Cycling in Waterloo Region - Printable Version +- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com) +-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Forum: Transportation and Infrastructure (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=25) +--- Thread: Cycling in Waterloo Region (/showthread.php?tid=186) Pages:
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RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Markster - 07-06-2015 Looks like the Glasgow bike lanes are getting a very poor review:
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - panamaniac - 07-06-2015 (07-06-2015, 03:39 PM)Markster Wrote: Looks like the Glasgow bike lanes are getting a very poor review: Until I see some photos of the offending stretch of road, I am going to assume that Sean M Puckett is a serious drama queen. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - plam - 07-07-2015 "Why do cyclists break the law?" According to a survey (self-selected, I think) 1. they don't at rates higher than car drivers; 2. when they do, it is often for a perceived safety increase, i.e. to not be in the middle of traffic that is just getting going. Interview: www.sciencefriday.com/segment/07/03/2015/why-do-cyclists-break-the-rules.html RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 07-07-2015 In my 20 years and nearly 1 million kilometres of driving, I've seen exactly two cars blow through stoplights. Quite shocking thing to see, really - and I'm very happy it happens so infrequently. About 25% of cyclists I see daily blow through stop signs or stop lights. There's a 4-way stop right around the corner from where I live, and at least once a week, while approaching it and coming to a complete stop... just as I'm about to proceed (rightfully so), some bicyclist sees me stopped there and thinks "Oh, I can just go!" and comes flying through. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - plam - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 11:56 AM)Canard Wrote: In my 20 years and nearly 1 million kilometres of driving, I've seen exactly two cars blow through stoplights. Quite shocking thing to see, really - and I'm very happy it happens so infrequently. The 7% figure was an actual count by someone who observed a number of red lights and counted. I'd trust that more than an anecdotal report. http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/06/its-shockingly-common-for-new-yorkers-to-blow-through-red-lights/395222/ Also, a car blowing through a stop light is much more likely to injure someone than a bicycle. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timc - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 11:56 AM)Canard Wrote: In my 20 years and nearly 1 million kilometres of driving, I've seen exactly two cars blow through stoplights. Quite shocking thing to see, really - and I'm very happy it happens so infrequently. Almost nobody stops at a 4-way stop. And if you do, then someone on the other side is going to think you are letting them through and will just roll right on through. Bike or car, it doesn't matter. Oh, and I remember the one time I saw someone go through a stop light. I was driving south(east)bound on King at Victoria. The driver heading (south)west on Victoria was so late they came through about a foot behind my rear bumper. They didn't hit anything on the way through. It was shocking. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timio - 07-07-2015 (07-06-2015, 11:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote:(07-06-2015, 03:39 PM)Markster Wrote: Looks like the Glasgow bike lanes are getting a very poor review: I drove through there the other day and it is designed to get you to slow down quite a bit. I could see there being potential issues with cyclists, especially on the end closest to Fischer Hallman. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - ookpik - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 12:31 PM)plam Wrote: Also, a car blowing through a stop light is much more likely to injure someone than a bicycle.That's hardly a good reason to go soft on cyclists who blow through STOP signs. It's either legal or it's not. If it should be legal but isn't then change the legislation as has been discussed already above. A bit of a digression but I've seen cars blow through STOP signs in the Uptown West part of old Waterloo on several occasions. The reason why it happens is because intersection are inconsistent. Some are 4-way STOPs, others are 2-way STOPs and others still have no STOP signs at all. As a result it's easy for inattentive drivers to miss a STOP sign. A better solution IMO would be to get rid of most of these STOP signs altogether. That would encourage everyone to slow down and to look in all directions before crossing any of these intersections. Which BTW brings up another difference between car drivers and cyclists at STOP signs. The former almost always blow through them due to inattention while the latter almost always do it deliberately. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - plam - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 01:15 PM)ookpik Wrote:(07-07-2015, 12:31 PM)plam Wrote: Also, a car blowing through a stop light is much more likely to injure someone than a bicycle.That's hardly a good reason to go soft on cyclists who blow through STOP signs. It's either legal or it's not. If it should be legal but isn't then change the legislation as has been discussed already above. I think the law should be changed: if everyone really isn't respecting the law, it's a bad law. However, it's difficult to change laws. It's easier to remove bad signs. Yes, there are probably too many STOP signs. Yield signs are rare and should be more common. There is actually one on Elgin Crescent and Brighton. It looks weird because it has very few friends. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - mpd618 - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 01:15 PM)ookpik Wrote: That's hardly a good reason to go soft on cyclists who blow through STOP signs. It's either legal or it's not. If it should be legal but isn't then change the legislation as has been discussed already above. It's illegal to go 1 km/h over the speed limit. Are we "soft" on drivers because that is not enforced even a little bit? No, because while being illegal, that is not a particularly dangerous offense. Cyclists "blowing through stop signs" is 1) technically illegal, 2) overblown as a thing that happens, and 3) rarely actually dangerous. It's an annoyance. And generally the advocacy of "cracking down on cyclists" seems to mostly be a form of retaliation by people annoyed or threatened by cycling as a transportation mode / change to how streets are used, rather than a response to any real issues. But yes, we should fix the legislation so that safe behaviour is the same thing as legal behaviour, making it easier to enforce penalties against drivers and cyclists who are actually dangerous to the public. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Markster - 07-07-2015 (07-06-2015, 11:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Until I see some photos of the offending stretch of road, I am going to assume that Sean M Puckett is a serious drama queen.I would say that he has a flair for the dramatic. (and, not to call you on it, but I don't care for the inherent sexism of the term 'drama queen') However, his concerns are usually justified, though his style is one of extreme outrage. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - jamincan - 07-07-2015 Most cyclists who run stop signs are acting no differently than motorists who roll through stop signs. Both are technically illegal, both are realistically relatively minor offences. Provided you can see that the way is clear before crossing, I don't see the point in getting up in arms about this. Things I do find problematic: - cyclists switching from road to sidewalk and vice versa. Pick one. - cyclists riding the wrong way in a bike lane (surprisingly common in Waterloo Region) - cyclists riding on the sidewalk when a bike lane is present - cyclists not signalling their intentions Most of the bad behaviour is due to cyclists lacking the capability to signal properly or the confidence to take their rightful place on the road. Proper education regarding this in school would help immensely. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - chutten - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 02:42 PM)jamincan Wrote: Things I do find problematic: It did not occur to me upon moving to the region that bike lanes were lanes of traffic like any other and, thus, have a direction of travel. I would instead treat them as a bike path and just bike in the one on the side that was convenient. Education is indeed the cure for offences like mine. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - panamaniac - 07-07-2015 (07-07-2015, 02:15 PM)Markster Wrote:(07-06-2015, 11:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Until I see some photos of the offending stretch of road, I am going to assume that Sean M Puckett is a serious drama queen.I would say that he has a flair for the dramatic. (and, not to call you on it, but I don't care for the inherent sexism of the term 'drama queen') Fair point - I revise my initial comment to "serious drama royal personage". And now that I have driven the stretch in question, I'll stick with that. RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Smore - 07-07-2015 Cyclists are generally more akin to pedestrians than to cars, what with the lack of thousands of pounds of metal and thrust and all....so, how often do pedestrians "blow through" a four-way stop with out coming to a full and complete stop if it is perceived to be safe for them to do so?? |