Transportfan
Senior Member
Why are people so upset about painted lines? They provide a wide clear space for cyclists.
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Wyecroft Rd Extension & Bridge Project (Halton / Oakville / Burlington)
- Thread starter just east of the creek
- Start date
Why are people so upset about painted lines? They provide a wide clear space for cyclists.
whydidimakethis
Active Member
I'll take it over nothing and some more experienced riders don't mind them, but if we're building from scratch might as well make it safe and comfortable from the get go. If there isn't a lot of turning movement, parked cars, or intersections, I don't think it's so much of an issue as long as they are wide enough.
just east of the creek
Active Member
I think you need to look at the style of usage of these roads. During the summer months the Lakeshore/ Rebecca stretches in Oakville/Burlington are widely used by pelotons of recreational bikers (north of Dundas as well, but traffic volume considerations do not usually come into play) and physically separated bike lanes would be a hindrance. Having said that, Oakville has chosen to do nothing on their section of Lakeshore in terms of separation or paint, except repave the previously neglected shoulder areas of the roadway (which expands the riding area, but in a variable way). Burlington is much the same, except its sections are all curbed. Through much, but not all, of the Lakeshore, there is a heavily underutilized center turning lane, but there appears to be no push to realign the driving lanes to take over much of the center lane, leaving bike lanes to each side. In Burlington it appears as if reconstruction/renewal of the Lakeshore will feature a multi-use off-road pathway to one side or the other.
Having said all of this one could ask what comes first - the chicken or the egg? You need riders to justify these changes and outside of the summer months and mainly weekends, I do not see the need in Burlington or Oakville for massive, accelerated introduction of separated lanes. The experiment with New Street several years ago was a complete failure - no users. And I would say that the work done on Speers to add separated lanes in the section that was rebuilt has resulted in a growth of riders that may be close to 0%. Even the GO stations I use do not show an abundance of the two wheeled transit options.
At this point in time, I would think that better paint, better signage, further off-street recreational connections would be the way to go, and as major streets are reconstructed, then options for separated lanes could be incorporated. The rebuild of Trafalgar and the planned rebuild of Mid-Town Oakville all look at these options pretty carefully. As these changes are made, it will be interesting to see if bicycle traffic increases. These are still car oriented cities and what's the point of having a Carrera 4 GTS if you can't go bombing around town looking for a quart of milk? Or better yet, to the GO Station Parking Garage?
Northern Light
Superstar
I agree w/the gist of what you're saying, but I would also offer the following:
Cycling doesn't become a practical option, let alone a preferred choice, based on a single bike lane or cycle track.
If you look at the modal growth patterns in cycling in Toronto, you can see the effect of a concentrated set of safe cycling routes ("The Network Effect") which allow cyclists to actually navigate from their home to a destination point mostly or entirely within good, safe cycling infrastructure. One has think about destination pairs. My home to the GO Station, my home to the grocery store, my home to the kids elementary or high school; my home to my work, or my college campus. 2-4 km of random lane will, in most cases achieve very little, though it is a necessary step in the process.
In addition to cycle tracks, one can see a clear benefit from a bikeshare service, and from ample bike parking, particularly weather/security-protected.
The simplest things sometimes create real change, such as a canopy and cameras over bike parking at the local High School.
There is a need for critical mass inducing changes. There is a balance to be struck between taking advantage of reconstruction opportunities, and achieving something useful in the nearer term.
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just east of the creek
Active Member
All very good points, and probably a good picture of Halton in general. I know and see improvements off road and on road re trails, signage etc. I know there has been some work done in the downtown areas re storage etc. I know that some public organizations have mapped cycle routes in Halton extensively, and we see the results of that all summer (and its a positive except when they get annoyed with slow moving ag equipment!! Yes, and I'm sorry, but it is a manure spreader...). But you are most very likely correct in that there is no critical mass as yet. Perhaps as mid-town Oakville comes to fruition, that will be a opportunity to connect the older Oakville area with the newer regions of north Oakville through the Trafalgar corridor and Midtown Oakville. Density helps as with so many other transit objectives. I would think that Halton would not be all that much different in this context then many of the regions surrounding the City.
wopchop
Building Toronto
Not with the way people drive and park in Oakville.
just east of the creek
Active Member
I had to slip down to Home Depot located off Wyecroft, closer than the Milton outlets. I was somewhat surprised by the amount of large scale commercial construction underway and planned for the section of Wyecroft that exists east of Appleby. And then south beyond the planned Burloak rail bridge, there is further commercial construction, possibly ’highlighted’ by the 539,000 sq ft well underway structure at Michigan and Great Lakes featuring over 60 truck bays. This should be opening as Burloak closes for fourteen months for rail bridge work.
just east of the creek
Active Member
Construction has started on the last link to the QEW bypass through Oakville and Burlington, otherwise known as the Wyecroft Bridge, connecting Wyecroft Road (Oakville) and Harvester Road (Burlington) to complete a secondary, overspill route running from Trafalgar Rd to the 403 Niagara and Hamilton. Coincidentally, this coincides with the prevailing and ongoing west bound traffic chaos on the QEW. Usage of this new link is predicted to be high.
dullturtle06
Active Member
sorry, how are the on street bike gutters, protected? The paint wont do much with the cyclist between the vehicles and a concrete wall. Easily could have had the bike lane on the other side of the concrete wall with pedestrians, but seems Halton region is 20 years behind Toronto.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
This project has both bike lanes and a multi use trail.
darth_freeman
Active Member
The feedback Halton Region has got from cyclists is that ideally roads should have both an on-street bike lane for "confident cyclists" and a raised wider MUP/sidewalk for more casual cyclists. Tremaine Road is another example.
Transportfan
Senior Member
Why bother with both? There comes a point where it makes the street look messy.
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
LMAO what?
tsm1072
Active Member
It comes down to the two very different kinds of cyclists in the area. Recreational cyclists who are primarily cycling for fitness will typically do larger group rides where a protected bike lane or MUP is a hindrance to the group. These cyclists also want to be able to easily pass slower cyclists. Then, you have casual cyclists/transport cyclists who are less concerned about speed and more concerned about protection and safety. In Halton, and Oakville in particular, the casual/transport cyclists are the minority cycling group and often get lumped into the recreational group when it comes to complaints from drivers. The approach of having a painted shoulder lane and an MUP is actually a pretty good one on these wide suburban roads. Sidewalks are rarely used as walking is impractical due to the distances between destinations, so those needing to get somewhere by bike can have a safe path away from the road, and the large cycling groups have a nice wide shoulder to allow them to ride as a group while still letting vehicles past.
just east of the creek
Active Member
A photo from the Region of Halton website detailing progress to date on the Wyecroft Road Bridge crossing Bronte Creek. Once complete, this link, extending from Trafalgar (as Wyecroft Road, then Harvester Road, then Plains Road i.e. HWY 2 ) , will provide an alternate route for westbound commuters seeking the QEW Niagara (linking in Burlington) and access to Hamilton via Plains Road. And vice versa for eastbound travellers. Given the state of traffic on the QEW through Burlington on any day of the week, many in Burlington and Oakville can hardly wait......well not really, as everyone expects the overspill traffic from the QEW to quickly clog this route, as it does now on New Street and Lakeshore reaching through the Lakeshore link to the QEW Niagara through downtown Burlington.
