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Trails
(10-20-2017, 10:32 PM)darts Wrote: What is on either side of the potential bridge in the area?
I know Zehrs is on one side but not really sure what else is around in the area.

For some in the north-side suburb, this will mean quicker transit access (and soon, a high-service route in the form of the 205). The 2 used to do an occasional loop through the area, but no more; now it means a walk to Greenbrook/Stirling.

There's some good cycling options opened by this as well. The parks in the area have multiple bike-friendly routes, which will get connected to Strasburg's bike lanes and Ottawa's MUTs.
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(10-21-2017, 01:20 PM)KevinL Wrote:
(10-20-2017, 10:32 PM)darts Wrote: What is on either side of the potential bridge in the area?
I know Zehrs is on one side but not really sure what else is around in the area.

For some in the north-side suburb, this will mean quicker transit access (and soon, a high-service route in the form of the 205). The 2 used to do an occasional loop through the area, but no more; now it means a walk to Greenbrook/Stirling.

There's some good cycling options opened by this as well. The parks in the area have multiple bike-friendly routes, which will get connected to Strasburg's bike lanes and Ottawa's MUTs.

This is actually quite huge for biking, given that safe bikeable crossings to the highway barely exist anywhere (2km east along the highway is the next one at Courtland, and there isn't one to the west, technically), so this is huge.

For bike connectivity, it will connect to the lakeside trails through from Meinzinger park, which has a not too bad connection to a major east-west trail, and then down Chandler Dr. to Ottawa and Strasburg as you say.  One of the bigger problems with our bike infra is the lack of knowledge of routes, even when they're pretty reasonably connected (only involving riding down the not completely terrible Chandler Dr.).
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(10-21-2017, 12:19 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: Looks like the City of Kitchener has "improved" their website rendering previous links useless and providing a cryptic set of directories to navigate instead.

Here is the link to the original staff report.

Here are the minutes from that meeting.

CBC article.
Record article 1.
Record article 2.

Looks like is was passed and was to be built as part of the Balzer creek rehabilitation in 2017.

Thank you!

We went and checked this out this afternoon.  Here are some photos of the section which seems to have been built this year; from Homer Watson to Fallowfield Drive:

   

   
From the West side of Homer Watson, looking East.  You can see they've done the "London Style" of underpass for the trail under the bridge!  Love these.

   
On the East side of Homer Watson, looking East.

   
About halfway between Homer Watson and Fallowfield, there's a new boardwalk.

   
Construction quality is absolutely top notch; mitred cuts, and filleted edges on all tactile surfaces. Fantastic!
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The West end of the Boardwalk, looking back West.  This gives a pretty good impression of what happened to the backyard of these homes.

   
At Fallowfield, looking West.  A number of people have already built fences; some were being built as we walked past.  The trail is really close to their homes.

   
"Guelph Style" trail interface at Fallowfield, with no curb cuts or boulevard sidewalk/paving.  We explored a fair ways along the far side, but there isn't much there.  You can cross a really crappy and unmaintained trail up to Courtland.

   
Heading back West along the Boardwalk.

   
Looking West, just before crossing under Homer Watson.


It seems like a good project, but I can't help but feel this is just another tiny brushstroke in a larger, very much unfinished painting.  Without formal connections on the East side of Fallowfield, it doesn't seem very useful.  I really wish the Region would plan these things to go between major points all in one shot, instead of painting a little over here, then painting a little over there, etc... I know, I know, choir...
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The trail from Homer Watson Park ends at Manitou, currently; I understand both that trail and the one you explored today will eventually get linked and extend past the ballfields on Hayward, to the MUT there and along Courtland to connect to the south end of the Iron Horse. No idea on the timeline there, though.
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(10-21-2017, 02:02 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: This is actually quite huge for biking, given that safe bikeable crossings to the highway barely exist anywhere (2km east along the highway is the next one at Courtland, and there isn't one to the west, technically), so this is huge.

For bike connectivity, it will connect to the lakeside trails through from Meinzinger park, which has a not too bad connection to a major east-west trail, and then down Chandler Dr. to Ottawa and Strasburg as you say.  One of the bigger problems with our bike infra is the lack of knowledge of routes, even when they're pretty reasonably connected (only involving riding down the not completely terrible Chandler Dr.).

I enthusiastically agree with this.

I live near Alpine and Ottawa and commute by bike downtown (was previously commuting to North Waterloo). I'm a big fan of the new roundabouts, but too many people are not yet yielding to pedestrians in the system so in the mornings I ride west-ish along Ottawa to Westmount and double back to Stirling through Concordia park (which is actually very enjoyable addition to my mornings, and I'll continue with it regardless) but in the evenings reversing the route and trying to get onto Westmount from Concordia Park then trying to turn left on Ottawa is deeply unpleasant, and traffic is considerably heavier at 5:20ish than it is at 8:20ish.

Instead, I ride up Courtland, take Hayward and Lennox Lewis to Block Line and ride through the Fallowfield roundabout and walk my bike across Homer Watson through the Block Line one. Happily, where most everyone there is excellent about yielding and it takes no time at all to cross. 

I find this evening route rather unpleasant though, as if feels like I'm biking uphill into a headwind from about halfway up Lennox Lewis until somewhere along Kingswood. 

All that is to say this overpass will make my evening commute considerably more enjoyable and it will make mornings where I'm running late a little more convenient as well. I'm quite looking forward to it.
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So this weekend I biked the almost-complete Shirley Ave rebuild.

Uggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shirley Ave in Kitchener.<a href="https://twitter.com/CityKitchener?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityKitchener</a>'s newest lost opportunity for segregated cycling infrastructure.<br>Bike lanes and sidewalks instead of a separated trail. <a href="https://t.co/96W66Muw8h">pic.twitter.com/96W66Muw8h</a></p>&mdash; Mark Jackson-Brown (@Markster3000) <a href="https://twitter.com/Markster3000/status/922168503909670912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>

Like, would it not have been cheaper to just axe the bike lanes, (3.5m less pavement on the road) axe one of the sidewalk (1.5m less concrete) and build a 2m MUT in place of the sidewalk?

The math tells me that's 1.5m less concrete, and 1.5m less asphalt. Cheaper! And better!
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I personally prefer the bike lanes, but to each their own.
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(10-22-2017, 05:44 PM)Markster Wrote: So this weekend I biked the almost-complete Shirley Ave rebuild.

Uggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shirley Ave in Kitchener.<a href="https://twitter.com/CityKitchener?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityKitchener</a>'s newest lost opportunity for segregated cycling infrastructure.<br>Bike lanes and sidewalks instead of a separated trail. <a href="https://t.co/96W66Muw8h">pic.twitter.com/96W66Muw8h</a></p>&mdash; Mark Jackson-Brown (@Markster3000) <a href="https://twitter.com/Markster3000/status/922168503909670912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>

Like, would it not have been cheaper to just axe the bike lanes, (3.5m less pavement on the road) axe one of the sidewalk (1.5m less concrete) and build a 2m MUT in place of the sidewalk?

The math tells me that's 1.5m less concrete, and 1.5m less asphalt. Cheaper!  And better!

You should add back in the fact that road engineers like bike lanes because they use them instead of the extra .33 meters of space they require in the curb lane (which we may argue about the necessity of, but would still be required).  And 2 meters is insufficient for a MUT, minimum will be 3 meters.  And plus, you have bike lanes farther on on Shirley, which is a great trick that staff frequently use to justify more bad bike lanes.

Even still, you're basically saving the sidewalk (and trading 3 meters of pavement for cheaper pavement, since road pavement must be thicker), and then even if you did both sides in a MUT in order to provide an acceptable transition (ha ha) from the on road lanes, it would still only be comparable in cost, and vastly better in function.

*sigh*....

I would also like to see "segregated lanes" in the form of paving at the top of the curb.  Given that many roads already pave 0.5-1 meter of space up there already, as has been done in this case already.  You could have bike lanes for nearly free.  Yet when "segregated lanes" are considered here, somehow a curb is required on both sides....why I have no idea.
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(10-21-2017, 07:49 PM)Canard Wrote: At Fallowfield, looking West.  A number of people have already built fences; some were being built as we walked past.  The trail is really close to their homes.

I assume that the trail is just behind their existing property lines -- or was there expropriation involved?
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From the documents Pheidippides provided, it didn't sound like there was any expropriation.
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(10-23-2017, 05:24 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(10-21-2017, 07:49 PM)Canard Wrote: At Fallowfield, looking West.  A number of people have already built fences; some were being built as we walked past.  The trail is really close to their homes.

I assume that the trail is just behind their existing property lines -- or was there expropriation involved?

The land was already city owned, for drainage purposes.  Moreover, most of it already had a gravel trail, which dead-ended at the boardwalk section which was used to access the drainage ponds (and by various oft complained about individuals).
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(10-22-2017, 06:57 PM)jamincan Wrote: I personally prefer the bike lanes, but to each their own.

I'm also in this camp. But like you say, to each their own.
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(10-23-2017, 09:16 PM)timc Wrote:
(10-22-2017, 06:57 PM)jamincan Wrote: I personally prefer the bike lanes, but to each their own.

I'm also in this camp. But like you say, to each their own.

I also prefer bike lanes in some (many) cases, mostly because our region's MUTs are so poorly implemented (well designed MUTs can be equally suitable for racing cyclists as bike lanes, I have personally experienced this in the Netherlands), but for the moment, it is what we have.

But I still understand that for a pro-cycling policy, that the vast majority of users (66% or more) as determined in empirical studies, are more comfortable riding on a MUT instead of with traffic.  So that is the type of infrastructure we should be building in order to help normalize cycling and make it accessible to the majority of people.

Local conditions matter as well, but in a location like this, it's clearly the wrong infrastructure if we are seeking to increase cycling.
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I’ll just chime in and say I am hugely and vastly more in favour of MUT’s. I never would have started riding a bike ~18 months ago if it weren’t for the Spur Line trail and all the MUT’s it connected me to. I only eventually was comfortable riding on bike lanes in traffic after riding MUT’s only.

I get that more confident riders like bike lanes, but you’re the... what is it, like 25%? We need to make cycling feel safe for the other 75% who currently aren’t riding a bike - like I was. I had zero interest in riding but I heard about the Spur Line and thought “shoot, that seems perfect” and gave it a shot. And got hooked. Like, totally hooked.

And! There are so many places in the region where there are MUT’s *and* bike lanes! So just do both.
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