So I'm curious if the accident stats for collisions here have gotten any better. I can't find anything that summarizes the data.
I've biked through here several times over the past few weekends. Just a few observations:
- There are still a lot of cars trying to turn onto the streetcar tracks at Spadina in particular, but also at Rees. All the cars I observed detected they were making a mistake, and stopped and reversed awkwardly to get off the tracks. Seems they've improved the "do not enter" guidance but not the turning guidance.
- I've officially decided I hate the "mixing zones". Pedestrians end up unintentionally interacting with every other mode of transportation regardless of the walk signals....in the bike path, in the streetcar ROW, in the street itself. The design is simply too subtle for safety.
- The space looks beautiful and is very well-used. It is really nice to see so many people on the waterfront.
- The streetcar is not working well here. I'm not actually sure I could design a street that slows the streetcar down more. Be it stopping at every single intersection, a left turn arrow at every possible opportunity, and what seems to be the complete absence of TSP, the streetcar just crawls through here.
Lots in here I agree with. Keying in on the note about the "mixing zones" - I think the subtlety is a great point, and I really do think that could be better addressed by design. As a pedestrian, if you don't have your head up or are otherwise not specifically looking out for it, the cycle track is really just not clearly enough delineated.
I can envision a number of different design fixes, but one that I think would be relatively inexpensive and effective would be some sort of rounded, raised curbing along the southern edge of the cycle tracks. As a cyclist along this stretch, I find most of the pedestrian intrusions onto the cycle track to be from people moving east-west (as opposed to north-south, primarily at intersections, with the noted exception of the foot of York).
I'm of the general opinion that signs are mostly ineffective because people don't notice or read them, but at the moment, it's actually quite unclear to pedestrians that they've actually crossed into a cycle track unless they're specifically looking at it. A 3-inch curb, rounded to decrease the likelihood that people trip over it and into the cycle tracks, I think could be a solution.
But, yeah,
something needs to be done, and I think the assertion that "people will habituate it" is wishful thinking in the extreme, if for no other reason than this is an area highly trafficked by tourists.
