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General Road and Highway Discussion
I think Lackner is by far the worst example of bike lanes going from nowhere to nowhere in the city. I don't know what they were thinking with that road, but there's a good argument that the bike lanes on Lackner are actually more of a hazard than an aid in their current incarnation.
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Every time I drive or Bike on Lackner in that area I think of you, jamincan!

I'll go take a hilarious zoomed-in-from-afar photo some time of the bike lane starts/bike lane ends signs in the areas where they're so close together. It's absurd!
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(08-11-2017, 07:55 AM)timio Wrote:
(08-11-2017, 12:02 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: I have never understood why Queen (the Blvd part from Westheights to Highland) is not targeted more as a cycling route or at least preferred to Highland (a lost cause at this point for cycling) which does have cycling lanes for a part (that go from nowhere (Fischer-Hallman) to nowhere (Westmount)).

That's not the most ludicrous example of bike lanes from nowhere to nowhere in this city.  Franklin St in Kitchener has bike lines from Kingsway to the Freshco parking lot (  https://goo.gl/maps/CqaDFjaTk8R2), a total of 50 metres before trickling down to nothing on the one end and fully disappearing at the other.  No other road in the area has bike lanes.

I actually don't mind those bike lanes much.  The road beyond (in one direction at least) is a neighbourhood connector, not exactly low traffic, but at least not a major road.  But the section with bike lanes is a highway overpass (one without an interchange and with bike lanes is something desperately needed for connectivity), but also, because it is an overpass, it is much busier.  While I would like to see it connected, and such connections *are* in the city's bike plan...whether that will happen any time soon we will see, I would say that the bike lanes are on the most important section, and a section which people and cyclists probably want to use to get over the highway.
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There's a bit of a mess on Lackner near Fairway with the bike lanes and such, they've put a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road near Corfield drive and there's now a MUP on the east side of the road for a stretch but the bike lane line is still on the road and the pedestrian refuge forces traffic right down the middle of the former bike lane. I dunno WTF the plan for that area is but it's a bit of a mess right now.
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(08-17-2017, 05:59 PM)clasher Wrote: There's a bit of a mess on Lackner near Fairway with the bike lanes and such, they've put a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road near Corfield drive and there's now a MUP on the east side of the road for a stretch but the bike lane line is still on the road and the pedestrian refuge forces traffic right down the middle of the former bike lane. I dunno WTF the plan for that area is but it's a bit of a mess right now.

" the pedestrian refuge forces traffic right down the middle of the former bike lane."  This happens with every pedestrian refuge + bike lane combination.  It might be the *only* disadvantage of ped islands.

Of course, having a MUT for a short distance on one side of the road doesn't replace bike lanes, but the bike lanes on Lackner are so bad, I don't think it really matters.
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Curbs have been poured on King uptown, between Erb and Dupont. Hopefully the Dupont intersection opens by next — would make driving around a lot easier since Dupont could be used to avoid the Erb closure rather than having to go up to Bridgeport.

Now that I think about it, d'you think that might signal the end of the temporary 2-way on Bridgeport?
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(08-17-2017, 05:59 PM)clasher Wrote: There's a bit of a mess on Lackner near Fairway with the bike lanes and such, they've put a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road near Corfield drive and there's now a MUP on the east side of the road for a stretch but the bike lane line is still on the road and the pedestrian refuge forces traffic right down the middle of the former bike lane. I dunno WTF the plan for that area is but it's a bit of a mess right now.

Saw this too a few days ago, Jamincan mentioned it a couple of pages ago. It's really horrific, I actually swore while driving there when I saw it! I can't believe whoever is building this section got approval to do what they have done in that order - it's very disorderly.
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What's this about a "former bike lane" on Lackner? Is it being removed?
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Glad to finally see some tangible progress in uptown. It seems slightly ironic that the first thing complete on the "people-first" re-do of Kind is the parking:
   
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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It's 2:25, and I just got home (semi-loaded) and there are crews still working on Weber St just north of Lincoln Rd
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(08-18-2017, 01:02 AM)timc Wrote: What's this about a "former bike lane" on Lackner? Is it being removed?

No, the bike lane is still there, but traffic is being forced into it... making it somewhat ineffective!

   

The two white lines to the right (although one is very faded) is the bike lane, but there is no room for motor vehicles to travel without driving into it.  It's a shame they couldn't dog ear the curbs over to allow for both vehicle and bike lanes there.

Coke
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Paving operations on King St. have begun.
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(08-23-2017, 10:10 AM)Coke6pk Wrote:
(08-18-2017, 01:02 AM)timc Wrote: What's this about a "former bike lane" on Lackner? Is it being removed?

No, the bike lane is still there, but traffic is being forced into it... making it somewhat ineffective!



The two white lines to the right (although one is very faded) is the bike lane, but there is no room for motor vehicles to travel without driving into it.  It's a shame they couldn't dog ear the curbs over to allow for both vehicle and bike lanes there.

Coke

“couldn’t”? You’re being too generous. It’s too bad they didn’t. They obviously could have, or so it appears from your photo. Any actual reason to grant that they couldn’t?
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(08-23-2017, 12:28 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(08-23-2017, 10:10 AM)Coke6pk Wrote: No, the bike lane is still there, but traffic is being forced into it... making it somewhat ineffective!



The two white lines to the right (although one is very faded) is the bike lane, but there is no room for motor vehicles to travel without driving into it.  It's a shame they couldn't dog ear the curbs over to allow for both vehicle and bike lanes there.

Coke

“couldn’t”? You’re being too generous. It’s too bad they didn’t. They obviously could have, or so it appears from your photo. Any actual reason to grant that they couldn’t?

Poor choice of wording?  Tongue

I'd say the construction company couldn't do it as the Region didn't ask it to be done that way! Smile

Coke
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(08-23-2017, 12:46 PM)Coke6pk Wrote:
(08-23-2017, 12:28 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: “couldn’t”? You’re being too generous. It’s too bad they didn’t. They obviously could have, or so it appears from your photo. Any actual reason to grant that they couldn’t?

Poor choice of wording?  Tongue

I'd say the construction company couldn't do it as the Region didn't ask it to be done that way! Smile

Coke

Touché!

I guess it also depends on who “they” is!
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