08-11-2016, 09:40 PM
Here's some more data from the City of Kitchener, in 2012 the 85th percentile speed on Jubilee was 36kph and the traffic volume was 5,110; so based on the traffic counts the volume has dropped nearly 3,000 (-36%) in a decade. So most people are speeding, but not excessively.
I think I would be in favour of the removal of Jubilee from the road network from south of Water to North of David, but having seen opinions on both sides (great discussion!) and collected some empirical data now I would be ok with the status quo as well (although it would really nice to do running workouts around the perimeter of the entire park without getting stopped twice every lap to cross a road). I think it is worth noting that Jubilee is often closed on weekends throughout the summer and chaos has not ensued and it bikes could still be allowed to pass through if it were closed to cars.
Just like I'm sure putting 7th avenue through New York's Central Park would save people time getting from Harlem to Times Square, the value that is added by having a large car-free space often out-weighs making the road network as efficient as possible.
I'm sure Google's actual travel times are probably fairly accurate and more realistic, but if considering just the actual driving times (not accounting for stoppages) the times from Victoria/Park to Queen/Courtland would be:
Via Jubilee = 900m @ 30kph = 1min 48sec (no lights, one stop sign, no turns)
Via Victoria/West/Homewood/Queen = 1800m @ 50kph = 2min 10sec (one light, one stop sign, two left turns)
Via Victoria/Joseph/Queen = 1400m @ 50kph = 1min 41sec (4 lights, 1 stop sign, two right turns)
The reverse beg signal was truly an ingenious suggestion; I wonder how many trips would then be diverted with a slower travel time?
Also, here is the current policy on traffic calming. It is considered a "scenic" drive and so would probably qualify with an exemption under criteria number one, even if it was excluded under criteria number 6.
Finally, I thought we came to a consensus that the crossing flags would not be a good idea over a year ago over a year ago in a different thread.
I think I would be in favour of the removal of Jubilee from the road network from south of Water to North of David, but having seen opinions on both sides (great discussion!) and collected some empirical data now I would be ok with the status quo as well (although it would really nice to do running workouts around the perimeter of the entire park without getting stopped twice every lap to cross a road). I think it is worth noting that Jubilee is often closed on weekends throughout the summer and chaos has not ensued and it bikes could still be allowed to pass through if it were closed to cars.
Just like I'm sure putting 7th avenue through New York's Central Park would save people time getting from Harlem to Times Square, the value that is added by having a large car-free space often out-weighs making the road network as efficient as possible.
I'm sure Google's actual travel times are probably fairly accurate and more realistic, but if considering just the actual driving times (not accounting for stoppages) the times from Victoria/Park to Queen/Courtland would be:
Via Jubilee = 900m @ 30kph = 1min 48sec (no lights, one stop sign, no turns)
Via Victoria/West/Homewood/Queen = 1800m @ 50kph = 2min 10sec (one light, one stop sign, two left turns)
Via Victoria/Joseph/Queen = 1400m @ 50kph = 1min 41sec (4 lights, 1 stop sign, two right turns)
The reverse beg signal was truly an ingenious suggestion; I wonder how many trips would then be diverted with a slower travel time?
Also, here is the current policy on traffic calming. It is considered a "scenic" drive and so would probably qualify with an exemption under criteria number one, even if it was excluded under criteria number 6.
Finally, I thought we came to a consensus that the crossing flags would not be a good idea over a year ago over a year ago in a different thread.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.