News   Nov 22, 2024
 431     1 
News   Nov 22, 2024
 896     4 
News   Nov 22, 2024
 2.3K     6 

Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

Hi all,

Longtime lurker (I used to have a profile/account a decade ago but the username/password have been lost to time). I don't believe I've seen any info about the Rosedale Valley Road Multi-Use Trail Reconstruction project on this thread and I believe the project page on the city website is hot off the press. This route is near and dear to my heart since it's my main access point into the Don Valley ravine cycling network and, based on my first-hand experience, it can certainly use a makeover. According to the website, tender and construction is anticipated for late 2022 or early 2023.

Anyway, check out the project page which also links to a conceptual design map and presentation.
https://www.toronto.ca/services-pay...e-valley-road-multi-use-trail-reconstruction/

TY for the post; and From the Above:

1637084249332.png


1637084284446.png


1637084314136.png


1637084368776.png


1637084421581.png


1637084462365.png


1637084496699.png
 
Can someone explain why the bike lanes on Gerrard stop between River and Parliament? The road is about the same width before River and after Parliament.

I don't have an explanation but it actually ends before Parliament (at Berkeley) and there aren't even any sharrows beyond that point. Also, the stretch between Sherbourne and Parliament is a really rough ride.
Perhaps it's due for an upgrade along with road resurfacing and will match the design of the "new" (from 2017?) section between Jarvis and Sherbourne.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DSC
Simply not wide enough for the existing config + bike lanes. Also, streetcar tracks get in the way of permanent road changes. Perhaps an ActiveTO initiative from Dundas would work in the meantime?

A snippet from a convo a month ago by Owen.

In Europe, they got rid of automobiles entirely in their downtown cities. Then there would be room.
 
In Europe, they got rid of automobiles entirely in their downtown cities. Then there would be room.

Uhhh, this is largely not accurate.

A small number of cities have restricted auto-access in a few city-centre blocks, this is not the prevailing norm across Europe.

Paris, Rome, Madrid, Berlin are all full of cars in/near their City-Centres.

Now, its certainly true we're seeing a trend away from that, which is great.

But its important not to exaggerate.
 
It's not the "prevailing trend", but it's not just a small number of cities either. Cities I've been to which have very restricted car access in the very centre (even if only a few blocks) include Dijon, Bologna, Modena, Parma, Catania, Siracusa, Avignon, Aix, Bergamo, Pau, Bayonne, Biarritz, Carcassonne, Seville, Avila, Girona, Ferrara, Granada, Warsaw, Antwerp, Bruges, Krakow, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Pamplona, Bilbao, Toledo, Florence, Siena, etc. That's off the top of my head, there are probably lots more.

Yeah, none of those have gotten rid of cars entirely in their downtown cities (however you define that). But they all have many more pedestrian-only streets than any in Canada.
 
Not just Europe - Times Square in New York City comes to mind, where Broadway (I think - not bothering to check) is blocked.

And then there's Esplanade ...
 
Tons of cities have one or two streets. Even LA has some in Santa Monica! But the cities I'm referring to have at least a small network in the downtown core. Not necessarily where cars are blocked entirely, but access limited to deliveries, residents and taxis.
 
It's not the "prevailing trend", but it's not just a small number of cities either. Cities I've been to which have very restricted car access in the very centre (even if only a few blocks) include Dijon, Bologna, Modena, Parma, Catania, Siracusa, Avignon, Aix, Bergamo, Pau, Bayonne, Biarritz, Carcassonne, Seville, Avila, Girona, Ferrara, Granada, Warsaw, Antwerp, Bruges, Krakow, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Pamplona, Bilbao, Toledo, Florence, Siena, etc. That's off the top of my head, there are probably lots more.

Yeah, none of those have gotten rid of cars entirely in their downtown cities (however you define that). But they all have many more pedestrian-only streets than any in Canada.

I wasn't deriding the idea; I'm very pro road-diet.

My point was not to exaggerate, I countered this statement:

In Europe, they got rid of automobiles entirely in their downtown cities. Then there would be room.

My correction stands, as the statement above is demonstrably wrong.

****

As a curious note, btw; I'd have to look into this more before making a robust statement; but I'm near certain Toronto has cut more lane-km of car lanes, in its downtown, than the majority of cities on the above list

Bloor, Wellesley, Gerrard, Shuter, Queen's Quay, Peter, Simcoe, University, Sherbourne, and River have all lost a vehicle lane in each direction, in the last decade or so.

Richmond and Adelaide have lost 1 lane each.

That's 28 lane-km east of Yonge St. alone

****

Don't get me wrong, its not enough, not even close............but its also a lot more than most people realize has happened.
 
Last edited:
But I think the important point is that there is a fairly large number of European cities with a network of streets in the downtown core that are set aside for pedestrians. Some of this is due to practicality, due to medieval walls and narrow streets (e.g. Ferrara, Carcassone, Toledo, etc.), some are very small areas (e.g. Bologna, Catania, Parma), and some are actually pretty extensive relative to the size of the city (e.g. Dijon, Siracusa)

Other than the Distillery, does Toronto have any commercial streets that are not open to cars?
 
Tons of cities have one or two streets. Even LA has some in Santa Monica! But the cities I'm referring to have at least a small network in the downtown core. Not necessarily where cars are blocked entirely, but access limited to deliveries, residents and taxis.
Like Broadway in New York City between West 45th and West 47th (now you've made me look at a map!).
Other than the Distillery, does Toronto have any commercial streets that are not open to cars?
I wouldn't call Esplanade and Sherbourne, the Distillery!

There's certainly small bits. Market Street north of Front. Gould Street, Victoria Street north of Dundas ...
 

Back
Top