News   Apr 24, 2024
Latest Iteration of 50 Eglinton West Proposes 46- and 58-Storey Towers
 987     1 
News   Apr 24, 2024
Sustainability Month: Mass Timber Construction Showing Long-Term Economic Benefits
 1.6K     1 
News   Apr 24, 2024
Aspen Ridge Freehold Townhomes at Crosstown in Master-Planned Community
 631     0 

York Region Roads Thread (Improvements, Road Widening, HOV Lanes, Bike Lanes)

lead82 said:
The highway carpool lanes might encourage some carpooling but we don't have a strong enough network of them to make it worthwhile to carpool unless it's with someone in the same household or a neighbour.
Click to expand...

Or coworkers who live nearby. But that's exactly the point of carpooling. It's not for random strangers to make totally disconnected trips - we have public transit for that. It's for one person to be able to pick up a coworker along the way to work, or drop off their neighbour or partner at the subway while they drive to work.

lead82 said:
Instead you see two full lanes during peak and the HOV being used illegally. You might as well leave them as a general purpose lane in suburban areas unless there is a justifyable need for them.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to argue with anecdotal evidence, but this doesn't make any sense. The road isn't being widened to add capacity for single-occupant cars during rush hour. It's being widened to speed up bus service, encourage carpooling and add bike lanes. Pretty much any system is going to be abused by a very small number of people - that's not an argument against carpool lanes any more than it's an argument against transit fares.
 
I expected the new updates in this thread to be about speed limits.

The limit on Bayview south of Moore Ave (or maybe even further north than that; I don't go that far) was reduced from 70 to 60 a few years ago. As of last week, it's down to 50.

https://cabbagetowner.com/bayview-extension-speed-limit-reduced-again/

"The Cabbagetowner noticed this weekend that the speed limit signs on the Bayview Extension between Pottery Road and River Street have been replaced to indicate a 50 km/h limit. The speed limit in this area was 70 km/h from the opening in 1959 and 60 km/h since June 2011. It seems that the additional reduction is part of the City’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan and was voted on in July 2016."

I am not sure how I feel about this...on one hand I like traffic calming, on the other 50 seems far too low for this arterial, which has no sidewalks and no business or houses fronting it.
 
jeez, there isn't exactly a lot of pedestrian traffic down there. Its actually the only spot i've been pulled over on (luckily let go without a ticket), it instinctively feels like a street with a speed limit that is much higher than 50. It essentially functions as a limited access expressway, much like Highway 7 in York Region, which has an 80km/h limit.
 
The crossing between the Bayview trail and Beltline south of brickworks has progressively gotten more dangerous with the increase in volume. And with the popularity of brickworks and the general area around it we're seeing more people there. Also more and more cyclists are now using Bayview proper (not sure why since the curved/blind hill alongside the Necropolis seems like a fatality waiting to happen). IMO 50 does seem low, but I guess the City is just trying to be safe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rbt
44 North said:
The crossing between the Bayview trail and Beltline south of brickworks has progressively gotten more dangerous with the increase in volume. And with the popularity of brickworks and the general area around it we're seeing more people there. Also more and more cyclists are now using Bayview proper (not sure why since the curved/blind hill alongside the Necropolis seems like a fatality waiting to happen). IMO 50 does seem low, but I guess the City is just trying to be safe.
Click to expand...

Good points. Then why is the road designed like an arterial with wide, wide lanes? I'd I were a transportation planner (haha), I'd keep the limit and narrow the lanes, using the extra space to make for a wider bike lane & safe passage on Bayview south of Rosedale Valley Rd.
 
UserNameToronto said:
Good points. Then why is the road designed like an arterial with wide, wide lanes? I'd I were a transportation planner (haha), I'd keep the limit and narrow the lanes, using the extra space to make for a wider bike lane & safe passage on Bayview south of Rosedale Valley Rd.
Click to expand...

With all the bike infrastructure in this area why would any cyclist want to go on the road? From Leaside to Evergreen Brickworks its actually quicker to take the Beltline trail. And less dangerous

Not every road has to be designed for a cyclist. There is a need for other vehicular movement as well and you are suggesting reducing the auto capacity of this street. (even though there is a cycle route that is just as fast)
 
muller877 said:
With all the bike infrastructure in this area why would any cyclist want to go on the road? From Leaside to Evergreen Brickworks its actually quicker to take the Beltline trail. And less dangerous

Not every road has to be designed for a cyclist. There is a need for other vehicular movement as well and you are suggesting reducing the auto capacity of this street. (even though there is a cycle route that is just as fast)
Click to expand...

But cyclists are going on the road, so it's probably better to accommodate them than not. Or defying the OTHA and attempting to ban them. And Beltline isn't all that great for commuting, and I find it dubious that it's actually less dangerous. Maybe for severity of accidents, but being a gravel multi-use trail with no illumination I'd say it's likely more dangerous.

Also the auto capacity shouldn't change with a lane narrowing. Since the speed limit would be the same, the throughput should be the same. Who knows, with a more orderly flow of traffic at lower speeds it may create a nice laminar flow, therefore increasing capacity.
 
UserNameToronto said:
I expected the new updates in this thread to be about speed limits.

The limit on Bayview south of Moore Ave (or maybe even further north than that; I don't go that far) was reduced from 70 to 60 a few years ago. As of last week, it's down to 50.

https://cabbagetowner.com/bayview-extension-speed-limit-reduced-again/

"The Cabbagetowner noticed this weekend that the speed limit signs on the Bayview Extension between Pottery Road and River Street have been replaced to indicate a 50 km/h limit. The speed limit in this area was 70 km/h from the opening in 1959 and 60 km/h since June 2011. It seems that the additional reduction is part of the City’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan and was voted on in July 2016."

I am not sure how I feel about this...on one hand I like traffic calming, on the other 50 seems far too low for this arterial, which has no sidewalks and no business or houses fronting it.
Click to expand...
I know of a scenario where the speed limit was lowered to 50km/h and then for some reason readjusted back to 60km/h (Finch Av. East at the East Don). So there is a possibility they might revisit the speed limit for this section in the future.
 
muller877 said:
With all the bike infrastructure in this area why would any cyclist want to go on the road? From Leaside to Evergreen Brickworks its actually quicker to take the Beltline trail. And less dangerous

Not every road has to be designed for a cyclist. There is a need for other vehicular movement as well and you are suggesting reducing the auto capacity of this street. (even though there is a cycle route that is just as fast)
Click to expand...

Many of the cyclists I see on Bayview are on road bikes - MAMILs with skinny tires training for speed. Their bikes might not work well on the gravel beltline trail, and even if they did speed would be an issue as would safety of other trail users. The other aspect is that the trail are pleasure routes that become unsafe or unpassable in winter, and a road route would be cleared year round. Finally, the lack of a cycle connection between Rosedale Valley Rd and River is a dangerous oversight given the bike lanes continuing south and north from the Riverdale Park section.
 
Transportfan said:
There's no such thing as Bayview "proper". Bayview "Extension" is just popular terminology. It's all just Bayview Ave.
.
Click to expand...

Oh, by "proper" I meant in the actual driving lanes as opposed to the hard shoulder or parallel trails. And yeah I don't say Bayview Extension, nor personally know anyone that says it. Still hear it on the news and traffic reports all the time...dunno why they still use it.
 
44 North said:
And yeah I don't say Bayview Extension, nor personally know anyone that says it. Still hear it on the news and traffic reports all the time...
Click to expand...

Same here! Actually for the longest time I thought the north part was the extended bit, not the south. An archaic term.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top