News   Nov 28, 2024
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Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

Agreed, but everything is a balance. Otherwise, we would cut the speed limits in half
Your idea of balance is that it is acceptable for a small amount of people to die per year to shave minutes off your commute. Got it. 🤣

We don't want balance. We want to keep people from getting maimed or killed while biking.
 
I believe that most respondents in this thread would prefer to stick to details of new cycling infrastructure, without having to be feel like their every post is going to be held up for debate by another member throwing around statistics and claims that are untethered to any reviewable studies. If we get reports of that continuing, we'll be making some longer-term adjustments to who has access to posting on UrbanToronto.

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Something of note over the last few months. With the addition of bike lanes/better infrastructure (albiet most just painted) on Gladstone both north of College and south of Dundas as part of the Bartlett Avenue, Havelock Street, and Gladstone Avenuebike route they are building, it has become quite the bike highway. It has pretty low vehicle traffic and it's keeping most people safe and off Dufferin. Of course the Cadbury factory and the truck traffic is likely the reason why lanes aren't on the stretch between College and Dundas all the bikers do get to enjoy the sweet smell of chocolate as they pass through.

Although it was a bit of comic relief during the shut down of Gladstone cause of the church fire to see all the poor bikers make it half way down the street only to have to turn around and trek it back around. Shows how important this route is though.

A successful example of utilizing adjacent streets that experience lower traffic to host bike traffic while keeping Dufferin open for the eventual dedicated bus lane.
 
A successful example of utilizing adjacent streets that experience lower traffic to host bike traffic while keeping Dufferin open for the eventual dedicated bus lane.

Said bus lane will be in place by summer 2026, for the World Cup. The only thing is making sure its permanent, not temporary.
 
I just noticed this (not new) plan to extend the York Beltline Trail east from Marlee to the Allen Road.


1725644091742.png


It seems to be in suspended animation until 2026 due to work on an affordable housing development (which is fine by me).

There is another project council approved in July to build bike lanes on Marlee & Roselawn/Elm Ridge to help cyclists bridge that Allen gap between the Beltlines.


1725644236198.png


Construction on that is slated for next year. So in theory we will have a bike-friendly on-street route connecting the York and Kay Gardiner trails first.

I am not seeing anything in either project to make a safe crossing to carry the trail across Marlee. Too close to the Roselawn intersection I'd gues. The second project has plans for bidirectional west-side lanes and a crossride at Marlee/Roselawn. So trail users will likely have to dogleg up to Roselawn and back down to access the new trail extension – or just risk riding across Marlee like mahy do on other Beltline crossings without signals.

Hopefuly the trail extension will have an eastern outlet up to Elm Ridge to link with the planned on-street lanes to cross the Allen.

It's good, though short of my (and Mike Colle's once) dream of an actual elevated trail bridge across the Allen.

Transportation staff never acted on a 2021 council motion of Colle's directing them to examine the feasability of such a bridge. I was told this was due to other priorities, and the shift to the options above.

The will of the people, thwarted! Maybe in my kid's lifetime?
 
I just noticed this (not new) plan to extend the York Beltline Trail east from Marlee to the Allen Road.


View attachment 594318

It seems to be in suspended animation until 2026 due to work on an affordable housing development (which is fine by me).

There is another project council approved in July to build bike lanes on Marlee & Roselawn/Elm Ridge to help cyclists bridge that Allen gap between the Beltlines.


View attachment 594319

Construction on that is slated for next year. So in theory we will have a bike-friendly on-street route connecting the York and Kay Gardiner trails first.

I am not seeing anything in either project to make a safe crossing to carry the trail across Marlee. Too close to the Roselawn intersection I'd gues. The second project has plans for bidirectional west-side lanes and a crossride at Marlee/Roselawn. So trail users will likely have to dogleg up to Roselawn and back down to access the new trail extension – or just risk riding across Marlee like mahy do on other Beltline crossings without signals.

Hopefuly the trail extension will have an eastern outlet up to Elm Ridge to link with the planned on-street lanes to cross the Allen.

It's good, though short of my (and Mike Colle's once) dream of an actual elevated trail bridge across the Allen.

Transportation staff never acted on a 2021 council motion of Colle's directing them to examine the feasability of such a bridge. I was told this was due to other priorities, and the shift to the options above.

The will of the people, thwarted! Maybe in my kid's lifetime?

As much as id love to see a bridge too, considering two road bridges are SO close, I dont see it being worth the money. Heck, close down the bridge south of the trail to car traffic and just convert it to a pedestrian only bridge. Its insane that bridge even exists at all! It connects two basically dead end streets.

On top of this, I hope to see the Allen decked over with a park, and so that would make building a new bridge a waste of money.
 
1725646898318.png

Seems like connecting over Aldburn would be easy. There's already a ton of spare room in the painted "edge stripes" / gutters, plus sidewalk, etc. Should be able to shift the traffic lanes over and squeeze in a bi-directional trail. Don't even need to take over the whole bridge and get the drivers' undies in a knot.

There are even existing connections from Aldburn to the trails. They should probably be upgraded to be wider too.
 
Your idea of balance is that it is acceptable for a small amount of people to die per year to shave minutes off your commute. Got it. 🤣

We don't want balance. We want to keep people from getting maimed or killed while biking.
I don't appreciate you putting words in my mouth.

My goal is grade separated bike lanes, anything else is substandard infrastructure.
 
My goal is grade separated bike lanes, anything else is substandard infrastructure.
Which means grade-separated bike lanes on just about every major road in the city. Or banning bikes on any roads without proper infrastructure.

Otherwise there'll be excess deaths.
 
View attachment 594331
Seems like connecting over Aldburn would be easy. There's already a ton of spare room in the painted "edge stripes" / gutters, plus sidewalk, etc. Should be able to shift the traffic lanes over and squeeze in a bi-directional trail. Don't even need to take over the whole bridge and get the drivers' undies in a knot.

There are even existing connections from Aldburn to the trails. They should probably be upgraded to be wider too.
They are doing exactly what your propose but on the bridge north (Elm Ridge Drive) of the Beltline. There will be a bi-directional trail on the south side of the bridge.

See here:
https://www.toronto.ca/community-pe...tructure-projects/beltline-trail-gap-project/

Screenshot_20240906-224834.png
 
Hopefuly the trail extension will have an eastern outlet up to Elm Ridge to link with the planned on-street lanes to cross the Allen.
It's good, though short of my (and Mike Colle's once) dream of an actual elevated trail bridge across the Allen.
I am sure there will be, there is already a path along the Allen there.


They would probably need to widen it and change the surface from concrete to asphalt, not sure if there would need to be some property expropriated from the apartment buildings to the west in order to widen the path though.
 
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Millwood/Pape/Donlands from this afternoon. The paving has been completed, and they are painting lines. Some work to do, poles to install, etc

View attachment 595079View attachment 595080View attachment 595081View attachment 595082View attachment 595083
The final photo is from the SE corner.

Excellent documenting PL.

I'm looking forward to the finished version here, with some streetscaping/landscaping, applicable buffers/barriers in place. It won't be nirvana, but it should feel much safer, and calmer be just a tiny bit prettier too.
 
Excellent documenting PL.

I'm looking forward to the finished version here, with some streetscaping/landscaping, applicable buffers/barriers in place. It won't be nirvana, but it should feel much safer, and calmer be just a tiny bit prettier too.
Agreed!

However, it would be great if they get the separate signal for SB traffic onto Pape operating. Currently the only SB signal shows the angled arrows for Donlands, but it's only one lane currently. So cars go onto Pape while *the pedestrian signal* shows the WALK sign for E-W.

Of course, I haven't complained to 311 or anything, but it is dangerous!
 

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