Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

[Northern Light]

The City of Toronto is collecting feedback for the Trinity Bellwoods Park Access & Circulation Study. Please submit your remarks through the interactive map & rank other comments until Friday, May 2. Disappointed with the long study timeframe. Especially considering the main thing that needs to be fixed for cyclists is repaving (and maybe widening) the paths!

Trinity Bellwoods Park Access & Circulation Study

Trinity Bellwoods Park is a popular destination for relaxing, exercising and socializing, as well as a central route for walkers and cyclists. The City is conducting a study to assess the park’s pathways and entrances and consider how to improve functionality, connectivity, accessibility and the...

www.toronto.ca

I would divide what this is about into two.

1) What you are noting above is fairly routine maintenance with minor modifications to path width where feasible. That does not require a study, and the amount spent on the study could surely fix at least 200M of said path.
'Just do it'

2) While I'm not a fan of studies without the money to implement them, Trinity-Belwoods is one of a the few parks that really would benefit from a new Master Plan, which I think should be put out to a design competition.

I've laid out optional changes to the park over in the Problematic Park Design thread.

Problematic Park Design - Why Some Parks Don't Work

We continue south now before sweeping across the park to look at its southern 1/3........ Just south of the Community Centre is this 'green house'...... Do I have to tell you what I think? No.....I don't............. You know....the Green House was actually built by a TV show, at no cost...

urbantoronto.ca

My review of the park, with extensive photos is above this post.

 

[generalcanada]

There is 1 thing i hope the study solves is the north south dirt path right beside the tennis court. Its heavily used, muddy and not very easy to use. Especially when it rains

 

[Northern Light]

Wow UT has been quiet the last few days......

Let me see if I can wake @robmausser up........by noting this:

 

[robmausser]

Wow UT has been quiet the last few days......

Let me see if I can wake @robmausser up........by noting this:

View attachment 646974

HAHAHAH, I literally saw the pic, and was all excited even before reading what you put. You got me haha!

Now lets get a bridge over the 404 and rail line and connect the whole thing together.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Saw these pictures of the new contraflow bike lanes on Blackthorn and Silverthorn Avenues in the Cycling in Toronto Facebook group. Courtesy of Flute Lana Chou Hoyt. You can find out more about the project here.

 

[slicecom]

 

[DSCToronto]

View attachment 647144

Yes, this is interesting but it APPEARS to be only a totally separated track for 15-20 meters west of Market Street but it is really unclear to me how much 'construction' there will be going further west to Scott. Also not clear is how they will deal with the block of The Esplanade from George South. Currently the bike track on south side of The Esplanade ends at George South and it appears that cyclists have to merge with traffic on the north side and then go back to south side @ Market. This has been a report from "Puzzled in St Lawrence"

The info on web has THIS

and THIS on Phase 3

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Doug Ford vows to appeal injunction preventing removal of Toronto bike lanes​

Railing against “unelected” judges, Premier Doug Ford says Ontario will appeal a temporary court injunction preventing the province from removing bike lanes on three major roadways in downtown Toronto.

From https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/doug-ford-vows-to-appeal-injunction-preventing-removal-of-toronto-bike-lanes/article_5f2b50a7-fc3d-4f34-b397-40c39de1fa97.html

Railing against “unelected” judges, Premier Doug Ford says Ontario will appeal a temporary court injunction preventing the province from ripping out bike lanes on Bloor, University and Yonge.

“Why don’t they listen to the people?” Ford said Wednesday in Mississauga, noting his Progressive Conservatives were re-elected Feb. 27 on a platform that included removing bikeways and taking a tougher stand on crime in general.

In what Ford described as his “rant for the day,” he teed off on judges whose rulings on issues such as bail or bike lanes that run counter to the wishes of the government — and called the concept of judicial independence “a joke” because judges are appointed by governments of various political stripes.

“Judges should not determine items like bike lanes … because of ideology, they decide to put an injunction in,” charged the premier, who contends removing bike lanes will improve traffic flow for vehicles. “Why do we have elections? … Enough is enough.”

Justice Paul Schabas of Ontario Superior Court ruled April 22 that Ontario government lawyers provided “no evidence” of an urgent need to proceed with removing the bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, and noted they are “more easily removed than rebuilt or restored.”

The injunction was issued while Schabas considers a Charter challenge of the push to remove bike lanes. Cycling advocates had argued the bike lane removals violate Charter rights to life and security of the person.

Government documents released in a court hearing warned removing bike lanes may not ease congestion but could bring an increased risk of collisions and negative impacts on businesses. City hall has estimated the lane removal costs at $48 million, which the province has pledged to pay.

Ford made his comments at Peel Regional Police headquarters in Mississauga where he urged Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new Liberal government to make it tougher for violent criminals to get bail, and noted he and Carney spoke on the telephone Tuesday.

As he has previously, the premier took aim at what he considers “bleeding-heart judges” who are soft on accused violent criminals and grant bail, leading to a “catch-and-release” system in which some facing serious charges go on to commit more crimes.

“I apologize to all the great judges, the great (justices of the peace), but the system is broken,” said Ford.

 

[TheGrimSweeper]

Just when you had some hope that maybe, just maybe he was past this and actually going to focus on real issues.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

'“Why don’t they listen to the people?” Ford said Wednesday...'

The people around the Bloor Street cycling lanes in Etobicoke Lakeshore voted Christine Hogarth (PC) out with 40.5%, with Lee Fairclough (Liberal) in with 48.5%. Hogarth was anti-cyclist.

 

[DSCToronto]

Just when you had some hope that maybe, just maybe he was past this and actually going to focus on real issues.

... and when I was starting to think he might actually understand that the role of judges is not to 'listen to the people' but is to interpret and then enforce the law.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Doug Ford vows to appeal injunction preventing removal of Toronto bike lanes​

Railing against “unelected” judges, Premier Doug Ford says Ontario will appeal a temporary court injunction preventing the province from removing bike lanes on three major roadways in downtown Toronto.

From https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/doug-ford-vows-to-appeal-injunction-preventing-removal-of-toronto-bike-lanes/article_5f2b50a7-fc3d-4f34-b397-40c39de1fa97.html

Wasting taxpayers' money on unnecessary lawsuits since 2018! Justice Paul Schabas wasn't amused over how the Ford government wasted their energy with the March 11 injunction hearing when the bike lanes didn't end up being removed before the April 16 Charter Challenge anyway.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Wasting taxpayers' money on unnecessary lawsuits since 2018!

We could have saved taxpayers money on both sides had we included congestion mitigation in our plans to add bike lanes through the removal of vehicular lanes. Instead we removed car lanes without reducing automobile volume or adding efficiency to automobile flow - where were those cars supposed to go? Had we done it right the first time, by adding bike lanes AND controlling automobile congestion, the city would have a strong case to tell the Premier to piss off.

 

[Northern Light]

We could have saved taxpayers money on both sides had we included congestion mitigation in our plans to add bike lanes through the removal of vehicular lanes. Instead we removed car lanes without reducing automobile volume or adding efficiency to automobile flow - where were those cars supposed to go? Had we done it right the first time, by adding bike lanes AND controlling automobile congestion, the city would have a strong case to tell the Premier to piss off.

With respect, you have it wrong.

Mitigation was included in most cycle track concepts. Notably, added and enlarged left hand turn lanes and in some cases, right-hand turn lanes.

I'm not sure what other mitigation you might have in mind, but that is certainly the obvious, low-hanging fruit.

I'm also unclear on how you propose to unilaterally reduce automobile volume. Tolls were vetoed by the Liberals, and they and congestion charges wouldn't pass muster with Ford. How else would you propose to make drivers go away?

 

[DSCToronto]

We could have saved taxpayers money on both sides had we included congestion mitigation in our plans to add bike lanes through the removal of vehicular lanes. Instead we removed car lanes without reducing automobile volume or adding efficiency to automobile flow - where were those cars supposed to go? Had we done it right the first time, by adding bike lanes AND controlling automobile congestion, the city would have a strong case to tell the Premier to piss off.

The City raised the question of road tolls / congestion charges and it was rejected (by Wynne and Ford) . Road pricing is a proven way to reduce vehicles.