Unexpected Commuting Benefits

[shootingstar]

During the first 10 years of returning to cycling nearly daily, I learned to ride routes that combined both bike paths, bike lanes and just streets with no lanes in heavy, congested downtown areas of Toronto. All of this car traffic, combined with high volume pedestrian crowds pouring out of light rapid commuter trains, subway system and buses into downtown. It does train a cyclist mentally how to ride with alot of cars and people crossing /jamming near around you.

Much more congested than Vancouver.

So whenever I go back to visit and cycle in these conditions, it's a slight shock: I used to ride in that type of traffic when commuting? But I've come to appreciate it's easier as a cyclist to ride in congested slow moving traffic vs. fast downtown congested traffic with all 4 lanes going 1 way as found here in Calgary. Just imagining make left-hand lane switches over multiple, one-way lanes, doesn't thrill me at all. (In fact, I avoid it if I can during peak car traffic hrs.)

As a comparison, Toronto has over 2.5 million people with more people living and working in its core (1 million people working in downtown and midtown, including those from the suburbs). If anyone tells me that dedicated bike paths are useless under these car street conditions, they have to be crazy. A busy bike path is still preferable than dealing with that and also avoid stopping at many more multiple traffic light intersections. Someone counted the total number of traffic light intersections she had to negotiate over a 10 km. bike ride --over 25 different traffic light intersections. But half of her route was avoided through using dedicated bike paths.

If I didn't combine a ravine park bike path from the suburbs, to join up street route remainder into downtown, I would have to contend with over 50 different traffic light intersections since I had a 16 km. ride one way. (We counted.)

Even now where I live, I could ride downtown on streets to work since it's very early in the morning and quiet. But that means 10+ different traffic light intersections for only a 4 km. bike ride. So I go on a bike path and only contend with 3 traffic light intersections after getting off the path. It's just so much more pleasant and closer to Nature on a path.

Calgary has 1.2 million people but less people pouring into downtown to work compared to Toronto.

It helps a cyclist's confidence to cycle comfortably under common conditions : urban street, country and some dedicated paths.