Cycling in Canada

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I can see an upside to those twists and turns. One is that it forces bicycles to slow down when crossing a pedestrian intersection. The second is that it gives cyclists on the far side of an intersection a good view of cars that are approaching from the right and about to make a right turn.

It might also give a right-turning car a better view of the cyclist approaching behind them to their right, since the cyclist has to weave at a lower speed (more reaction time for the driver).

The right hand turn visibility is definitely valid. My problem isn't that the cycleway isn't straight, but just how jagged, sharp, and difficult to anticipate the turns are.

As for speed, it's less of an issue. On the short blocks, you're not getting to much more than 25 km/h, especially since most of Bay is on an uphill incline. These are speeds at which you can easily anticipate movements, identify people and obstacles, and break quickly. Think of the last time that you drove 25 km/h for reference.

Because the bike path curves rather suddenly and unpredictably, I find myself paying more attention than I should to the path, and less to what's going on around me. Like at the third intersection from the bottom where the curve quite literally follows the elevated curb (which is visually confusing, and I've almost gone over it a few times), then stops dead at a near-90 turn.

Then on the other side, there's a very sharp double wiggle which, if it were to be respected, would be an unnecessarily tricky steering manœuvre. And which the snow-clearing truck is unlikely to be able to replicate next time it snows.

Again, so much better. And this is by no means the worst-designed bike infrastructure in the city. But there are definitely some small devil-in-the-details things to be learned and improved upon.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

The right hand turn visibility is definitely valid. My problem isn't that the cycleway isn't straight, but just how jagged, sharp, and difficult to anticipate the turns are.

As for speed, it's less of an issue. On the short blocks, you're not getting to much more than 25 km/h, especially since most of Bay is on an uphill incline. These are speeds at which you can easily anticipate movements, identify people and obstacles, and break quickly. Think of the last time that you drove 25 km/h for reference.

Because the bike path curves rather suddenly and unpredictably, I find myself paying more attention than I should to the path, and less to what's going on around me. Like at the third intersection from the bottom where the curve quite literally follows the elevated curb (which is visually confusing, and I've almost gone over it a few times), then stops dead at a near-90 turn.

Then on the other side, there's a very sharp double wiggle which, if it were to be respected, would be an unnecessarily tricky steering manœuvre. And which the snow-clearing truck is unlikely to be able to replicate next time it snows.

Again, so much better. And this is by no means the worst-designed bike infrastructure in the city. But there are definitely some small devil-in-the-details things to be learned and improved upon.

Yeah, I defer to your judgment since you have actually used it. I'm hopeful about the bolded part.

People complain about bike infrastructure in Canada - and they're right - but people forget how fast design standards are evolving.

Barely a decade ago, separated bike lanes were novel - I think there were a few in Montreal, like Maisonneuve and Rachel and the Hornby bike lane in Vancouver opened to great fanfare. Those lanes were of a bi-directional design and are already considered obsolete; having unidirectional cycle tracks on either side is how most cities in Canada have built their bike lanes in the last few years. You're beginning to see really advanced stuff like Dutch-protected intersections, too.

We could scold Canadian traffic planners for reinventing the wheel that the Dutch invented forty years ago, but institutions don't turn on a dime, and Dutch-style interventions necessitate a rebuilding of streets, including the position of storm sewers below the road. These things get done street by street, and we can't expect an overhaul of the city overnight.

[Nite]

Biking Montreal: Montreal's Newest Bicycling Infrastructure Dazzles!
• Video Link

[Nashe]

Changing gears... how is the incidence rate of bike theft in your city? Petty crime in Moncton has been pretty bad in the past 5 years or so. Bike theft is near the top of the heap, lately. It's to the point you don't dare leave your bike outside (locked/chained/cabled) for a few hours as there are folks going around with cutters in broad daylight.

I personally bring mine right into my office during the day, and it's 2 rooms into my house (from my garage) at night.

Then again, I haven't seen many drop-bar bikes getting stolen... I might not be the target demographic. The modus seems to be swipe and quickly either 1) spraypaint and ride the "upgrade" or 2) chop it and take it to metal recycling places.

[esquire]

Bike theft has been extremely common in Winnipeg for years. There are people with tools who are ready to pounce on bikes left locked up outside. It's likely the case that most cycle commuters park their bikes indoors in fenced-off bike compounds, or take them right into the office.

It's sad but between the very rudimentary state of cycling infrastructure here and the extremely high rates of bike theft, Winnipeg is not a cycling friendly city. As a result of this, cycling is purely a leisure activity for me as compared to a means of getting around... I stick to the trails and rarely lock up my bike. Generally the only time I cycle to get somewhere is when I ride to IG Field to catch a football or soccer game, they have an excellent bike valet service there.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by esquire

Bike theft has been extremely common in Winnipeg for years. There are people with tools who are ready to pounce on bikes left locked up outside. It's likely the case that most cycle commuters park their bikes indoors in fenced-off bike compounds, or take them right into the office.

It's sad but between the very rudimentary state of cycling infrastructure here and the extremely high rates of bike theft, Winnipeg is not a cycling friendly city. As a result of this, cycling is purely a leisure activity for me as compared to a means of getting around... I stick to the trails and rarely lock up my bike. Generally the only time I cycle to get somewhere is when I ride to IG Field to catch a football or soccer game, they have an excellent bike valet service there.

COVID and the increase in demand for bikes has probably "helped' theft be lucrative too, I wager.

I've been thinking of investing in a GPS tracker for mine. Any recommendations?

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by esquire

Bike theft has been extremely common in Winnipeg for years. There are people with tools who are ready to pounce on bikes left locked up outside. It's likely the case that most cycle commuters park their bikes indoors in fenced-off bike compounds, or take them right into the office.

It's sad but between the very rudimentary state of cycling infrastructure here and the extremely high rates of bike theft, Winnipeg is not a cycling friendly city. As a result of this, cycling is purely a leisure activity for me as compared to a means of getting around... I stick to the trails and rarely lock up my bike. Generally the only time I cycle to get somewhere is when I ride to IG Field to catch a football or soccer game, they have an excellent bike valet service there.

Yep as much as I want to bike in this city we haven’t invested nearly enough infrastructure for actual commuting lanes. Even in thoroughfares like Pembina with “bike infrastructure” it’s just mostly painted lanes with no separation from the stroad. They tried to address this with the path down the Southwest Transitway but it’s much more inefficient getting too downtown rather than going straight through Pembina.

The seperated pathways in the new suburban developments and the bike infrastructure in the Exchange is a start. However, even those are done in patches which is very frustrating and dangerous.

Until I see seperated lanes running through commuting lanes and all of Downtown bike commuting will be virtually nonexistent here and that’s a shame because the potential and hopefully demand is there for improved services.

Also what are the usual solutions for bike theft? Because it’s rampant here (I even got a bike stolen lol).

[Aylmer]

In addition to locking up and all, I budget for bike theft. I have coverage for my bike through tenant insurance (even outside the home), so I make sure to have the deductible tucked away.

When I went from seeing a bike as a tool of leisure to a tool of convenience, things like theft and damage become just another operating cost. After all, I could avoid some risk by not leaving it locked up at the store, but the ultimate purpose of my bike is to take me to the store, not to avoid theft.

[Airboy]

All our bikes are insured for replacement, None are locked outside. I'm lucky I have a room in the house that I can keep the bikes. Most thefts are from garages. If you have a $5000-10,000 bike why would you put it in an unsecured location is beyond me. When I am out on a ride, someone always stays with the bikes. When transporting the bikes, if they are not in the vehicle they are on the back rack with 3 separate locks chained to the car frame.

Plus now all the bikes are registered with Bike Index. https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/CrimeP...erty/BikeIndex

There has been good recovery locally. but we are seeing bikes end up being chopped for parts, since that is where the money is right now. There are sweeps of houseless camps for stolen bikes.

Have not found a good theft tracker yet though.

[rousseau]

Youtube video from 2014 claiming that more bike parking is needed.

• Video Link

The video makes it look like bike parking is jammed full. Is it still like this in Toronto? Or any other city? Has infrastructure improved?

[niwell]

Bike parking is one thing that Toronto is pretty good at IMO - better than any American city I’ve been to at least. There are lots of ring and post locks on every central major street as well as larger bike parking installations in areas. That being said they are always packed and there’s room for more. There’s also a problem of abandoned / stripped bikes that don’t get removed and take up space.

[thebasketballgeek]

Game changing proposal unveiled at Winnipeg's transportation master plan public engagement workshop.



For context these are 90% of all our major arterial corridors throughout the city and expected to be fully grade-separated. This proposal would essentially make Winnipeg a bike-friendly city if it comes to fruition.

[JHikka]

Oliver Moore
@moore_oliver
Toronto's bike-share system grew to a record 3.57M rides last year, including a best-day total of 27,000 on 16-May. No doubt, part of this ridership growth is simply because the system is getting bigger. Around the middle of the last decade there were only 80 stations. There are now 625, with plans to bring that to 1,000 by 2025

This is kind of interesting. The average trip duration among regular 30-minute members is 11.8 minutes. Which I would guess, given the weight of those tanks, probably takes most people 2-3km

https://twitter.com/moore_oliver/sta...79789871988742

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Oliver Moore
@moore_oliver
Toronto's bike-share system grew to a record 3.57M rides last year, including a best-day total of 27,000 on 16-May. No doubt, part of this ridership growth is simply because the system is getting bigger. Around the middle of the last decade there were only 80 stations. There are now 625, with plans to bring that to 1,000 by 2025

This is kind of interesting. The average trip duration among regular 30-minute members is 11.8 minutes. Which I would guess, given the weight of those tanks, probably takes most people 2-3km

https://twitter.com/moore_oliver/sta...79789871988742

For some reason I'd been thinking that the bike share moment was sort of over, that the enthusiasm for it had peaked. You don't hear much about it these days anyway, not like when it first gained traction.

This is really cool to hear, though. Looks like it's here to stay.

[niwell]

Bike Share in Toronto seems to have become a normalized piece of infrastructure rather than a novelty. With expansions over the last couple of years the station density and bike availability across the "Old City" (and beyond) has really made it easy and useful to get around. I personally use it when the weather is bad or for general winter cycling as opposed to transit - or for when I'm just not sure if I'll want to bike home. Definitely worth the membership fee.

[WarrenC12]

Bike share in Vancouver seems popular as well, and I wish they would release more data like what you see for Toronto.

The constant threat of bike theft makes it a good choice for a lot of people, somewhat sadly.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by niwell

Bike Share in Toronto seems to have become a normalized piece of infrastructure rather than a novelty. With expansions over the last couple of years the station density and bike availability across the "Old City" (and beyond) has really made it easy and useful to get around. I personally use it when the weather is bad or for general winter cycling as opposed to transit - or for when I'm just not sure if I'll want to bike home. Definitely worth the membership fee.

It's absolutely worth the annual fee. I use it for most of my trips in the summer if I can get there in 10-15 minutes and it seems like i'm not alone on that based on the tweets, and I try to use it in the winter if the weather is floating around freezing. The City has done a pretty good job of clearing the bike lanes in my part of town so i'm thankful for that.

Interested to see how far the system can expand and grow, although I admit I won't be biking to Steeles or Finch any time soon. It's great that the city is adding bike share infrastructure and at the same time increasing bike lane infrastructure.

[J.OT13]

Improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure along the Lincoln Fields-Pinecrest stretch of the O-Train Stage 2. The City (and the NCC) have done a fairly decent job at this since Stage 1, closing many gaps in the network.

[JHikka]

Hamilton will put money toward bike share program, helping to ensure its long-term future
Feb 25, 2022
Samantha Craggs

The city is a step closer to putting tax dollars toward keeping Hamilton's bike share system afloat.

Hamilton city councillors voted in a budget meeting Friday to contribute more than $300,000 per year to the popular program. They also voted for the city to sign a new contract with Hamilton Bike Share, the not-for-profit that runs the program.

City council still has to ratify the decision. But Friday's vote signals a more stable, long-term future for the program known for its big blue bicycles.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...ture-1.6364416

[Airboy]

I always feel that instead of propping up bike share the cities should work on safe cycling routes.