Showing posts with label Segregated cycle facilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Segregated cycle facilities. Show all posts

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Ontario Trails News - meet us at Trailhead North, and gaps in riding in Toronto

Northern trail fan? Meet us at Trailhead North!


CITYSCAPE

Mapping the City’s Bike Network Gaps


Toronto is slowly making progress on its bike network, but there's lots of room to grow.

Bike Routes   WO Gaps


Toronto’s bikeway network is often a source of frustration for the city’s cyclists, and with the map above, it’s easy to see why. It illustrates the extent of Toronto’s bike infrastructure―or in some parts of the city the lack thereof―as of January 2015, and how there’s plenty of room for improvement to fill in the gaps. Toronto’s bikeway network includes off-road multi-use trails, separated cycle tracks like those on Sherbourne Street, bike lanes and contraflow lanes (like those on Shaw), and signed bicycle routes that otherwise have no facilities for cyclists (“sharrows” notwithstanding). With the recent addition of the Adelaide and Richmond bike lanepilot project west of University Avenue, and the new contraflow lane on Simcoe Street, the downtown network of bicycle routes is slowly improving; though cyclists await the completion of the oft-delayed Queen’s Quay project.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Ontario Trails News - find your favorite ice-climbing trail, and cyclists push for lanes in Toronto.

Find your favorite Ontario Ice-climbing trail




Courtesy Paul YoungMembers of the Ward 30 Bikes group at Cherry Beach last summer, as they advocate for bike path to the lake.

A local cycling advocacy group wants the Riverdale area to create safe bike lanes that would connect the neighbourhood to the waterfront.
Ward 30 Bikes has called upon the expertise of 4th year students from Ryerson University’s school of urban and regional planning to study the feasibility of the project. Class professor Don Verbanac turned the challenge into a practical planning course for his students, and they’ll present the final report at a community meeting on Monday.
It is important for the people of Riverdale to have alternate and safe ways of getting to the lake, not only by driving, said Paul Young, a member of Ward 30 Bikes.
“The number one reason people don’t cycle more in the city is because they don’t feel safe,” he said.
“Riverdale is one of the parts of the city where you can’t easily get down to the lake. We sometimes just forget that we live close to the lake because there aren’t any direct routes to the water from the community.”
The bike lanes would give people direct access to many “fantastic” recreational destinations on the waterfront. These include the Leslie Spit, Cherry Beach and the Martin Goodman Trail, said Young, who is also a health promoter at South Riverdale Community Health Centre.
“It would add an improvement to people’s daily commute and give them some control over conditions that affect their lives,” he said. “Cycling is beneficial to people’s physical and mental health.”
Options being presented in the report include a bike path on Leslie Street (currently under construction but no plans for bike lanes), as well as Cherry Street and Carlaw Avenue, he said.
In the past, Ward 30 Bikes successfully advocated for the creation of bike lanes on Dundas Street East.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Ontario Trails News - Active transportation AND trails, thanks Mississippi Mills

Learn more about Ontario's Cycling and Hiking trails

Enthusiastic response to Active Transportation Workshop

 Neil Carleton 2by Neil Carleton
In the context of municipal planning, active transportation refers to all human-powered forms of transportation, in particular walking and cycling.  It includes the use of mobility aids such as wheel chairs, and can also encompass other human-powered devices such as in-line skating, skateboarding, cross-country skiing, canoeing and kayaking.

Healthy living includes being physically active.  Many people enjoy biking, a form of active transportation.  Birders on Bikes, for the novice and expert alike, has been a popular June event each year in Mississippi Mills during Bicycle Month
Healthy living includes being physically active.  Many people enjoy biking, a form of active transportation.  Birders on Bikes, for the novice and expert alike, has been a popular June event each year in Mississippi Mills during Bicycle Month
Walking in town or exploring woodland trails are other good ways of being active.  A Monday morning hiking group posed for this photo in September.  
Walking in town or exploring woodland trails are other good ways of being active.  A Monday morning hiking group posed for this photo in September.
The promotion of active transportation is based primarily on the issues of health and economics.  Being physically active on a regular basis is good for our health.  The benefits can range from increasing flexibility and muscle strength to lowering blood pressure.  As individuals, we save money by walking or biking instead of driving.  Investments for residents and visitors in trails and pathways, connecting corridors and people friendly routes, produce economic benefits for the community.
The creation of an active transportation plan for Mississippi Mills was initiated in June when our municipality awarded Dillon Consulting the contract to undertake a transportation master plan.  This work, to study the Town’s transportation needs for the next 20 years, must include active transportation.  This, according to Ontario Ministry of Transportation guidelines, includes “sidewalks, on-road bicycle lanes and routes, multi-use pathways, bike parking, effective signage, and pedestrian crossings, as well as human-scaled and pedestrian-oriented development patterns.”
The award of the contract was preceded by the Eastern Ontario Active Transportation Summit, held at the Almonte Old Town Hall on May 29-30. http://millstonenews.com/2014/06/health-and-economic-benefits-of-active-transportation-promoted-at-almonte-summit.html.  There was much forward thinking on both days of the Summit about supporting healthy living through active transportation.  This was of particular interest to Mississippi Mills as both had been identified as important economic drivers in our town’s strategic plan for economic development.
  • Prior to the Workshop, a variety of positive developments had been reported.
  • Lanark County is now adding paved shoulders to many County roads for cyclists.
  • Mississippi Mills intends to “harden” part of the road shoulder when paving or repaving rural roads where a wide enough gravel margin already exists.
  • Earlier in the year a bilingual cycling map of the Town was released by Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month.
  •  Last year a group of mountain bikers completed a single-track cycling and ski trail from Almonte to the Mill of Kintail across private land.
  •  Two counties, Lanark and Renfrew, plus the Township of Papineau-Cameron, are negotiating with Canadian Pacific to purchase the abandoned rail bed that runs from Smith Falls to Mattawa, with the intent to make a trail

Monday, November 3, 2014

Ontario Trails News - Cyclists news reported by Simcoe.com

Got a Trail  Question? Ask an Expert

Oct 31, 2014 | Vote0   0

Simcoe County cyclists laud proposed ‘move-over’ law

Bill permits new bike lanes on one-way streets

SIDEBAR

Act aims to beef up crosswalk safety

With the Simcoe County District School Board encouraging students and parents to walk to school, John Dance, the board’s superintendent of facility services, is glad to see the province adding pedestrian safety rules.
The proposed Keeping Ontario’s Roads Safe Act requires drivers to remain stopped at school crossing and pedestrian crossovers until pedestrians have completely crossed the road.
“We always encourage students to walk and families to walk with students, if necessary. It’s welcome news that this will take place, but its also one that we know is only as good as the ability of drivers to follow the rules,” Dance said.
Dance noted there are rules motorists must obey while driving around school buses that are not always followed.
“Education is the most important part,” he said.
The SCDSB has not heard complaints about motorists driving off before a pedestrian has crossed the road, Dance said.
“It’s been high-profile because a lot of times whenever something does happen, whether it happens in Toronto, or wherever, it seems to heighten the fear of people of how safe it is to walk to school,” he said.
The Ministry of Transportation states pedestrians represent about one in six motor vehicle-related fatalities on Ontario roads — 41 per cent of which occurred at intersections.
“If passed, our legislation will help keep pedestrians, drivers and cyclists safe on Ontario’s roads. Thanks to our legacy of tough laws, strong enforcement and partnerships with many dedicated road safety partners, Ontario’s roads are among the safest in North America and these new measures are intended to keep it that way,” Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said in a media release.
Dance asks motorists to be patient while young people are crossing intersections and crosswalks.
“If it’s a three-year-old, or a four-year-old walking across in-hand with an adult, sometimes that’s a pretty painstaking process. It calls for a lot of patience. Sometimes people driving aren’t patient,” he said.
Health-wise, Dance said students have more energy if they walk to school.
“People say school should be more fitness-oriented. Well, they could be getting walks on the way to school that could be part of their fitness too,” Dance said.
Barrie Advance
Casey Witteman used to ride his bike everywhere he went.
That is, until the Severn Township man was killed after being hit in the back of his helmeted head by a roof truss hanging off a truck while bicycling on Highway 11 near Washago July 11, 2009.
Witteman’s close friend, Gene Wood, hopes the province’s proposed Keeping Ontario’s Roads Safe Act, which increases fines and creates new rules to protect cyclists, saves others from Witteman’s fate.
“You don’t want anybody to go that way, but (maybe) he can help other people,” Wood said Tuesday. “That’s the only way to look at it because I can’t bring Casey back.”

“It’s going to help give motorists the message that bicycles are vehicles, that we’re people. And we’re deserving of the respect they give another car when they pass a car.” - Robb Meier

The act, at second reading in legislature, raises the maximum fine for knocking down a cyclist with an open car door to $1,000 and three demerit points. While passing cyclists, drivers will be required to maintain a one-metre distance between them, where practical.
“I’m very pleased. There’s been too many people killed of late. It’s very often because people are driving too close,” Wood said. “It will really help in the crowded city environment. On the highways, people need to learn to back off.”
Wood is not certain the legislation would have protected Witteman if it were released earlier. The truss was sticking out the side of a tractor-trailer travelling north in the highway’s right-hand lane. Witteman, 56, was biking northbound at the side of the lane. The wide load did have an orange marker but the driver said he did not see Witteman biking along the highway.
“In vehicles where you cannot see the cyclist, you should have a spotter in the right-hand side,” Wood said.  
Barrie cyclist Robb Meier, president of the Barrie/Simcoe Cycling Club, hopes the proposed changes mean cyclists will be respected on the roadways.
“It’s going to help give motorists the message that bicycles are vehicles, that we’re people. And we’re deserving of the respect they give another car when they pass a car,” Meier said.
The club has 210 members from Barrie, Orillia, and the townships of Innisfil, Springwater and Oro-Medonte.
While most Simcoe County drivers give cyclists plenty of room, there are always those who do not, Meier said.
“It’s terrifying,” he said. “Especially if you’re on a road that’s like an 80 km/h an hour speed limit and a car goes flying by you with like six inches to spare.”
Meier has been struck by vehicle mirrors eight times.
“Once, I ended up riding into the ditch and another time the shorts I was wearing were torn from pocket to knee,” he said.
   l Cyclists, from Page 28
An experienced rider, Meier has been able to keep himself upright when struck by mirrors. Less experienced riders, or those who carry less weight could end up falling off their bikes, he said.
“Some female cyclists, who are lighter and smaller, have been blown right off the road when a vehicle goes by them too quickly,” Meier said.
On May 27, 2003, Dylan Schulman died while bicycling in Barrie. He was clipped by a garbage truck’s mirror and thrown under the vehicle’s rear tires.
Setting a one-metre buffer zone rule means these types of deaths should not happen again, Meier said.
“If we had a passing law back then, it probably would have saved his life. It would have prevented the accident from even happening,” Meier said.
The existing maximum fine for hitting a cyclist with a vehicle door is $500 and two demerit points.
 “We don’t hear about it so much in Barrie because there are not a lot of people riding bikes. But as more people ride, it’s definitely an issue,” Meier said, adding cyclists have suffered broken bones by riding into an open car door.
He recommends drivers look behind them before opening a door to ensure a cyclist is not riding by. Cyclists, meanwhile, are advised to take a wide path around parked vehicles.
 The proposed bill allows municipalities to construct bike lanes on one-way streets going in the opposite direction of traffic. Today, cyclists are charged $85 for travelling against traffic on one-way streets.
“It helps create efficiencies and more direct routes. Especially for people who are using their bicycle as transportation to get from one point to another,” Meier said.
Cyclists will be allowed to have a flashing red light on the back of their bicycle. Currently, only solid red lights are permitted.
The Ontario Highway Traffic Act defines bicycles as vehicles that belong on the road. Cyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic and should ride one meter from the curb, or close to the right hand edge, when there is no curb, states the act.
“If the road is narrow and there isn’t enough room to comfortably ride to the right of a car, the cyclist is entitled to occupy the full lane,” states the Ministry of Transportation website. “However, when the road widens and traffic speeds up, cyclists are expected to let motor vehicles squeeze past.”
Many drivers are not aware that cyclists are entitled to an entire lane of traffic, Meier said.
When there is no shoulder on the roadway, Meier rides close to the middle of the lane to encourage motorists to think twice before passing.
“If you’re taking up more of the roadway, (drivers) have to actually consider the implications of going around you,” he said. “They’re going to have to go into the opposite lane of traffic and put themselves at-risk, which causes them to make better decisions.”
With its paved roads and hilly terrain, Oro-Medonte Township is becoming a popular destination with cyclists. Mayor Harry Hughes said the township has been doing its own work to educate cyclists and drivers on sharing the road.
The township has mapped out areas for cyclists to ride that are less-travelled by vehicular traffic.
“Separating them is a good idea,” Hughes said.
Hughes said the proposed changes are a step in the right direction.
“The more focus and attention we give to this, the more likely people are to pay attention and co-operate,” he said.
In rural communities, most motorists are already giving cyclists a wide berth while passing, Hughes said.
He sees a problem with the one-metre rule in rural communities. Bicycle lanes are not wide enough to provide a one-metre buffer because there is no separation between the bicycle lane and the roadway, he said.
“In those kinds of cases, (drivers) would believe that cyclists should stay in those and they can continue the road like they normally would. That would put them certainly closer than a metre,” Hughes said.
Hughes is supportive of the proposed safety changes for cyclists, but he added it is a two-way street.
“Cyclists have to have respect for vehicles and vehicles have to do the same for cyclists,” he said.
Hughes noted, motorists are nervous when driving around cyclists because they are anticipating erratic movements.
“If a cyclist sees a bump in the road, very often they will suddenly change course because they really don’t know who is behind them,” Hughes said.
There needs to be more education on whether cyclists in groups should ride in single file or in three to four abreast, he said.  
The Barrie/Simcoe Cycling Club has been working on public awareness campaigns to educate cyclists and drivers on how to properly share the road and how to pass safely.
“Cyclists need some direction on when they should be riding single file and when it’s OK to be riding two abreast,” Meier noted.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Ontario Trail News Summer 2014 - Archive


Traffic services Const. Hugh Smith explains how motorists could get a $150 fine, as police patrol new bike lanes on Simcoe Street.

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TEXT:


Chris Kitching, CP24.com
Published Wednesday, July 9, 2014 7:25AM EDT 
Last Updated Wednesday, July 9, 2014 7:49AM EDT
Toronto police officers are monitoring a stretch of Simcoe Street, as cyclists ride along a new set of bike lanes for the first time.
The city officially opened the bike northbound and southbound bike lanes between Queen and Wellington streets Wednesday morning.

Officers from six different police forces in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec put aside their badges and guns Wednesday to take part in the annual Cops and Kids Friendship Flotilla.
The flotilla featured teens from five different Aboriginal youth groups located in Ottawa and it's all about fostering relationships.
With life vests strapped on and oars in hand, police officers and youth in 31 canoes paddled away from the dock.
Ontario Provincial Police East Region Chief Supt. Daniel Redmond said this is a great chance to interact with youth.
"And in a different role - not with our uniforms on and very social," he said. "[It's] to show there's another side to police officers and what we do every day and why we do what we do and get to know where they're from."

Annual regatta next weekend in Carleton Place

Carleton Place Almonte Canadian Gazette
Make plans next weekend for fun, sun and cheering on local paddlers at the annual Carleton Place Canoe Club (CPCC) Regatta.
The two-day regatta, July 19 and 20, is the club’s most important event of the competitive calendar, with canoe/kayak competitors of all ages from more than half a dozen clubs in Ontario and western Quebec taking part.
“Athletes come and check out their competition before the eastern Ontario and national championships in August,” Alison Lunn said.
Lunn is director of communication and promotions (alumni, current members) at the CPCC.
The Carleton Place Canoe Club Regatta begins at 8 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Ontario Trail News - walking, cycling, biking, equestrian, mountain biking - news from all over Ontario's trails


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An 'awkward, tortuous' journey: Council debates next step for separated bike lanes in Toronto
“This is a fantastic step forward for the City of Toronto,” Jared Kolb, with advocacy group Cycle Toronto. “There have been some low points and some ...
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Toronto Star
Doctors say governments must plan healthier communities
TORONTO The top doctors for Toronto, Peel, Hamilton and ... walk, cycle and use public transit, they told a news conference at Toronto's Union Station ...
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Toronto Sun
Toronto cycling towards more downtown bike lanes
Without much of the fury that has surrounded past bike lane debates, the public works committee approved a cycle track pilot project on Richmond and ...
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