Today, Sarah Doucette (Councillor, Ward 13) and Jacquelyn H. Gulati (Manager of Cycling Infrastrcture and Programs) joined Janet Joy and I for a tour of Ward13 bike infrastructure. This was a follow up to similar earlier rides over the past year or so.
Here at High Park and Bloor, we discussed the sharrows that had recently been painted along High Park Ave. We are thankful that sharrows extend across Bloor St, but we would like to see better markings both north and southbound to prevent bikes from getting right hooked at this intersection.
Two other notes about the sharrows: one is that the contractor appears to have used substandard paint which has already faded (they will be redone), and the sharrows should have also extended across the intersections with Glenlake and here at Humberside.
We spent quite a bit of time at the intersection of Jane and Annette, where the offset makes safety a real issue. There is also a lack of bike parking in the area, but more will not be added until the local BIA completes a street plan.
Riding westbound diagonally across Jane with traffic. The eastbound direction is trickier to navigate.
Janet Joy bikes up St. Marks hill every workday morning!
Here on Ellis Ave, we discuss the most hazardous hedge in the area.
Trapped on the small island on the NW corner of Ellis and Lakeshore.
We have submitted a proposal to the city that would improve safety for both pedestrians and cyclists at this and two other intersections along Lakeshore Blvd.
Ideally we would like to see separated bike and ped crossings on both east and west sides of this intersection. We were told that a stopgap measure of a northbound bike crossing might go in within a year (similar to the one at Colborne Lodge) but more extensive changes would have to wait for money and more approvals.
Looping back to High Park at the end of our tour, we run into this mysterious sign.
Many thanks to Jacquelyn and Sarah for taking the time today to tour the ward, and to take note of some of the improvements that can be made. We are all on the same page: we want to make it safe for everyone to get around by foot or by bike, and not just by car.
As wonderful and useful as this intensive and eyes-on scrutiny is, and Thanks for being pro-active in suggesting options, it’s less-OK to only think of the trips inside this ward. There are many cyclists in this area, and many more would get biking more if we had safer cross-ward infrastructure, ie. enabling the use of the bike for safe commuting, and the obvious spot is into the core ie. east-west. Yes, Bloor, and yes, it seems to be making its way into yet another plan, but rather than await another commitment to study, what’s quick and easy to do RIGHT NOW for commuter cyclists?
The City is far too “carist” and carcentric in its transport decisions ie. they talk about needing a corridor study ahead of doing any tinkering for bike safety eg. bike lanes, but what about the transit corridor that carries a half-million daily rides?? We’re apparently needing a boost in capacity, and as it’s kinda full-up now, surely easing those pressures with cheap paint should be a no-brainer. Alas, I’m getting to the point where yes, Caronto doesn’t really have brains, hence new name of Moronto, far more from the suburban dominance than the central core councillors…
As you know, next year will be key in getting a pilot Bloor Bike Lane done to convince all stakeholders that this is a workable solution. Still, with the councillor in attendance, it was more natural to concentrate on the local issues. If we can get most trips under 3 km done by bike, this will also do much to decrease traffic congestion. Local bikers are also a somewhat different audience than thru commuters. Nevertheless, one recurring theme in all of our discussions was connectivity. Bits and pieces of bike infrastructure are far more useful as parts of a connected grid!