved into the right lane to pass a cab that was trying to turn around. Went through the intersection, only to realize I was no longer in a traffic lane, and the cars behind the cab had passed through and occupied all of the space in the actual lane, which left me stuck on the right overtop a painted out lane. Oops!

Didn't realize the right lane ends and only the left lane is straight through.
 
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Tuscani01 said:
I am starting to see why drivers are running the red left turn signals. Driving Westbound I noticed that the placement of the left turn signal isn't in the drivers' line of sight. I believe drivers are looking ahead, seeing a green light, and assuming they can inch forward as they would do at any other left turn. It isn't until they pass the stop line that they notice the left turn signal, if at all.

The signals need to be aligned so they are all directly over the roadway, and not over the streetcar tracks and bike path.

That being said, I can finally say I am one of the people who got confused driving along Queens Quay! Heading Westbound through Bay, where the transition between a 4 lane road to 2 lanes happens, I moved into the right lane to pass a cab that was trying to turn around. Went through the intersection, only to realize I was no longer in a traffic lane, and the cars behind the cab had passed through and occupied all of the space in the actual lane, which left me stuck on the right overtop a painted out lane. Oops!

Didn't realize the right lane ends and only the left lane is straight through.
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Pay close attention and you'll be fine, whether it's lane markings or signs directing you to trains.
 
Forgotten said:
Pay close attention and you'll be fine, whether it's lane markings or signs directing you to trains.
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Thanks for regurgitating what I have said multiple times in this thread.

Im pointing out that I can see why people aren't getting it, since the same issue keeps occurring. Clearly, telling people to pay attention isn't quite doing the trick.
 
As many have noted, including Waterfront Toronto, some modifications are necessary. When is their presentation on this?
 
Tuscani01 said:
Thanks for regurgitating what I have said multiple times in this thread.

Im pointing out that I can see why people aren't getting it, since the same issue keeps occurring. Clearly, telling people to pay attention isn't quite doing the trick.
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A lot of people here repeatedly state that all drivers have to do is read the signs and think about. Given the complexity of the system, the poor design, it's no wonder drivers repeatedly get confused. Now it's just a matter of convincing all the stakeholders that A) the design is bad and B) the traffic signal rules set out the province are completely inappropriate for a roadway of this complexity and just make things worse.
 
I was almost hit by a car while cycling on the Martin Goodman Trail by the Harbourfront Centre. The driver made an illegal left turn on red while the bicycle signal was green. Fortunately, I noticed the car heading towards me in the corner of my eye as I entered the intersection. I looked over and instantly braked and yelled at the driver to stop. The driver braked, and I also yelled "look at the signal". It was red for left hand turns.

It goes to show that if you're not alert and ready to brake, you can get hit by a car even on one of the best pieces of cycling infrastructure available to cyclists in the city: the Martin Goodman Trail. It's also true that there are problems with the design of the roadway. Ultimately, there may be some negligence on the part of the city for the way the road was built.
 
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.. thats the other issue: having to cross the bike lane to activate the walk signal. I've seen numerous close calls, and have had a few myself.
 
Another day, another collision.

Service Alert:
509 Harbourfront route holding both ways at Queen?s Quay and Rees due to a collision blocking the roadway.

Last updated at 8:28 PM
 
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