Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

[turbanplanner]

What is the thinking behind the 40 km speed limit? Who does it benefit if cars do 40 instead of 50 or 60 on a stroad?

Speed limits like this would make sense downtown. I can't fathom the logic behind having this anywhere in the suburbs.

Even creamier when you consider there are no houses nearby and the residential part is still 50.

This reminds me of the extended red light after a turn light. It was meant to clear the intersection before traffic could go, it just “forces” people to turn on a red

 

[nfitz]

What is the thinking behind the 40 km speed limit? Who does it benefit if cars do 40 instead of 50 or 60 on a stroad?

There's very few roads in Toronto-East York that don't have houses on them. And there seems to be a lot more 30 km/hr streets than 40 km/hr.

There are however 50 km/hr streets in Toronto-East York, where appropriate. There's no prohibition. Though they aren't very evident, as 50 km/hr is the speed where they don't need signs - so they don't mostly! There's even a handful 60 km/hr limits in parts of Old Toronto!

The bottom line, is there just aren't many streets in the old part of the city that are suitable for higher speeds.

 

[turbanplanner]

Took a bike ride down mimico creek since someone had mentioned the trail was destroyed,

For about 90% of it you can’t even tell there was a flood.

There are barriers saying the trail was closed but I saw several people crossing and along the strip. The 10% of the trail is damaged but still passable

 

[DSC]

 

[UntitledCyclist]

Staff do care. You're looking at temporary or interim conditions, not the permanent build. These are done to deliver cycle tracks on roads that are not scheduled for road work currently; the permanent version, generally, will be done when the road comes up for major resurfacing or reconstruction.

Permanent designs in Toronto do, and will look better.

The barriers you highlight in your second photo were a City of Toronto innovation that allows water to flow underneath the barrier. Other cities call these 'the Toronto solution'

Temporary or interim conditions that have existed on parts of Bloor for – checks notes – 8 years? I think the first bollard "protected" cycle track pilot was back 2016.

Nothing is "permanent," everything is "temporary" in that it can be undone, or done better at a later date. But if things are a certain way for 5 years, 10 years, etc. that becomes the way people live in and experience this city. We can do better, even with interim builds.

 

[Northern Light]

Temporary or interim conditions that have existed on parts of Bloor for – checks notes – 8 years? I think the first bollard "protected" cycle track pilot was back 2016.

Road Resurfacing comes up every 20-30 years, reconstruction every 50-60.

Bloor is being systematically upgraded through downtown over the next few years, and Danforth should get some enhancement with any luck, next year.

Nothing is "permanent," everything is "temporary" in that it can be undone, or done better at a later date.

With enough money and time. But staff have to work with what they have. (for now); we can all advocate for more budget/resources.

But if things are a certain way for 5 years, 10 years, etc. that becomes the way people live in and experience this city. We can do better, even with interim builds.

FWIW, the interim builds are improving in quality, and staff are pushing to take this further. But there are competing pressures to expend more on km and less on quality.

 

[UntitledCyclist]

Bike commuting can be used for long trips though there may be a limit where you'd rather take public transit and have some downtime. I think 20km might be a reasonable limit for me. It's really nice the scalability of bike lanes and the ability to go past traffic.

Biking also allows you to mix recreation with your commute, more exercise time when most people are lacking.

E bikes are really shifting these margins too, but there will still be some limits. I think 30-35km commutes are quite doable with *legal* 32 kph max ebikes, epsecially as they come down in price and get better, more efficient batteries. Many many people are in cars for over an 1-2 hours in the GTA as it is, though those commutes are mostly in the 50+ km realm.

 

[UntitledCyclist]

Doesn't matter.....winter is not construction season; and the point was to begin work after Crosstown has presumably alleviated traffic, the buses at the very least.

If it opens in October you're not starting a project on October 15th and finishing it before New Years....

So very disappointed in this.

Yes the EglintonTOday project was always generally wedded to the Crosstown, but until this month the city had been promising the the temporary, interim bike lanes would go in this summer. This was done despite there never being an actual LRT opening date for years now. The TOday project has already been delayed multiple times, and scaled down to bollards and paint (no curbs), after multiple rounds of consulting with BIAs and resident groups terrified of lost parking spots.

The concern seems to be impacts on traffic, which is already terrible on Eglinton. But I don't see how the rather limited scope of these quick build lanes will impact this. Cars already can't drive in the curb lanes where the current nubs of Metrolinx built bike lanes exist – but neither can cyclists, realistically, because they don't connect to anything. Once the LRT opens do they think that traffic will instantly evaporate? Highly unikely. Removing the bus routes will be a factor (are they vanishing the day the first trains run?) but in reality there will always be a traffic impact of doing anything to the roadway, yet at some point you just need to get it done.

Every month we live with the status quo of an Eglinton West that is hostile to cyclists with dangerous disconnected bike lane nubs, is another month where hardly anyone will choose to bike on Eglinton and/or where some poor schmo will mistakenly take one of these false-lanes and be hurt or worse. At this point it's going to be at least another year of this terrible street, which is sad.

 

[Northern Light]

So very disappointed in this.

Yes the EglintonTOday project was always generally wedded to the Crosstown, but until this month the city had been promising the the temporary, interim bike lanes would go in this summer. This was done despite there never being an actual LRT opening date for years now. The TOday project has already been delayed multiple times, and scaled down to bollards and paint (no curbs), after multiple rounds of consulting with BIAs and resident groups terrified of lost parking spots.

The concern seems to be impacts on traffic, which is already terrible on Eglinton. But I don't see how the rather limited scope of these quick build lanes will impact this. Cars already can't drive in the curb lanes where the current nubs of Metrolinx built bike lanes exist – but neither can cyclists, realistically, because they don't connect to anything. Once the LRT opens do they think that traffic will instantly evaporate? Highly unikely. Removing the bus routes will be a factor (are they vanishing the day the first trains run?) but in reality there will always be a traffic impact of doing anything to the roadway, yet at some point you just need to get it done.

Every month we live with the status quo of an Eglinton West that is hostile to cyclists with dangerous disconnected bike lane nubs, is another month where hardly anyone will choose to bike on Eglinton and/or where some poor schmo will mistakenly take one of these false-lanes and be hurt or worse. At this point it's going to be at least another year of this terrible street, which is sad.

I understand the disappointment; there was a motion at Council that requested the work be coordinated with the completion of the Crosstown. Staff are following instructions.

 

[afransen]

E bikes are really shifting these margins too, but there will still be some limits. I think 30-35km commutes are quite doable with *legal* 32 kph max ebikes, epsecially as they come down in price and get better, more efficient batteries. Many many people are in cars for over an 1-2 hours in the GTA as it is, though those commutes are mostly in the 50+ km realm.

Ehh, I don't know about 1 hr each way ebike commute. Some diehards will do it. In countries with mature cycling infrastructure, cycling is usually part of a multimodal trip (transit for long haul and bike for first and last mile). I think it is conceivable that people will ride perhaps 10 km. Much more than that and I think they would look to transit for part of the trip.

 

[Towered]

E bikes are really shifting these margins too, but there will still be some limits. I think 30-35km commutes are quite doable with *legal* 32 kph max ebikes, epsecially as they come down in price and get better, more efficient batteries. Many many people are in cars for over an 1-2 hours in the GTA as it is, though those commutes are mostly in the 50+ km realm.

For years I commuted 30 km per day, 5 days a week, between home and work. It was very pleasant. The journey would take about 40 minutes each way, never stuck in traffic, proudly zipping past hundreds of idling cars At least they got a good view of the booty shorts to brighten their miserable day!

 

[afransen]

For years I commuted 30 km per day, 5 days a week, between home and work. It was very pleasant. The journey would take about 40 minutes each way, never stuck in traffic, proudly zipping past hundreds of idling cars At least they got a good view of the booty shorts to brighten their miserable day!

>20 kmph is a pretty good clip for an average 'non-enthusiast'. I don't think we'll get the masses riding road bikes with drop bars.

 

[turbanplanner]

For years I commuted 30 km per day, 5 days a week, between home and work. It was very pleasant. The journey would take about 40 minutes each way, never stuck in traffic, proudly zipping past hundreds of idling cars At least they got a good view of the booty shorts to brighten their miserable day!

What did you do for work that it was OK to show up sweaty?

 

[evandyk]

That's really fast! I worked for a few years at Dixie and Eglinton and lived at Bloor and Spadina. Just over 20 km, but if I tried to make it in less than an hour it would take me most of the morning to cool down. Going home was nicer, as it was slightly downhill most of the way.

We had a gym at work, so I just showered there.

 

[smably]

Curbs have finally been installed under the Bloor Kitchener Line rail bridge:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815899995595497872

Unfortunately there is still a flex-post section for reasons detailed here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815901026991354269