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

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

How is the issue of cyclist behavior relevant to the discussion of building more accessible and safe cycling infrastructure? What does one have to do with the other? If cyclists are deemed as "bad" people then they don't deserve the spoils of being able to bike around conveniently and safely just like those pure and holy motorists who never break the law or endanger other people?

Aren't they two separate conversations?

Of course they're not because this conversation is just a veiled attempt to bitch about people and lifestyles we don't like because it mildly shames or inconveniences us!

I don't know how your takeaway from my previous post was that I'm bitching about cyclists because I don't like them, so let me spell this out for you explicitly:

I wish more people in Calgary traveled by bicycle instead of by car. I strongly support increased investment in cycling infrastructure and the construction of additional bike lanes. I don't agree with the hyperbolic Sun comments that Nenshi is waging a "war on cars", but I wish he was. IMO, cities should be designed such that the private motor vehicle is the last choice transportation method, with walking, cycling, and public transit (in that order) being the preferred ways in which citizens travel from A to B.

The reason I said that cyclists are their own worst enemies is because (as CliffFletcher already noted in post #258), they will always represent a minority of the population and thus depend on the goodwill of the majority to ensure the infrastructure they require is approved and properly funded. Too many cyclists ruin the public perception of their entire group because they're traffic nuisances who ride in a dangerous, unpredictable fashion instead of properly obeying the rules of the road.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

My original point is arguing that bike lanes are a waste of tax dollars is stupid in comparison to what cyclists likely cross subsidize for motorists.

I don't object to that. What I object to is the same logic that leads to the suburbs claiming that downtown Calgary is subsidized, when it is in fact downtown that is propping them up. Bad logic is bad logic, whether or not it supports a conclusion that I agree with.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by SebC

I don't object to that. What I object to is the same logic that leads to the suburbs claiming that downtown Calgary is subsidized, when it is in fact downtown that is propping them up.

It takes a special brand of idiocy to believe the suburbs are subsidizing downtown.

[Kybosh]

The new lane reversal on 5th Ave has led to a lot more traffic on 14th St. (seems to me anyway). I think the lights on 14th St. south up until 17th Ave aren't synching up properly anymore and it's making some huge delays.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

The new lane reversal on 5th Ave has led to a lot more traffic on 14th St. (seems to me anyway). I think the lights on 14th St. south up until 17th Ave aren't synching up properly anymore and it's making some huge delays.

I don't think the lane reversal has anything to do with 14th street. The reversal on 5th connects to 4th ave which you can't get onto 14th from.

Anyone going onto 14th from that direction would be coming down 6th ave anyway.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Muffins

I don't think the lane reversal has anything to do with 14th street. The reversal on 5th connects to 4th ave which you can't get onto 14th from.

Anyone going onto 14th from that direction would be coming down 6th ave anyway.

Now that I'm looking at it, you're probably right. Something in the last week or so has made that whole area crap though.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Now that I'm looking at it, you're probably right. Something in the last week or so has made that whole area crap though.

bike lanes

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Now that I'm looking at it, you're probably right. Something in the last week or so has made that whole area crap though.

Maybe the lane reversal has worked... The drivers are just moving through downtown quicker to get log jammed at 14th.

Chris

[Tyler]

Has the Bo Levi Mitchell tweet been posted yet?

[Bigtime]

Nope, it hasn't.

[worth]

I've cycled quite a bit in the 12th ave portion, and man is it nice. I know it's an active construction zone, but there are many parts that are essentially complete. There are lots of people using the track, the city should remove the road blocks for those portions since everyone is doing it already.

This will be great for the city. Cyclists are freaking stupid, drivers are freaking stupid, separate the two as much as possible and everyone will be happier for it.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Has the Bo Levi Mitchell tweet been posted yet?

So what did he say?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by worth

I've cycled quite a bit in the 12th ave portion, and man is it nice. I know it's an active construction zone, but there are many parts that are essentially complete. There are lots of people using the track, the city should remove the road blocks for those portions since everyone is doing it already.

This will be great for the city. Cyclists are freaking stupid, drivers are freaking stupid, separate the two as much as possible and everyone will be happier for it.

Can't agree more with the second paragraph!

[Fuzz]

Remember when the 7th st Cycle track was going in, and the owners of Buchanans were jumping up and down how the loss of parking was going to ruin them, and the cycle track was a disaster? I haven't heard a peep since then, which leads me to believe it had zero effect on them. Probably going to be the case with the new tracks, too.

[chemgear]

Figured I'd try that route again this morning. Hilarious times.

Had vehicles parked on both sides of the already narrowed street. Half of the (6 cyclists in total I saw) not even using the lane where it was available; there was one sign that routed them around for 5 m. Had some moron stay outside the bike lane on the main road the whole time and then tried to do the "now I'm a vehicle, now I'm a car" transformer act and nearly get killed.

[darklord700]

[QUOTE=Tinordi;5307402Of course they're not because this conversation is just a veiled attempt to bitch about people and lifestyles we don't like because it mildly shames or inconveniences us![/QUOTE]

Same can be said about bikers who's using their bikes to make a statement about their or other people's life style. People walking to work don't attract much backlash. I'm generalizing here but if bikers stop using their bikers in a holier than thou manner and obey traffic laws, we can all share the road peacefully.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Figured I'd try that route again this morning. Hilarious times.

Which route is that? Aren't all the new ones still closed for construction?


On another note, there's a good article in the Herald this morning about a lesser heard voice in the bike lane debate - Beltline residents.
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ke-lanes-think

Among those who responded to my Twitter request to people in the Beltline was Rob Taylor, president of the Beltline Communities. He, and many of this neighbours, can’t wait for the bike lanes to open. He thinks the lanes have been miscast as something for commuters. Taylor says the lanes may be even more important for people like him because they are going to make it easier, not just to get to work, but to get around his neighbourhood.

The Beltline has a huge population. More than 20,000 people live there, making it among the third most populated community in the city. It’s also dense, and geographically small, which means using a bike to get around it makes perfect sense.

Yet many people who live in the area are trying to remain open-minded about the bike lanes. On a philosophical level, some Beltliners say they feel gratified their needs are finally being accommodated after decades in which they felt like afterthoughts, as roads through their community were managed only to get people in and out of downtown efficiently.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Which route is that? Aren't all the new ones still closed for construction?


On another note, there's a good article in the Herald this morning about a lesser heard voice in the bike lane debate - Beltline residents.
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ke-lanes-think

To be fair, one could argue that a huge percentage of those who currently live in the belt line, moved there knowing full well what the purpose of the road in front of their house was for - to get people out of downtown.

Beltline residences should have their voices heard, but.... it isn't their area of the city to live in if you wanted to have large input into the design of the road in front of your house. The broader city needs will take precedent.

I know the article is about the beltline residence supporting bike lanes, and enjoying the path forward the city has laid out in front of them... but... it seems they feel like they have been treated unfair in the past.

[Bigtime]

***The new lanes are not open yet***

In fact I'd bet if bylaw (or the police for that matter) wanted to they could ticket a cyclist using the lanes right now.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

***The new lanes are not open yet***

In fact I'd bet if bylaw wanted to they could ticket a cyclist using the lanes right now.

Cool, good to know.

I wonder how often bylaw does ticket cyclists for violations in this city. I'd love to see the numbers on the couriers.