Advocacy Advice Needed - Bad Road Design Coming

[Crankin]

Yep, same here. I often find myself almost driving into the thing, so I make myself really concentrate now. It's not such a problem on the bike, because I am already concentrating hard in a high traffic area.

[OakLeaf]

They just added one in a nearby town a couple of years ago, with a sharrow in the gutter ten feet away, pointing directly at the curb flareout.

Sigh.


No input on the legalities. Good luck...

[shootingstar]

We do have one in the neighbourhood. Remarkably the road was so wide, that a 2 way separated bike lane was installed also. This is normally a quiet area and gets peak rush hr. traffic during work days.

Just wondering if you went onto youtube and searched for Dan Burden, a consultant on traffic calming...he's done a lot of charettes with local U.S. communities. See if there's something there.

The big question is....why not put a bike lane if the road is wide enough anyway and it makes sense.. Not all roads are eligible for bike lanes.

If your community is in the south with less/no snow, then traffic calming circles may work in wide quieter residential street junctions where neighbourhoods truly want safety.

[Blueberry]

The big question is....why not put a bike lane if the road is wide enough anyway and it makes sense.. Not all roads are eligible for bike lanes.

If your community is in the south with less/no snow, then traffic calming circles may work in wide quieter residential street junctions where neighbourhoods truly want safety.

This road is odd - it's a "major thoroughfare" but also a residential street. Circles can't go in because of emergency vehicles, and the traffic volume limits how much calming can be done. Studies have shown that what they are putting in reduces speeds by 1-2 mph. The neighborhood won't agree to bike lanes (though there is enough room) because they would have go give up parking on one side or the other. *sigh* I'm working on it!

[shootingstar]

You said it was primarily a residential street....and they still want curbside parking on both sides. Sorry...if there are already parking garage space/stalls or underground parking for residential buildings. AND if this street area is close to public transit ...then some residents are overplaying the curbside parking needs. They just want free parking..unless there are parking meters already. If they have visitors....well, do the visitors really come every day. Give us a break..

It is an argument that is heavily debated whenever the bike lane idea comes up. In Vancouver and Toronto, some people cheat by just parking overnight..when they should pay for parking. Sorry because the municipality must spend money sweeping, removing snow and road repair.

People scream and shout wanting parking right at the doorstep of businesses and if it's near their home..what for if they already have a driveway? Sorry. What happened in our area...they removed a few parking stalls ...and added a small parking lot with meters 1 block away. Too bad. Walk, healthier for you.

[ny biker]

Too bad. Walk, healthier for you.

Not possible for everyone.

[shootingstar]

Then we must ensure there are curbcuts for wheelchairs, walkers.. Not every house and residential building has immediate front door access. NYC and Toronto have streets like those. My parents had a house in Toronto ....they had to pay the city for parking spot curbside annually. There was not parking garage, driveway nor laneway at all. Many downtown older streets can be like that...not all. So they sometimes they walked a block ....finding a parking spot...was what was available at the time of parking along the street.

Short term front door parking (for a few hrs.) makes sense for hospitals, retirement homes, grocery stores, shopping malls, hotels, etc.

There are alternative street reconfigurations which is just not bike lane but putting a boulevard strip in the middle of road (or hey, it becomes a separated bike lane) or turning 1 side of the road 1 way....if it makes sense. That actually happened in our neighbourhood....

I am focusing on unrestricted free parking on a residential street... not metered paid parking. Where I live it's a 2 hr. limit. And they tow cars away that exceed the limit. I've seen the tow car.

[Blueberry]

You said it was primarily a residential street....and they still want curbside parking on both sides. Sorry...if there are already parking garage space/stalls or underground parking for residential buildings. AND if this street area is close to public transit ...then some residents are overplaying the curbside parking needs. They just want free parking..unless there are parking meters already. If they have visitors....well, do the visitors really come every day. Give us a break..

It is an argument that is heavily debated whenever the bike lane idea comes up. In Vancouver and Toronto, some people cheat by just parking overnight..when they should pay for parking. Sorry because the municipality must spend money sweeping, removing snow and road repair.

People scream and shout wanting parking right at the doorstep of businesses and if it's near their home..what for if they already have a driveway? Sorry. What happened in our area...they removed a few parking stalls ...and added a small parking lot with meters 1 block away. Too bad. Walk, healthier for you.

We aren't nearly as densely developed as you. This is mostly single family - and I haven't identified any without private driveways. Side streets have plenty of parking. There is a church - but the fact that their lot isn't large enough is not my concern. Sadly, we aren't that close to public transit - I ride my bike 1.5 miles to pick up a bus to my university. We're a few blocks from local bus service (but they are very walkable blocks - problem is here, people scream if they have to walk 10 feet....). I'm ready to live somewhere more advanced

[shootingstar]

We aren't nearly as densely developed as you. This is mostly single family - and I haven't identified any without private driveways. Side streets have plenty of parking. There is a church - but the fact that their lot isn't large enough is not my concern. Sadly, we aren't that close to public transit - I ride my bike 1.5 miles to pick up a bus to my university. We're a few blocks from local bus service (but they are very walkable blocks - problem is here, people scream if they have to walk 10 feet....). I'm ready to live somewhere more advanced

I just happen to live downtown near an extensive bike-ped path park system. (Yes, that did heavily influence my decision to live in the area. And why not?)

Most parts of the city is actually like your area..particularily as soon as one gets out of the downtown area. It continues to shock me to cycle on very wide suburban residential streets with single detached homes and their own driveways, on the street that are 2 way and ...most of the time, quiet in terms of car traffic. There's no need for that. Not at all. It's expensive for any city to maintain such expanse of pavement that is not used heavily.

Lest, I sound too urbanite.. I owned and lived in a condo in the suburbs in Metro Toronto for 14 yrs. But I lived across the street from the subway station and 1 km. away from access into the ravine bike-ped pathway system that led me into downtown where I worked.

Most interestingly, 4 wks. ago, a neighbourhood just northwest of us put up their own traffic calming signage..slow down to 40 km. per hr. The residents were tired of fast cars, etc. There were families with children living there. The city asked them to remove their signs..because it was illegal.