Cycling in Waterloo Region

[dtkvictim]

How does this differ from a sidewalk? Wouldn't it just be cheaper to let cyclists legally use existing sidewalks - especially since most cyclists ride on the sidewalk anyway? Really, is it a big deal? Do you regularly hear on the news stories about horrific bike and pedestrian crashes that take place on sidewalks? Of course not.

It's designated space. Would you say the same thing about painted bike lanes on the road? The only difference is whether they are at road level or sidewalk level (and the safety that comes with that). You aren't entirely wrong, but sidewalks as we build them are wholly inadequate for 1) cycling, and 2) sharing space with pedestrians and cyclists. The continuous breaks in the sidewalk are unpleasant to ride on. The width of a standard sidewalk makes even 2 people walking past each other about the limit, add more people are bicycles which need a bit more width, and it doesn't work. People do constantly complain about this when cyclists use sidewalks.

Why is sharing a space with pedestrians okay if you call it a "multi-use trail" but not okay if it's a sidewalk?

Again, they have different dimensions. I'm not aware of a single multi-use trail that's anywhere near as narrow as a standard sidewalk. Secondary to that, it's about traffic volumes. I do think this stretch is low volume enough that a MUT would have been fine to be honest, but it's not always the case. I don't think a MUT would have worked on Water St, and a sidewalk definitely wouldn't.

People (both cyclists and especially pedestrians) are also much more likely to keep right when a centerline is painted.

especially downtown, we're just turning the whole place into a sea of concrete and asphalt, nice...I mean look at that, it looks like shit

The only point a really agree with here, but you've singled out probably the worst justification possible. You're aware the street used to look like this, right?



It was already a sea of concrete and asphalt. That said, while they didn't make things worse, our management of greenspace and beauty is pretty appalling. This random street I dropped into in NL (excluding the access road on the left) has basically the same width as Duke St at this part. While it has one less sidewalk, it manages to fit in 2 rows of trees, and still has a floating bus stop.