Waterloo Region Connected

Full Version: Cycling in Waterloo Region
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
A rare gem of an article on cycling in Waterloo Region. Comprehensive, well-researched, and balanced. It's definitely worthwhile reading.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/891...he-future/
They put a LOT of work in that. Well done.
I was completed distracted and deeply irritated by the opening couple of paragraphs, as the author describes changing lanes in the middle of a roundabout on her bicycle. I came back to it a while later and am glad I did. It gets much better.
The article is certainly one of the better ones in recent years from the Record.

The changing lanes bit was frustrating to read for me as well because you aren't supposed to change lanes while actually in the roundabout - let alone do it on a bike.

I take odds a bit with the interpretation of the injury and death data:
"The number of cyclists struck on regional roads is at a 20-year low and trending down, from 130 collisions in 2012 to 87 in 2016. The number of cyclists injured in those crashes ranged from 107 in 2012 to 74 in 2016. Three cyclists have been killed in that time: two in 2012, one in 2016."

The report seems to have pulled from is the annual collision report which only looks at events that happen on regional roads. Given how horrible an experience riding on a regional road is it it could be that fewer people are choosing to avoid regional roads and are instead choosing to take side streets instead. So if fewer people are choosing to cycle on regional roads there would be fewer possibilities for collisions and fewer injures would occur; I wish I had data to back that up though.

Also, while the interpretation of the recent trend as being down is correct, the longer term trend could be interpreted as pretty well flat or returning to normal after a temporary increase:
[attachment=5562]

The slightly better statistic would have been to at least control for population which does show a slight decrease, but again only for on regional roads:
[attachment=5561]

The description of the faux bike lanes on King seemed incorrect as well:
"Bike lanes next to LRT tracks are narrow,"

A bit ironic too, given that the actually bike lanes over on Park are actually narrower than the faux-lanes.

Otherwise a good representation of the current state of things.
(09-22-2018, 11:41 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: [ -> ]The changing lanes bit was frustrating to read for me as well because you aren't supposed to change lanes while actually in the roundabout - let alone do it on a bike.
Yeah, I got dinged on that during a motorcycle test.
Speaking of motorcycles, they are perhaps the best counterexample to vehicular cycling. They have the actual capability to do vehicular cycling and yet still get killed by cars at a higher rate than they should be. (There's also single vehicle crashes, but that's a different thing.) If vehicular cycling isn't great for motorcycles, there's no way it can work for bicycles!
I think the cycling through the roundabout part is an example of how a cyclist who considers themselves to be competent and confident can still get messed up by a complex roundabout like the Homer Watson/Ottawa/Alpine complex. The truth is that she probably wouldn't have made the same mistake in her car, but the ingrained notion that you need to keep right when on a bike meant that she was improperly position coming into the roundabout.

To be clear, if you're riding in a roundabout, you need to merge in with traffic before the roundabout and claim your spot. Don't hug the edge of the lane; position yourself smack dab in the middle of it. Pick your lane before entering the roundabout. Signal your exit. This is especially critical if you are on an inside lane. Be confident and decisive, know where you are going, and make your intentions clear with your bike position, hand signals, and where you are looking. Try to maintain your speed; if you slow down, people are more likely to try passing you. If you're uncertain and nervous, practice first on single-lane local roundabouts, then progress to more complicated and bigger ones as you become more confident. There's nothing wrong with using the pedestrian-crossing sections if you are nervous about negotiating the roundabout.
There's no way I would cycle vehicularly on that stretch of Ottawa, myself; especially as the 'sidewalks' are MUTs and there's relatively low pedestrian traffic.
I wasn't sure if there was a sensor for the totem counter on the SB lane of the King St cycling lanes, but according to this diagram it was suppose to have been installed in front of the BMO:
[attachment=5564]
I'll volunteer to play around with it next time I'm through there to see if SB counts, too - it's part of my regular route (I take a zip up and down the lanes from the Spur Line just for fun and to add to the count. Big Grin)
[attachment=5567]

[attachment=5568]

I was hoping to post excitedly about the new green paint at the King/Erb intersection.

[attachment=5570]

[attachment=5569]

Instead I'm in a foul mood about the three vehicles parked in the bike lane on my way home...

To add insult to injury, I called bylaw, wasted 10 minutes of my own time on hold, to find out that there are zero Waterloo Bylaw officers on duty.  This happens all the time.

The idea that bylaw is a real solution would be a less transparent lie if there were actually bylaw officers.

I'm so done.
Keep a bar of soap in your saddlebag to write "Bike lane dumbass" on their windshields maybe? Takes less time and is more effective than calling for non-existant bylaw enforcement, and is totally non-destructive.

Edit to add: Mental fantasy, disregard.
(09-24-2018, 09:44 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: [ -> ]Instead I'm in a foul mood about the three vehicles parked in the bike lane on my way home...

To add insult to injury, I called bylaw, wasted 10 minutes of my own time on hold, to find out that there are zero Waterloo Bylaw officers on duty.  This happens all the time.

The idea that bylaw is a real solution would be a less transparent lie if there were actually bylaw officers.

I'm so done.

Hahaha. I was there around 5:45 today. There were three vehicles, one occupied. I politely asked the occupied vehicle to stop being in the bike lane, and they promptly left. I was in the process of reporting those two vehicles in your pictures when two people came by to leave in the Nissan and I pointed out that they were in a bike lane. "Oh! This is actually quite a nice bike lane!" (except that it's clearly not obvious enough as a bike lane, and I can't actually say I blame them for that). I reported the H3 though.
Is there any signage there at all? I don't even see "no parking" signs in the photos!
There is a no parking sign at the very top of the H3. Visible from the road.

I did get ride for pointing out to the driver of the third vehicle that there was a no parking sign right in front of him.
(09-24-2018, 11:40 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: [ -> ]There is a no parking sign at the very top of the H3. Visible from the road.  

I did get ride for pointing out to the driver of the third vehicle that there was a no parking sign right in front of him.

Say again?