News   Mar 28, 2024
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Cycling: Simcoe Street changes for bike lanes

I tried out the new lanes yesterday, and they're nice. However I don't understand why the city is so adverse to putting in those cheap flexible bollards to keep cars out. They can easily be knocked down by emergency vehicles if need be. They are especially important on the northbound lanes, as I quickly realized when vehicles were parked in them, I had to detour around them directly into oncoming traffic...

I think the idea is that bollards will be added in the next few weeks.
 
Took note of the times on the parking signs today....Monday to Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight...and Sundays 1pm to midnight. Off peak?



From a car perspective it is a bit of a mess......Southbound North of King the combo of bike lanes force cars into left lane of the two....then they have to get over to the right about halfway between King and Wellington (as the left disappears halfway) then south of Front scoot over the left again (not sure if it reverts to two lanes after the construction there is done or not).

So not only have they taken an effective afternoon rush route from 3 to 1 - 1/2 lanes they have forced a lot lane changing and weaving. I hope the cycling use increases quickly (it can be described as no more than sparse/sporadic so far) otherwise this will become a poster child for the anti-cycling infrastructure crowd.

Maybe using parked cars to protect the bike lane is actually meant to be during peak hours - I can't remember.

There are currently bike counters in the block between Richmond and Adelaide, so we'll have to see what the numbers are.
 
Maybe using parked cars to protect the bike lane is actually meant to be during peak hours - I can't remember.

There are currently bike counters in the block between Richmond and Adelaide, so we'll have to see what the numbers are.

To be fair to the cycling community, it seems a bit early to be counting.....we can't just assume they can paint some lines on a street and expect thousands of riders to magically appear......give it a bit of time and then judge the whole new system on all its' merits.
 
To be fair to the cycling community, it seems a bit early to be counting.....we can't just assume they can paint some lines on a street and expect thousands of riders to magically appear......give it a bit of time and then judge the whole new system on all its' merits.

Maybe not thousands - and I don't think that's what they're expecting - but my experience is that when a new bike lane appears there is indeed an influx of new users. I noticed that with Jarvis and Sherbourne and having used Simcoe as a big part of my morning commute for the past few years, it's definitely become more popular in the past few weeks. That may also be because the surface is much better than it used to be!

We also don't know how long they'll be doing the counts.
 
^thousands was, intentional, hyperbole...sorry. but I would have thought doing counts 4 - 6 weeks after opening would give a truer indication of the popularity of the new route/infrastructure. Give it some time for word to get around and for people to discover the lanes/lights/etc.
 
^thousands was, intentional, hyperbole...sorry. but I would have thought doing counts 4 - 6 weeks after opening would give a truer indication of the popularity of the new route/infrastructure. Give it some time for word to get around and for people to discover the lanes/lights/etc.

I think it makes more sense to measure at the start AND some later point, to see if the initial popularity tails off, holds steady, etc.
 
I think it makes more sense to measure at the start AND some later point, to see if the initial popularity tails off, holds steady, etc.

fair point...just hope that people don't get all "judgemental" on the success based on what appears to be fairly low initial use.
 
There are currently bike counters in the block between Richmond and Adelaide, so we'll have to see what the numbers are.

That good to know. I'm tempted to get on my bike and circle around that block a bunch of times to boost the numbers. :p
 
Looking down Simcoe from Front, flexible bollards are now in place separating bike and vehicle lanes. I'm glad these are there! One more deterrent for cars to stop along that curb.

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The bollards are a start. Being able to ride that short stretch south of Wellington without obstructions this morning was good, but there are still cars blocking the other bits when they could easily wait elsewhere.
 

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