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.
In Toronto, a recent blitz/project over the last several months by PEO K. Ashley to target people who park their vehicles in bike lanes has resulted in Canada Post publicly stating that they will stop parking in bike lanes... in Toronto.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BikeTO?src=hash">#BikeTO</a> and all of <a href="https://twitter.com/CycleToronto">@CycleToronto</a> ... This is what happens...when community comes together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOPoli?src=hash">#TOPoli</a>. Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnTory">@JohnTory</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/canadapostcorp">@canadapostcorp</a> <a href="https://t.co/AkMTqhaOzi">pic.twitter.com/AkMTqhaOzi</a></p>&mdash; PEO K. Ashley (@TPS_ParkingPal) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPS_ParkingPal/status/889941353706213379">July 25, 2017</a></blockquote>

I'm happy to see this progress (I've gone on my own little blitz from time to time alerting companies when I see their vehicles stopped), but I'm a bit sad that it isn't a commitment to do this Canada-wide.

Is there any reason that in Waterloo Region, this is handled by bylaw officers, and not by the police? I would think that if any police vehicle (OPP or WRPS) drove past someone parked in a bike lane... couldn't they also ticket them? (My understanding is that it's bylaw who has to see it in order to issue a fine)
(07-26-2017, 08:02 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]In Toronto, a recent blitz/project over the last several months by PEO K. Ashley to target people who park their vehicles in bike lanes has resulted in Canada Post publicly stating that they will stop parking in bike lanes... in Toronto.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BikeTO?src=hash">#BikeTO</a> and all of <a href="https://twitter.com/CycleToronto">@CycleToronto</a> ... This is what happens...when community comes together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOPoli?src=hash">#TOPoli</a>. Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnTory">@JohnTory</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/canadapostcorp">@canadapostcorp</a> <a href="https://t.co/AkMTqhaOzi">pic.twitter.com/AkMTqhaOzi</a></p>&mdash; PEO K. Ashley (@TPS_ParkingPal) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPS_ParkingPal/status/889941353706213379">July 25, 2017</a></blockquote>

I'm happy to see this progress (I've gone on my own little blitz from time to time alerting companies when I see their vehicles stopped), but I'm a bit sad that it isn't a commitment to do this Canada-wide.

Is there any reason that in Waterloo Region, this is handled by bylaw officers, and not by the police?  I would think that if any police vehicle (OPP or WRPS) drove past someone parked in a bike lane... couldn't they also ticket them?  (My understanding is that it's bylaw who has to see it in order to issue a fine)

For Kitchener's by-law, WRPS has the authority, but rarely write tickets.  [OPP do not have authority, and I would assume that is the same in any jurisdiction where there is a regional or city police service).  In fact they are likely to call By-Law units over the radio to come and issue a ticket than they are to write it themselves.  They are already short-staffed running from call to call to take over parking enforcement duties.  This is the same in every city I would think.  (Even though Toronto Police is responsible for the PEU, a regular patrol constable would be highly unlikely to stop and write tickets)

Coke
I'll make a video sometime this weekend, and I know the problem will go away once the MUT is open, but... cycling Southbound on King through Moore is... terrrifying. Sad

The chicane in the tracks, plus the narrowing of the lanes and the requirement to cross the tracks at a shallow angle is a bad situation.

...just thinking about this more, I think the safest might be to actually switch to cycling on the Southbound Rapidway when riding South here. The Northbound Rapidway is already configured this way as a replacement until the MUT is complete.
This sounds like an urban design problem. Delivery companies count on their staff being able to make their pickup and drop off in a timely manner. This requires the ability to find a spot close to their destination to leave their vehicle of choice. If they have to walk further to their destination, the efficiency of the route is compromises. An ideal solution would be to have various short-term, delivery spots where a delivery truck can be left. As an example, the Allan Square building had a delivery spot on King Street in Waterloo before the LRT tracks went in.
(07-31-2017, 01:17 PM)nms Wrote: [ -> ]This sounds like an urban design problem.  Delivery companies count on their staff being able to make their pickup and drop off in a timely manner.  This requires the ability to find a spot close to their destination to leave their vehicle of choice.

Sure, the city has a role to play in both carrot (delivery spots) and stick (enforcement of bike lane rules), but it's not the full story. I don't think that being able to leave one's "vehicle of choice" close to every destination should be a design goal for a city. In dense urban areas, smaller delivery vehicles can be a more appropriate alternative to large delivery trucks, even if delivery companies would prefer to use the latter. I've seen 18-wheelers do regular deliveries by parking in the Water Street bike lanes in downtown Kitchener; that's not OK, and neither does it mean 18-wheeler loading bays should be littering downtown.
Kitchener to finally place signage on their trail network. Hopefully they match the Waterloo signs for consistency.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/748...their-way/

KITCHENER — A vast network of bike paths and trails snakes through Kitchener's greenways and parks. But almost the entire network is devoid of any signs or guides to help trail users find their way.

That's something the city hopes to work on over the next few years, says Jonn Barton, a project manager for the city who's responsible for trails.

The city has a network of about 200 kilometres of trails and multi-use pathways, but only two trails — the Iron Horse Trail and the TransCanada Trail — have any formal signage, he said.

The lack of signage makes the trail network less useful as a piece of the city's transportation system, he said. "There's no sign that says, 'This trail will take you all they way from Point A to Point B.' It's just follow the trail and see where it goes."

more in the link...
Sad to report:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/cityofcambridge">@cityofcambridge</a>, this dangerous glass is still all over the bike lane. Please clean it up! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWR?src=hash">#bikeWR</a> Cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/RegionWaterloo">@RegionWaterloo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WRPSToday">@WRPSToday</a> <a href="https://t.co/nOtqHiLhBn">https://t.co/nOtqHiLhBn</a></p>&mdash; Iain Hendry (@Canardiain) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canardiain/status/892341545218830336">August 1, 2017</a></blockquote>

(Click to expand/photos)

I've now also emailed the City directly using one of their online forms.  The first doesn't work (doesn't let you submit), but a second, different one did.

If it's still there in another week I'll just go clean it up myself.
That's great that some of those trails will be signed. I do hope they'll try for consistency with Waterloo's good signage.

I also hope that some of the on-road cycle routes identified on Kitchener's cycling map would be signed. I think getting more people on bikes on specific routes (where practical) would help make those safer. Signs would do the same, letting motorists know to expect people on bikes. I just can't see the sense of identifying those routes on the map otherwise.
I wonder if this is why they're waiting so long to put proper signage on the Caroline St MUT. I ride it every day and there's only a single tiny sign at Caroline/Allen to indicate it's a shared pathway. It seems like pedestrians think you're riding illegally on the sidewalk, drivers don't look for cyclists at intersections, and even lots of cyclists don't seem to know it's a MUT and ride on Caroline or the LRT tracks instead. I've seen lots of people asking the Region about this on Twitter and promises that they're "looking into it" for months.

In contrast the MUT at King/Weber has signs every 10 feet saying "Shared Pathway" and "Cyclists Yield to Pedestrians".
There are signs on some of the on-road routes in Kitchener. Do you just mean putting signs on more of them?

This is kind of a bad location, but https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4356459,-...6656?hl=en
(08-01-2017, 11:34 AM)goggolor Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder if this is why they're waiting so long to put proper signage on the Caroline St MUT.  I ride it every day and there's only a single tiny sign at Caroline/Allen to indicate it's a shared pathway. It seems like pedestrians think you're riding illegally on the sidewalk, drivers don't look for cyclists at intersections, and even lots of cyclists don't seem to know it's a MUT and ride on Caroline or the LRT tracks instead. I've seen lots of people asking the Region about this on Twitter and promises that they're "looking into it" for months.

In contrast the MUT at King/Weber has signs every 10 feet saying "Shared Pathway" and "Cyclists Yield to Pedestrians".

Lol, you want a delayed signage situation, King St. north, as well as Weber St. both have little to no signage.  Also have been "looking into it" for (in the case of Weber) years.

As for intersections, there is no signage, because cars are not expected to watch for cyclists, because legally cyclists are not allowed to cross without dismounting, because well, I won't finish this sentence, but suffices to say, I'm not impressed.
(08-01-2017, 11:34 AM)goggolor Wrote: [ -> ]It seems like pedestrians think you're riding illegally on the sidewalk, drivers don't look for cyclists at intersections, and even lots of cyclists don't seem to know it's a MUT and ride on Caroline or the LRT tracks instead.
...
In contrast the MUT at King/Weber has signs every 10 feet saying "Shared Pathway" and "Cyclists Yield to Pedestrians".

This is why I hate the outright ban on bicycles on the sidewalk.

There are many sidewalks out there that could easily serve as de facto MUTs, but there is no way to legitimately "share" it with pedestrians.  If I'm riding on the sidewalk because the road would try to kill me, there is no way to interact with a pedestrian that is not "evil cyclist hauranging poor pedestrian". I yield to pedestrians, but I feel like I can't initiate a polite interaction, like ringing my bell, because it will be interpreted as me demanding they get out of my way (kind of like if a car honks at bike on the road).
I noticed that part of the King/Weber "MUT" is literally just a sidewalk that they've put "Shared Pathway" signs on. If they can do that there why not elsewhere? They could turn the sidewalk on King St between Kitchener + Waterloo into a "MUT" and brag about how much cycling infrastructure they've built.
(08-01-2017, 11:52 AM)goggolor Wrote: [ -> ]I noticed that part of the King/Weber "MUT" is literally just a sidewalk that they've put "Shared Pathway" signs on. If they can do that there why not elsewhere? They could turn the sidewalk on King St between Kitchener + Waterloo into a "MUT" and brag about how much cycling infrastructure they've built.

First and foremost, they shouldn't be permitted to "brag" about building bike infrastructure by just compromising pedestrians and letting cyclists use infra which is not designed for them and quite frankly terrible.  

But secondly, sidewalks are not the same as MUTs.  Aside from the width, there are many design differences, that while often not actually done right in the region, should be.  Just look at the Weber St. MUT.  It is perhaps one of the worst things labeled a MUT in the region, and is just terrible for any cyclist to use.  It should never have been accepted.  And why is it so terrible?  Because it is nothing more than a wide sidewalk.
Yes, I was being sarcastic... Just thought it was funny that they're able to count a regular (not even an extra-wide) sidewalk as a MUT just by putting a sign up.