(07-15-2016, 05:02 PM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]The driver simply wasn't paying attention?
Are you for real?
Yes, I am for real, can you explain the purpose of the question. That was my guess as to the proximate cause of the crash.
Can you perhaps explain why you seem to take such great exception to this explanation? Have you not seen drivers make a right turn while looking down at their phones, or left at traffic?
I see this all the time as a pedestrian, I frequently have to shout at drivers to get their attention. So yes, I am "for real" suggesting the drive may not have been paying attention to someone (on any mode) coming out of the crosswalk.
This would by why a police officer may perhaps not necessarily choose to ticket the cyclist.
(07-15-2016, 05:10 PM)timc Wrote: [ -> ]Without a doubt, Weber is the worst street in the city for bikes. As we have some streets that are designated as "bicycle routes", I feel that Weber is unofficially designated as a "no bicycle route". I'm a confident cyclist, but the things that happen there are enough to make me avoid it if possible.
In this case, I tend to agree with plam that it's quite possible that the driver was looking left while making a right turn. I see it all the time. As a pedestrian, I try to walk on the right side of the road to avoid this exact situation. It's also what makes roundabouts as dangerous as they are. In this case, though, there is only a sidewalk on one side of Weber Street.
Also, the crossing at Blythwood is marked as a crosswalk.
I experience this frequently as a pedestrian, I don't make any effort to walk on a specific side, I do make an effort to ensure drivers see me.
I hadn't ridden Weber prior to today, but after riding it just now, I definitely agree with you. The aggressiveness of the drivers there, I have not experienced elsewhere in the city. I have no explanation at this point.
Danger happens all the time. I crossed Weber St last week. Got across the two Waterloo-bound lanes, and halfway through the center Kitchener-bound lane, and had a driver nearly kill me doing 70+ in the right hand lane through a long-since red light with no cars in either direction to distract him, no sun directly in front or behind of him to distract him, just plain obliviousness to a red light.
Here's a question for drivers: how many check their blindspot for cyclists when turning right? I typically avoid filtering because I don't trust most drivers to be aware of me. When there is a bike lane, however, and traffic is moving, it is possible to overtake someone turning right while in the bike lane. I've noticed that a lot of bike lanes (maybe even all?) now have a dotted line between the bike lane and car lane at intersections. As as driver, my understanding is that the proper behaviour in this case is to partially merge right into the bike lane so that you are occupying the lane and to prevent cyclists from overtaking you. This makes sense from a safety point of view, but I'm not sure what the HTA says about this (if it says anything at all).
I'm of the understanding that your interpretation of the dotted line is correct. Sometimes the dotted line is are even paired with bike lane ends signs.
I check my right-side blind spot for cyclists but that's only because I'm a cyclist myself and I see many people that lane-split the right side. It's dangerous enough with cars but can be deadly if there is a bus or large truck making a right.
If I've passed a cyclist on approach to the intersection, I would be keeping an eye on my blind spot. Otherwise, not so much - as long as I'm signalling my right turn, I assume any cyclists are going to stop behind me, same as would other cars. Obviously, if they pull up alongside me on the right, I allow them to proceed before I turn, but I have been known to pull close to the curb to ensure they can't easily do that.
Meanwhile, in the world of local cycling politics:
Kitchener panel member resigns over vulgar slur
Waterloo Region Record
By Paige Desmond
WATERLOO REGION — A member of Kitchener's cycling and trails advisory committee resigned after the city learned of a vulgar anatomical slur he made on Facebook regarding a female Record columnist. ...
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6770...lgar-slur/
No points will be awarded for guessing at whom the slur was directed, nor for correctly identifying the slur -- it's just too easy in both cases!
I try to avoid overtaking moving vehicles at an intersection. It's too hard to predict what drivers are going to do. If they are stopped, I will move as far ahead as space will permit (i.e. if I'm in a bike lane, I will try to move all the way to the front where I am most visible). I will filter, but only if drivers have left lots of space, and I generally avoid pulling up beside vehicles with large blind spots (e.g. buses and large trucks). Basically, I want to end up in a safe, conspicuous position when the light turns green and vehicles start moving.
There is a huge tree down on the Cambridge/Paris Rail Trail. Who do you think I should contact to let them know? It's at kilometre marker 73.7 (3.3 km from the Cambridge terminus).
Edit - found the number: (519) 740-4681. Will leave it here for future in case anyone needs it!
Re: Turning, while driving I do exactly what pana does. I admittedly was really bad at not looking over my right shoulder when turning right. Now I always take a quick glance as my second-last step when turning.
When riding, I always merge into traffic and take my place and wait patiently.. No matter how annoying (ie, Caroline SB at William at rush hour...). Never ride up the side unless there's a segregated bike lane, but am alwaye mindful of what cars 1-3 are intending to do (eye contact, watching turn signals).
(07-16-2016, 11:12 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]There is a huge tree down on the Cambridge/Paris Rail Trail. Who do you think I should contact to let them know? It's at kilometre marker 73.7 (3.3 km from the Cambridge terminus).
Edit - found the number: (519) 740-4681. Will leave it here for future in case anyone needs it!
Re: Turning, while driving I do exactly what pana does. I admittedly was really bad at not looking over my right shoulder when turning right. Now I always take a quick glance as my second-last step when turning.
When riding, I always merge into traffic and take my place and wait patiently.. No matter how annoying (ie, Caroline SB at William at rush hour...). Never ride up the side unless there's a segregated bike lane, but am alwaye mindful of what cars 1-3 are intending to do (eye contact, watching turn signals).
Only on a segregated bike lane? I will always ride up if there is any bike lane, and there's no vehicle that has positioned themselves in it. I am always aware of vehicles movements at an intersection though, its usually obvious enough when a vehicle is turning right, and I am rarely going fast enough to miss it. At least for cars/vans...large trucks I always hold back.
On segregated bike lanes, like our MUTs, I usually consider the crossing separately, I'll ride up to it, then make the crossing.
I've never ridden any "real" protected bike lanes (as opposed to a more separate trail) in this country so I don't really know. It would probably depend on the context.
On a road without a bike lane, I won't ride up the right side ever, that would be filtering. I do make an exception if there's one or two cars not signaling *and* I'm turning right. I figure, I do to the same thing in a car.
By the way, thanks for calling about the tree, it was there 3-4 weeks ago when I biked down to Brantford, I meant to call about it but I was pretty pooched by the time I got home and it I completely forgot about it till you mentioned.
(06-09-2016, 09:05 AM)MidTowner Wrote: [ -> ]“Total to date” was the wrong term for them to use (there isn’t even an ‘as at’ date on the sign). They just mean “Total.”
But very interesting! Three hundred users a day is nothing to sneeze at, and if we assume that some people only bike or walk to their jobs (or elsewhere) some days of the week, that’s a lot of people that trail is serving. It would be really neat to see daily and hourly breakdowns of the counts, to better see how many are commuters and other types of users there are.
(07-16-2016, 11:12 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]There is a huge tree down on the Cambridge/Paris Rail Trail. Who do you think I should contact to let them know? It's at kilometre marker 73.7 (3.3 km from the Cambridge terminus).
Edit - found the number: (519) 740-4681. Will leave it here for future in case anyone needs it!
Re: Turning, while driving I do exactly what pana does. I admittedly was really bad at not looking over my right shoulder when turning right. Now I always take a quick glance as my second-last step when turning.
When riding, I always merge into traffic and take my place and wait patiently.. No matter how annoying (ie, Caroline SB at William at rush hour...). Never ride up the side unless there's a segregated bike lane, but am alwaye mindful of what cars 1-3 are intending to do (eye contact, watching turn signals).
I just had the experience this afternoon, turning right from Queen St S onto King St E, to have a guy on a bike pass out in front of me to ride through the crosswalk. He was moving fast enough that I really couldn't say whether he was riding on the road or on the sidewalk. I had been stopped for the light so was not moving quickly and stopped a couple of feet away from him, but it did give me a scare and has me wondering whether I need to be on the lookout for these turkeys more than I have in the past. I absolutely would not have occurred to me to look back to see if a bike were coming - there were no pedestrians waiting to cross and that was good enough for me.
(07-15-2016, 01:16 PM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]Toronto City Council actually passed a motion yesterday to request that the Province make it illegal to use a mobile device while walking.
There is a Japanese word for this: arukisumaho, smartphone walking. When I did a count of pedestrians in Tokyo sometime last year, something close to 60% were using a mobile phone (and, no, not usually talking).
Anyway, in the highly unlikely scenario that this would ever become law, pedestrians would be unable to use a smartphone (or another device) for navigation, that would be available only for cyclists and drivers.
I actually didn't notice that many people
walking with smartphones in Japan, when I think back... Admittedly, my head was mostly looking
up in awe at everything (buildings/trains) though, and I was just following my friend [who had planned everything and was navigating with Google Maps, and as a result had his head in his smartphone almost the whole trip!
]. That being said, the Japanese are a lot more careful and polite than we are here, so it never seemed like a safety hazard.
It's such a strange world we live in. Who would have imagined 10 years ago that everyone would have their head glued to a little rectangle that can touch the world? Like, I'm sitting on my porch having a coffee watching the sunrise and posting this on mine.
I think the rule Toronto passed/requested only applied to crossing the street, not to sidewalks.