A long trip, with road rage drivers, in Richmond Hill
Today I had to go to York Central Hospital for annoying health-related issues. Since that is a long way from where I live downtown, I decided to go multi-modal on the TTC.
I got on the TTC at Wellesley Station. No elevators, so I had to bump my bike down the stairs. Got of the subway at Finch Station. There were elevators, but inconveniently located and I had to take two separate ones to get to the bus level.
For the first time in my life, I used the bus bike rack. I like it! I am surprised that more people do not use them. Any ideas as to why they are so little used?
Go
t off the bus at Steeles Avenue and went north up Yonge Street. Suddenly, I was in the land of the road-raging criminals. Going up and down Yonge between Steeles and Major Mackenzie I was tailgated, harassed by honking, passed illegally, passed too closely, passed on the right by cars using right-turn lanes, and had various people shout strange things as me. Unfortunately I had to be at an appointment, or I would have made about four 911 calls to request the police to lay charges against the worst of the road-raging criminals.
York Central Hospital has lots of bike racks. To bad they are the unusable "wheel bender" types. So like everyone else I locked my bike to a railing.
Cycled back to Steeles and a bus came along almost immediately. I was the only person to put my bike on the bus rack. Of all the busses I saw on the road and in Finch station that day, mine was the only bike I saw on a bus rack.
Two questions to the collective wisdom here:
- Why are the bus bike racks so little used? I like them. Easy to use - just put the bike on and off. When they were first introduced, I thought that the problem was going to be that they could only take two bikes and would be too crowded.
- What is with the road-raging criminals north of Steeles?
I've used them three time so far and I agree with you. They are easy to use and could be a real help, even in rush hour. The first time though, I had trouble getting the bar extended enough to hook over the front tire because I wasn't familiar with the setup and it did not extend easily (probably stuck).
For me, it is a good way to get to a distant place where I have to look decent and there's no chance to shower/change - on the return trip, I cycle all the way because it doesn't take much longer.
Why do we see hardly any usage? Probably because they are not advertised into the public's face, and we see no one setting an example using them. The TTC would do well spending a bit of promotion money to follow up the investment.
We could talk about this on end, but it in my opinion the major reason is drivers not knowing the law relating to the cyclist's rights. Aside from TV informercials, the Ontario driver's education system badly needs to add focus on cycling vs cars, and the Driver's Handbook should include some common situations between drivers and cyclists to clarify the rules for the ordinary Joe Bloe.
OK, I'll come right out and say it: "I'm afraid to plan a trip that requires me to use the racks on a bus, only to find myself with kids in tow completely unable to figure out how to use the darned things." There, I've come out.
But now that I've said that, an obvious solution comes to mind: put some of these racks at key locations throughout the city where people can try them out. Start out with a blitz where a person is available to help out and answer questions, but leave the racks there after the blitz so anyone can come try them out at any time. I can't be the only person who's avoiding the unknown.
Annie
It was my first time, so I had some anxiety. I watched the TTC video about how to use the rack, and reasoned that if I just couldn't figure it out that it was only an extra 2 km to bike from Finch to Steeles.
When the time came it was easy and intuitive.
See the video here at:
http://www3.ttc.ca/Riding_the_TTC/Bicycles.jsp
I ride through that area all the time, although I almost never ride on Yonge Street. I've given up on riding on busy arterials in York Region. It's just too hostile, until you get out into the country.
Why? Like Erhard, I don't think you'll get a simple answer, but I think it comes down to layout of a city, and people getting very used to covering large distances and moving at high speeds. There are fast cars, and cars stuck in traffic jams: Cyclists aren't part of the mix. So my decievingly short answer is "Design". (That doesn't take any blame off a dangerous driver.)
Henderson is a very nice road to bike on, but it only gets to John. Unfortunately, crossing the 407 means you have to take a major road like Yonge. I use Leslie, but that doesn't help you!
-dj
highway 7.
Last Saturday when the heavy rain hit I was on my way home. The Kipling bus at 5:32 pm had a bike rack. A cyclist who obviously was new to it tried to use it. The driver refused to help him, said it was not his job. I got up and helped.
At Lakeshore, the cyclist got off. It was pouring and he obviously forgot to put the rack back up. The driver got up and and started screaming at him using nasty profanities. There were at least 15 of us still on or exiting the bus. He put the rack up and off he went.
When did this sort of behaviour become acceptable for the TTC? The driver was in shorts and a Tshirt and was a thug. I remember when TTC drivers looked respectable and acted with a sense of decorum. Now asking them even a simple question is treated as if we are harrassing them.
I think the TTC having racks are a good thing. I use them. They are easy to use and are much more pleasant for the cyclist and passengers than dragging the bike on the bus. I just wish drivers were more courteous about it.
There are good bus drivers out there. But I have seen everything from disabled people to new mothers with baby strollers who all struggled to get on the bus - with a driver who didn't lift a finger to help.
This is easier to watch than the one on the TTC site.
I haven't tried it but it's good to see it doesn't take much time and looks easy. I'd hate to hold up a full bus trying to figure it out.
I was told by TTC staff when the racks were first installed that bus drivers are not allowed to physically help with the bike racks. All the same, clearly this guy is an asshole because he could have talked the cyclist through it. Someone should have reported the driver to the TTC. He needs to get reprimanded or at least some mandatory vacation.
I live in RH not too far from the Hospital, sorry you had a bad time on the ride. That particular strech of Yonge can be bad. You can avoid much of it from Steeles to Centre and Garden to Major Mackenzie, but it takes a bit of a detour and you still have to ride the section inbetween.
Report drivers who behave in such a manner.
We need to keep in mind though that for every jerk driver, there's an excellent driver. There are drivers who bend over backwards and break the rules to help. There are drivers who have saved lives. There are drivers who have been beaten. There are drivers who have been shot.
There are drivers who get yelled at and spit upon every day by people they're supposed to be cordial and professional to.
Report the jerks, but stay sympathetic. They didn't start out that way.
helpful numbers for city cyclists:
road debris 416 39 CLEAN
road repair 416 338 9999
parking in bike lane 416 808 6600
police hotline 416 808 2222
Anyone get much in the way of results from these numbers? After the winter debacle of one of the readers here getting written confirmation of the fact that cars are allowed to park in the lanes during the winter, I've lost some of my will to bother complaining.
Where snow extends the curbline out far enough to move a a parking spot into a skirting Bike Lane - there is no offence (at this time).
If a car is parked in a Bike Lane that is marked as No Stopping then you can help get them busted by calling, just don't expect ETF to swarm the vehicle. I passed a car in a Bike Lane at Gerrard & Yonge a few weeks ago, I circled back and just pulled out my phone and started dialing - he moved right away.
The Road Repair line tracks your call - you even get a number to check for completion.