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Cycling: West Toronto Railpath (City of Toronto, Phase II Proposed)

I've always dreamed of the potential of a bicycle expressway. Grade separated, room to overtake slower cyclists... it would be a dream.

The philosophy that cycling is only a recreational activity is still far too common.
 
CDL.TO said:
I've always dreamed of the potential of a bicycle expressway.
Click to expand...

and imagine each direction of travel was sloped so you would always be going downhill. :)
 
CDL.TO said:
That's clearly absurd, infeasible, and potentially in disagreement with the laws of physics. Obviously, large fans should be installed all along the path to blow the cyclists along.

:)
Click to expand...

now you're being silly. the clear solution is for rail cars to have long rods coming out of their sides which extend over the path and the length of these rods be controlled by GPS so that their handles stay at a fixed position on the path with the rider. with all the added rail traffic, one with a bicycle can hitch a ride on a rod‡ every 5 minutes or so. the posts can also come in handy for joggers as they can get added exercise ducking the rods. the rods can come with a built in water fountain and they can be heated for the winter. the rods can also lift in the air to take into consideration bidirectional rail and cycle travel.

i'm estimating a cost of 70.38 billion from R&D to implementation.


‡ in order to prevent people from hitching a ride on a rod in an unauthorized fashion, large flared ends coated with a sour substance will be installed on rods.

;)
 
Prometheus The Supremo said:
now you're being silly. the clear solution is for rail cars to have long rods coming out of their sides which extend over the path and the length of these rods be controlled by GPS so that their handles stay at a fixed position on the path with the rider. with all the added rail traffic, one with a bicycle can hitch a ride on a rod‡ every 5 minutes or so. the posts can also come in handy for joggers as they can get added exercise ducking the rods. the rods can come with a built in water fountain and they can be heated for the winter. the rods can also lift in the air to take into consideration bidirectional rail and cycle travel.

i'm estimating a cost of 70.38 billion from R&D to implementation.
Click to expand...

Anything less will make me question Toronto's so-called commitment to cycling as a feasible mode of transportation.
 
CDL, I agree completely. I think we need to reduce lanes of rail in this corridor to accommodate more bike paths, at the same time.
 
Archivist said:
CDL, I agree completely. I think we need to reduce lanes of rail in this corridor to accommodate more bike paths, at the same time.
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i say in order to show good faith, both side should meet half way. the bicycle path should be on the railway tracks.
 
Archivist said:
CDL, I agree completely. I think we need to reduce lanes of rail in this corridor to accommodate more bike paths, at the same time.
Click to expand...

Ha ha. I know, this path is extremely constrained by space. But what about elsewhere? Perhaps the Don Valley.

Maybe I was just too taken in by the paths that were designed just like mini roadways for bikes that I experienced in The Netherlands. Cyclists want to get to work quickly and efficiently (without having to dodge pedestrians) too!
 
I just cycled the path again, and at a pace I got from the Caribou Avenue terminus to Dundas and College in just over four minutes.

The Caribou Avenue entrance I found to have some issues. There is no signage from Osler pointing to the path, something which will hopefully change in the future. The actual entrance has recently received a new sidewalk, which has a curb, and is not sloped to allow cyclists to enter easily. That is, it is sloped at the very far end, where it is least convenient.

I'll take some photos soon, but it was getting dark when I went just now.
 
I had been wondering what the construction was for along the edge of the tracks for quite some time, but now I know. Thanks for posting and filling us all in...

p5
 
CDL.TO said:
Ha ha. I know, this path is extremely constrained by space. But what about elsewhere? Perhaps the Don Valley.

Maybe I was just too taken in by the paths that were designed just like mini roadways for bikes that I experienced in The Netherlands. Cyclists want to get to work quickly and efficiently (without having to dodge pedestrians) too!
Click to expand...

I have 2 words for you: hydro corridors.
 
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