General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

[W. K. Lis]

I think, maybe, allegedly, that Denver, Colorado may, not too sure about this, get snow in winter. From this link:

Bicycling in Winter

The majority of Denver's on-street bicycle lanes are located on roadways with stripes; these are the streets that are routinely plowed every time snow accumulates. Crews will make every effort to plow through the bike lane to the curb whenever possible. During swift, heavy snowfall, however, bike lanes may become snow packed. In these conditions, bicyclists can count on the vehicle travel lane to likely be the clearest option and should be prepared to ride in a shared lane condition during snow season. If the city experiences a major snow event (12 inches of snow or more), bicyclists may want to consider alternative transportation options.

Public Works has identified these preferred bicycle routes that bicyclists can expect to be plowed during snow events. Inbound:

• Northwest: Take 46th Avenue to Tejon Street, which turns into 16thStreet, enter South Platte Trail from the ped/bike bridge over I-25.
• West: Take 17th Avenue eastbound around Sports Authority Field at Mile High to access the South Platte Trail.
• Southwest: Take West Florida Avenue eastbound to the South Platte Trail.
• East: Take Martin Luther King Boulevard southwest to Stout or Champa Streets.
• Central: Take 16th Avenue westbound into Downtown.
• Southeast: Take local roads to access the Cherry Creek Trail.

Plan

After checking the local weather, decide if your bicycling skill set matches the daily weather forecast.

• Tire Type - The more tread on your tires the better. A mountain bike, while riding in the snow is ideal.
• Air - Let a little air out of your tires to give you more surface area on the snowy pavement.
• Position - Lower your saddle so you can quickly put your foot down.
• Braking - As in any slippery conditions (such as very wet roads), brake early and in a straight line. You can also use the back brake to test the amount of adhesion you have.
• Apparel - Dress in layers.
• Clean Up - Clean your chain and drive train after almost every ride. A chain cleaner, rag and an old toothbrush are all you need. Just clean it up and regrease it with a chain lube designed for wet/dirty climates. Wipe down your brakes after snowy to sure the contact surfaces with the wheels are clean.

B-Cycle

Denver B-cycle will remain open this winter. Beginning Monday, December 2nd, B-cycles will be available for check out between the hours of 6:30 am and 9:30 pm. Normal operating hours of 5:00 am to midnight will resume in March 2014.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I think, maybe, allegedly, that Denver, Colorado may, not too sure about this, get snow in winter. From this link:

Bicycling in Winter

The majority of Denver's on-street bicycle lanes are located on roadways with stripes; these are the streets that are routinely plowed every time snow accumulates. Crews will make every effort to plow through the bike lane to the curb whenever possible. During swift, heavy snowfall, however, bike lanes may become snow packed. In these conditions, bicyclists can count on the vehicle travel lane to likely be the clearest option and should be prepared to ride in a shared lane condition during snow season. If the city experiences a major snow event (12 inches of snow or more), bicyclists may want to consider alternative transportation options.

Public Works has identified these preferred bicycle routes that bicyclists can expect to be plowed during snow events. Inbound:

• Northwest: Take 46th Avenue to Tejon Street, which turns into 16thStreet, enter South Platte Trail from the ped/bike bridge over I-25.
• West: Take 17th Avenue eastbound around Sports Authority Field at Mile High to access the South Platte Trail.
• Southwest: Take West Florida Avenue eastbound to the South Platte Trail.
• East: Take Martin Luther King Boulevard southwest to Stout or Champa Streets.
• Central: Take 16th Avenue westbound into Downtown.
• Southeast: Take local roads to access the Cherry Creek Trail.

Plan

After checking the local weather, decide if your bicycling skill set matches the daily weather forecast.

• Tire Type - The more tread on your tires the better. A mountain bike, while riding in the snow is ideal.
• Air - Let a little air out of your tires to give you more surface area on the snowy pavement.
• Position - Lower your saddle so you can quickly put your foot down.
• Braking - As in any slippery conditions (such as very wet roads), brake early and in a straight line. You can also use the back brake to test the amount of adhesion you have.
• Apparel - Dress in layers.
• Clean Up - Clean your chain and drive train after almost every ride. A chain cleaner, rag and an old toothbrush are all you need. Just clean it up and regrease it with a chain lube designed for wet/dirty climates. Wipe down your brakes after snowy to sure the contact surfaces with the wheels are clean.

B-Cycle

Denver B-cycle will remain open this winter. Beginning Monday, December 2nd, B-cycles will be available for check out between the hours of 6:30 am and 9:30 pm. Normal operating hours of 5:00 am to midnight will resume in March 2014.

 

[ehlow]

Re people who make excuses about "people can't walk/bike/transit because it's too cold in Toronto", which happens all the time:

Ex. "we can't build walkable areas because it's too cold in winter"

People already walk and bike in large numbers in most average winter weather downtown. People making this complaint tend to be from the suburbs. Although to be fair downtown is warmer usually than the outer 905.

Places that are even colder & snowier than Toronto are some of the best walking/biking cities in North America: Montreal (-5.8 avg high in Jan) for example.

Toronto is not that cold in the winter for the most part. We already have the most street fronting retail of any city in North America (according to the book Walkable City). Average high in January (the coldest month) is -0.7 degrees C. For large portions of winter, it's actually fairly comfortable walking outside for short walks if you're dressed in winter gear.

The "too cold to be outside" complaint is probably valid in places like Winnipeg (-11.3 avg high in Jan) or Edmonton, but Toronto? Which is on average 5-10 degrees warmer than those places in January? It's really not that bad. To me, anything warmer than -5 is OK for walking 15 min. Near 0 is totally comfortable. Worst case I throw on an extra layer.

Source for climate data is wikipedia.

 

[calimehtar]

Frankly I don't think the too cold to go outside argument holds anywhere. The shape of the city and the tendency of the locals to use various modes of transportation is really the only meaningful factor. People who want to go outside will dress for it. I used to walk to school in Alberta in minus 30 because I was talking distance from school. People who drive in that weather will tend to drive in summer too.

 

[junctionist]

Last year surprised me. I wanted to see what it was like to cycle in on a -40 day (with the wind chill), so I rode my older bike a couple of kilometres. I knew it could be a brutal slag that I'd never want to repeat. But it didn't really feel uncomfortable in a parka and gloves. Cycling even in last year's extreme conditions wasn't a big deal.

 

[Torontovibe]

We already have the most street fronting retail of any city in North America (according to the book Walkable City).

I find that hard to believe. I would think that New York City has more street fronting retail than we do. I do agree that Toronto is very walkable all year round. I walk everywhere, even in winter. If you dress properly, the weather is not a problem. Even on the coldest days, the downtown sidewalks are still full of people and cold weather doesn't stop cyclists from getting around either. It's the snow and ice that stops people but we don't really get that much of it downtown, so it's not a big problem.

 

[ehlow]

Last year surprised me. I wanted to see what it was like to cycle in on a -40 day (with the wind chill), so I rode my older bike a couple of kilometres. I knew it could be a brutal slag that I'd never want to repeat. But it didn't really feel uncomfortable in a parka and gloves. Cycling even in last year's extreme conditions wasn't a big deal.

Yeah, I mean, I definitely agree that colder than -5 or -10 would make me not want to be outside for long. However, our winters usually aren't consistently that cold, it usually fluctuates quite a bit (ex this week). Last winter was much colder than normal though.

I mean, it's pretty clear that street level & walkable retail can and already does survive in large swaths of our city.

I find that hard to believe. I would think that New York City has more street fronting retail than we do. I do agree that Toronto is very walkable all year round. I walk everywhere, even in winter. If you dress properly, the weather is not a problem. Even on the coldest days, the downtown sidewalks are still full of people and cold weather doesn't stop cyclists from getting around either. It's the snow and ice that stops people but we don't really get that much of it downtown, so it's not a big problem.

Good point.. I did read something like that in that book though, so I'm not sure how the book came to that conclusion. Or maybe I'm mis-remembering. I'm sure it said something about Toronto having a lot of street level retail by NA standards, maybe "one of the cities with the most".

 

[scamander24]

The new Wellesley St cycle tracks















Bonus: Lower Sherbourne Street cycle tracks (it's only there northbound between Esplanade and Front though, north of Front is the construction site of King Plus Condos)

 

[W. K. Lis]

An article on

The Complete Business Case for Converting Street Parking Into Bike Lanes

An annotated, chart-filled review of 12 studies from around the world.

See link.

San Francisco is moving forward with a plan to add protected bike lanes on Polk Street, one of the busiest cycling corridors in the city, but the decision didn't come easy. The San Francisco Examiner reports that the plan endured about 2.5 years of debate. At the center of the dispute was an objection to the loss of on-street parking spaces by local merchants (our emphasis):

Some business owners had argued that a proposed loss of 140 parking spaces in the area would lead to financial losses, and they had pushed hard for studies on possible economic impacts in order to pause construction of the bike lane.
​

It's perhaps natural for a shop owner to fear that losing a parking space means losing revenue. Drivers tend to be wealthier than alternative transport users, and cars have big trunks to hold lots of stuff. Cities can add a bike lane and still keep street parking by bumping out spots from the curb (a common practice in New York), but generally speaking more road space for cyclists means less for cars.

But here's the thing about the "studies on possible economic impacts" requested by retailers on Polk Street, or really wherever bike-lane plans emerge—they've been done. And done. And done again. And they all reach a similar conclusion: replacing on-street parking with a bike lane has little to no impact on local business, and in some cases might even increase business. While cyclists tend to spend less per shopping trip than drivers, they also tend to make more trips, pumping more total money into the local economy over time.

So to put these debates to rest we've compiled an annotated, chart-filled guide to every major study we know of conducted on the subject to date. Here they are, in no particular order, for your public meeting pleasure

See the complete article at the link.

Portland, Oregon

East Village, New York City

Dublin, Ireland

Los Angeles, California

Toronto, Canada

Seattle, Washington

Bristol, England & Graz, Austria

Melbourne, Australia

See the complete article at the link.

 

[spider]

All those bike lanes but no bikes in the photos. Not even on the sidewalk.

 

[nfitz]

All those bike lanes but no bikes in the photos. Not even on the sidewalk.

No bikes in January. Shocker ...

 

[PinkLucy]

It is actually surprising. Even in January, there are still a large number of downtown cyclists on any given day. It's unusual not to see even one.

 

[W. K. Lis]

How many people in the cars? One each? That's a lot of real estate wasted.

 

[CDL.TO]

...and the thing is pretty much still under construction.

 

[vatche]

All those bike lanes but no bikes in the photos. Not even on the sidewalk.

Not too many cars either....