In honour of these June follies it has come to my attention contractors working on the TTC track rehab on King St from Roncesvalles east to the vicinity of Beaty Ave will post this section "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT". There are no plans to request the same of motorists.
Those who ride this section of King St will have noted beacons and barriers erected June 2 blocking the curb lane. The distance between these and the curbside rail is less than 2 feet in places and and is pockmarked with crevices 3" wide and 3" deep where the asphalt meets the streetcar bed. Extreme caution is necessary as these will catch a wheel as well as any streetcar rail.
The city has once again entirely neglected the safety and requirements of bicyclists in this rehab.
Feel free to forward expressions of your appreciation to:
Area Councillor Gord Perks
former TCC chair and present TTC chair Councillor Adam Giambrone
councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca
TCAC chair Councillor Adrian Heaps
Comments
geoffrey
What the city SHOULD be doing
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 10:54I don't know why this is difficult. The city SHOULD be signing "BICYCLISTS ENTITLED TO TAKE THE ENTIRE LANE" and "BICYCLISTS MERGE WITH MOTORONS" if they are unwilling to support a separate lane of at least 2 m width for bicyclists.
YourSubmissionT... (not verified)
Speaking of the war on bikes...
Thu, 06/10/2010 - 19:45Has anyone seen the globe and mail cyclists exam? I can't include a link to it in this post without triggering the spam filter, which is unfortunate, but if you google "globe and mail cyclists exam", it is the first link that shows up.
theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/road-sage/the-great-canadian-cyclists-exam/article1591998/
The author apparently teaches comedy. Talk about the blind leading the blind. Yes, cyclists do some things that annoy motorists, but if you are going to go after cyclists for that, at least try to be funny about it. I understand that comedy needs a victim, but god, the only victim of that article is the reader.
It's the kind of drivel that I expect to read in Rosie Dimano's column in the Toronto Star. Seriously ugly.
geoffrey
Planning? What planning?
Fri, 06/11/2010 - 12:17Other communities seem capable of considering bicyclists when roadwork is done:
http://hembrow.blogspot.com/search?q=road+works
This situation could have been avoided entirely had a modicum of
forethought been expended on it. There is a park on the south side of King
St with a degraded MUP running through it. There is also a sidewalk
running 1/2 the length of this park along King. IF the sidewalk had been
completed and the MUP repaired and brought up to code, bicyclists could
have been directed along the MUP as a detour. Bicyclists and pedestrians would remain safely separated as each would have separate facilities.
In addition to the MUP the construction zone should be signed and enforced as a 30 kph zone. Furthermore it should be signed "BICYCLISTS ENTITLED TO USE OF ENTIRE LANE" and "BICYCLISTS MERGE WITH MOTOR TRAFFIC". Bicyclists would have a choice of routes through the zone and signage would respect their role as constituents of traffic.
A.R. (not verified)
Bizarre and counterintuitive
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 02:07So when cyclists dismount, are they supposed to take the lane in walking their bikes through the area? Not doing so would seem to allow for dangerous passing.
Cyclists are to stick to the roads because they're legally entitled to it.