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Cycling in Waterloo Region
Other cycling grid related info...

Underground utility work has finished on Ontario St between King and Charles. The sidewalks have been put back in (I don't think any new trees are coming, rest in peace trees), and the bike lane curbs are in. I imagine that block could be repaved in the next week.

On the Queen St stretch, the road has been repaved and light poles at the Joseph intersection were going back in. I saw markings for paint earlier in the week, so it may be painted already. This stretch could potentially open in the next few weeks.

And random observations on usage: Usage in generally seems good, especially with the good weather. I'm excited as connectivity continues to improve (I think the connection through Cherry Park will be huge). I've seen small children using them (while supervised or accompanied), and I've seen people in mobility devices using them. There is annoyingly still a particular group of people completely ignoring them, riding the wrong way in the car lane, and frequently riding on the sidewalks (more than once forcing pedestrians off the sidewalk). I'm sure you all know the stereotype, the same folks that earned cyclists a reputation for dangerously disobeying the rules of the road. I also still see cars driving the wrong way down Joseph, but at least not on the bike lanes anymore.

I even saw that fellow with his Tesla who complains about the bike lanes on Nextdoor pull out of his house, and then stop his car firmly on top of the pedestrian crossing while he waited at a red light. He also stayed at the light a while after it turned green, since he was too busy looking at his phone...
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(06-10-2022, 10:49 PM)dtkvictim Wrote: The temporary cones have been replaced with more permanent flexible posts. A reasonable place to end up I guess, even if they are further sign pollution (it really is amazing how many signs we can put up in this city, says a lot about our street design).

So true. In fact, there's a good photo I remember seeing on Reddit (or maybe it was here) a while back that showed a section of some major road downtown that, thanks to the effect of the lens while zooming in, made it seem like there were muuuuch much more signs/stop lights on what I think was Victoria Street South facing King. It was obviously exaugurated but even without the lens effect, it really illustrated just how many sets of lights and signs there were. Amusingly, your picture shows a sign post with no sign...I guess just in case they decide they need yet another one.
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(06-10-2022, 10:49 PM)dtkvictim Wrote: Photo from Joseph & Gaukel.

The temporary cones have been replaced with more permanent flexible posts. A reasonable place to end up I guess, even if they are further sign pollution (it really is amazing how many signs we can put up in this city, says a lot about our street design).

The crossing was recently resurfaced for some reason, and lane markings have now been added through the crossing. It appears that shark teeth will be painted soon for both the bike and car lanes (does anyone know why markings all seem to be done on separate days, sometimes weeks apart? It's like the city has workers driving around, but each crew is only trained in a single colour of paint).

Both of the flag crossings have been reapplied. They were actually painted on before winter, but had completely come off by the end of winter. Hopefully they didn't cost $10k a piece that time, and won't continue to come off each winter.

Ultimately I think this crossing is a bit of a mess. I'll take a photo once the shark teeth are on, but for both bikes and cars there are separate shark teeth for each of the two crossings. In my opinion, there is no reason for this entire intersection to not just be one giant crossing. It should have been a (brick) raised crossing, level with the Victoria Park entrance and Gaukel. It's turning out to be a visual overload with all the signage, paint, and two distinct crossings.

[Image: MIKaEVA.jpg]

Great photo. Yeah, the signage is a bit frustrating. I think the sign in the middle is unfortunate, but necessary. The other two both bear a useful purpose. The right hand sign is a legally binding sign, the left one seems more for education. The middle sign is also for education but also enforcement. Probably the left sign wouldn't be necessary if the middle sign was used initially, but I think the middle sign cannot be used in winter.

FWIW...in the Netherlands, the equivalent of the right hand sign is the only one used. But cycle paths are also coloured red, so are more noticeable, and drivers well...they know what they're doing.

I'm glad they replaced the crossing markings. It almost certainly came under warranty. This isn't the first time thermoplast has been replaced under warranty.

For why crews don't paint all at the same time, I think it probably has to do with the fact that different equipment is used to paint different types of markings. The sharks teeth could even be done in thermoplast as well.

The rest though, I completely agree. It's bizarre that they went with two crossings. The whole thing could have been done much more sensibly. But we did manage to get a continuous sidewalk on Joseph so I guess we should be thankful for small blessings.
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I rode through that whole section today... there's some little festival going on, and bike repairs by red raccoon too. I've been enjoying the lack of traffic on Queen Street at rush hour. I wonder where they all went...
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(06-11-2022, 04:14 PM)clasher Wrote: I rode through that whole section today... there's some little festival going on, and bike repairs by red raccoon too. I've been enjoying the lack of traffic on Queen Street at rush hour. I wonder where they all went...

Yeah, Queen St. could easily have been closed or at least restricted...yet another missed opportunity.
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Does anybody have any pictures of the rebuilt King St in Preston? I'm trying to remember how the bike lanes are painted. I don't think they are buffered, but I want to make sure.
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Photos from Ontario St, today. The curb installation between King and Charles is a little curious; it only covers about 50% of the total length because of the large parking lot entrance right next to Charles St, the Halls Ln entrance, and I think because the current patio location beside Grand Trunk Saloon is technically a driveway as well.

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Thanks for the photos! This is such a positive transformation for downtown. This infrastructure will grow to be a great permanent feature of downtown. It's nice that they had the smarts to implement good alternative transportation infrastructure that'll be here for a long time.
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Yeah that big gap is going to be enticing for drivers thinking of turning right at King but sort of necessary for the business access. These new lanes are such a welcome addition and I'm looking forward to having Stewart/Joseph linked so I can stop having to duck through the Bramm lot to link up.
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(06-23-2022, 12:50 PM)Bytor Wrote: Does anybody have any pictures of the rebuilt King St in Preston? I'm trying to remember how the bike lanes are painted. I don't think they are buffered, but I want to make sure.

It was a hot day for it but here are some photos full of cars


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local cambridge weirdo
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(06-25-2022, 10:10 AM)cherrypark Wrote: Yeah that big gap is going to be enticing for drivers thinking of turning right at King but sort of necessary for the business access.

I imagine they'll have the floppy bollard "No vehicular access" signs that have been popping up all over the Iron Horse and the completed parts of the downtown grid so far.
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I require some alternative opinions on this bike lane issue in downtown Galt. At Queen's Square, there are numerous churches and it's all very cute and nice. The bike lane in front of this church specifically allows cars to park in it only on Sundays (for church, presumably). If you zoom in on the parking sign, it shows the bike lane + parking combo.

Am I the asshole or is this absurd? Park somewhere else.

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local cambridge weirdo
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Churches are very powerful. There are a number of "No Parking Sat-Fri" signs in KW as well, although none in bike lanes AFAIK.
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Feels like a No Stopping Mon-Sat would at least be a little more reasonable compromise for the sake of mobility concerns though its not clear here if that is primary concern so much as just overflow parking.

As unproductive as it is here - where the church has more than enough property to add a drop off area right of the bike lane if they really needed it - I would still take this approach over them cancelling a bike lane altogether like they are positioning to do on Duke, I suppose.
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I'm also surprised that it looks like parking is permitted on Sundays in front of the bus stop.
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