Traffic delays up to 20% alongside downtown cycle lanes, city predicts

[The Ditch]

Bike lanes downtown are not useful when the marginal bikers in the burbs have no safe straight forward paths to get to them.

I've seen some people try to make safe bike routes to downtown (using the city website showing paths and whatnot) and just laugh at the mess of it.

[stampsx2]

These bike lanes.........are.............brutal. No parking anywhere on 8th ave sw now?? Who thought of this? They should be fired.

Currently there's now no parking on,

7 ave sw
8 ave sw
9 ave sw (one side)
12 ave sw (one side?)
5 st sw

and every possible parking space that was available is taken, especially by cars to go.

So basically if you have to park downtown, forget about it unless it's in a parkade.

Thanks cycle track.

[yads]

It's definitely going to take a while for them to get the signals working optimally. It took them 3 years to get 17th working smoothly after the LRT opened.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Bike lanes downtown are not useful when the marginal bikers in the burbs have no safe straight forward paths to get to them.

I've seen some people try to make safe bike routes to downtown (using the city website showing paths and whatnot) and just laugh at the mess of it.

The bike pathway system in this city is one of the most extensive in North America. For those strongly averse to riding on roads, the best route may involve a lateral ride to a one of the pathway routes into the core.

[cam_wmh]

I agree with Tinordi's sentiments. The city is on the right path here, just gotta get past these growing pains.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

These bike lanes.........are.............brutal. No parking anywhere on 8th ave sw now?? Who thought of this? They should be fired.

Currently there's now no parking on,

7 ave sw
8 ave sw
9 ave sw (one side)
12 ave sw (one side?)
5 st sw

and every possible parking space that was available is taken, especially by cars to go.

So basically if you have to park downtown, forget about it unless it's in a parkade.

Thanks cycle track.

They closed all that down yet bikes are still on the road because they have barriers preventing anyone from using the bike lane. Sometimes I just want to leave this city.

[Weitz]

The worst part of the 12th ave bike lanes is the stupid double red lights. I get that there are bikes in the lanes but boy oh boy is it a piss off to sit there at a green light and you can't turn left because of the wide open bike lanes that nobody is using.

[Resolute 14]

^And to that point, one thing the city needs to implement is a zero tolerance policy for cyclists running red lights. Immediate fines, no warnings. Ideally, with active enforcement from day one of this.

[Regular_John]

Shoutout to the bike lane protester spending his days marching up & down 12th ave doing his best Westboro Baptist Church impersonation complete with matching rainbow gradient signs.

He was actually protesting the bike lands last fall before the snow and he's out in full force now that they are being built out. I just can't quite wrap my head around a person who wakes up in the morning and decides "yes, standing on the street with a sign is how I'd like to spend my limited time on this earth."

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Define ignorant?

Every single study evaluating the impacts of removing street parking for a bike lane has concluded that bike lanes at worse have no impact and most studies conclude that removing parking for bike lanes has a net *benefit* to affected businesses along the route.

Cyclists frequent establishments along bike ways much more than people whizzing by in cars. Cyclists don't need parking to stop and run into a shop. The whole structure of motordom makes it inconvenient for motorists to go into local businesses which is why everyone drives out to the massive power centers and their football fields of grey parking landscapes.

So no, I'm not ignorant, I'm actually very well versed on cycling issues in cities. I suggest maybe you should start reading up.

Perhaps you could provide a link, as I would like to see these studies (every single study??). It doesn't seem to make sense intuitively in all circumstances. Do those studies review what other parking is available? Is it in respect of coffee shops and newstands? I mean heck, I would think a bike shop would benefit greatly from having parking available.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Haha! Awesome! I think the official opening of the lanes is June 20th, so you may face more construction issues for awhile.

Knowing this, I'll stick to 1st for my commute until then. I think I sketched out a couple drivers coming the other way trying to turn left. I was probably in the wrong technically going the wrong way on a street.

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Unfortunately, I think the majority of marginal bike riders see weather as the #1 factor influencing their decision to use bikes as their primary transportation.

I will admit that I fit 100% into this group. I have no plans to bike in the winter. But the goal is to have my habits changed enough that I'll default to public transit.

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Bike lanes downtown are not useful when the marginal bikers in the burbs have no safe straight forward paths to get to them.

I've seen some people try to make safe bike routes to downtown (using the city website showing paths and whatnot) and just laugh at the mess of it.

Agreed. But my assumption is that they weren't designed with marginal bikers in the burbs in mind. I would think they were more meant to target getting the people who live in the relatively near SW along Macleod/Elbow/14th/Bow/etc to stop driving...thereby freeing up room for the 'burbanites to drive!

[Fuzz]

Frequitude, I don't ride in the snow either, but I've found every year a push a little further into the colder months. I hat the bus so much that it's almost always the better choice. If it weren't for the ice/snow/slush, I'd probably ride even more, but I don't want my bike wrecked with salty roads, and dirt grime. As it is though, you can usually ride well into October/November, and start up in late March most years. Just don't have the attitude of "I quite on this date", instead go with weather and you can ride many days!

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Perhaps you could provide a link, as I would like to see these studies (every single study??).

Summary Article from CityLab.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Addick

Summary Article from CityLab.

That's definitely interesting and not what I would have thought. But the big qustion I have is regarding winter. The only city on that list with any significant winter is Toronto, and the conclusion there was that only 10% of customers on Bloor street drove anyway. All the other cities are basically mild and bikable at least 10 months of the year. So what happens in Calgary when no one is biking for six months a year and no one can park close either?

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

That's definitely interesting and not what I would have thought. But the big qustion I have is regarding winter. The only city on that list with any significant winter is Toronto, and the conclusion there was that only 10% of customers on Bloor street drove anyway. All the other cities are basically mild and bikable at least 10 months of the year. So what happens in Calgary when no one is biking for six months a year and no one can park close either?

You drastically overestimate the amount of time biking is uncomfortable in Calgary, as someone who works outside I'd be suprised if there are more then 30 work days a year in winter where biking is unfeasible for the average commuter.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

That's definitely interesting and not what I would have thought. But the big qustion I have is regarding winter. The only city on that list with any significant winter is Toronto, and the conclusion there was that only 10% of customers on Bloor street drove anyway. All the other cities are basically mild and bikable at least 10 months of the year. So what happens in Calgary when no one is biking for six months a year and no one can park close either?

A very rough idea can be glimpsed from the Peace Bridge counter:

http://eco-public.com/public2/?id=100018487

Average slow weeks are still around 20% of the busiest days. Do numbers drop off in the cold? Sure, but we still build baseball diamonds and soccer pitches that only get used 3 months of the year.*


*yes, I know.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Dan02

You drastically overestimate the amount of time biking is uncomfortable in Calgary, as someone who works outside I'd be suprised if there are more then 30 work days a year in winter where biking is unfeasible for the average commuter.

Right. So if that's true, then all the other cities involved in the study cited are bikable 100% of the time and Calgary would still be at about a two month disadvantage compared to the stats in, San Francisco, for example.

But, hardcore Lance Armstrongs aside, I'm pretty sure a good chunk of cyclists here park it from October to May. My cycling friend loves winter because there aren't many people on the paths and he can pretend he's speed racer.

Also, it's not just about the weather. Some people don't like biking in the dark more than anything.

I guess this might be the best estimate of how many people bike in the winter compared to summer...

http://bikecalgary.org/howmanycyclists

About 3% of respondants in the summer and about .9% in the winter.

[GaiJin]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

A very rough idea can be glimpsed from the Peace Bridge counter:

http://eco-public.com/public2/?id=100018487

Average slow weeks are still around 20% of the busiest days. Do numbers drop off in the cold? Sure, but we still build baseball diamonds and soccer pitches that only get used 3 months of the year.*


*yes, I know.

Do you know that we don't build soccer fields and soccer pitches on major roadways?

[GaiJin]

Originally Posted by Dan02

You drastically overestimate the amount of time biking is uncomfortable in Calgary, as someone who works outside I'd be suprised if there are more then 30 work days a year in winter where biking is unfeasible for the average commuter.

The question is, out of all the commuters, how many are capable or riding a bike, or really have the flexibility of scheduling other parts of life to accomodate it. When discusssing percentage of commuters, the bike crowd takes everyone as able to use a bike, or make use of a bike, and that simply isn't feasible or true.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

These bike lanes.........are.............brutal. No parking anywhere on 8th ave sw now?? Who thought of this? They should be fired.

Currently there's now no parking on,

7 ave sw
8 ave sw
9 ave sw (one side)
12 ave sw (one side?)
5 st sw

and every possible parking space that was available is taken, especially by cars to go.

So basically if you have to park downtown, forget about it unless it's in a parkade.

Thanks cycle track.

In direct proximity to cycle tracks there is a loss to be sure, but the City has worked extensively to make back as many stalls as possible to offset. It's basically a wash overall after all the changes.




http://ow.ly/Nauuq