11042 replies to this topic

[rmpeers]

Once again I had to dodge a cyclist near Pandora. This time the person on the bike was ignoring the luxury bike lanes in favour of riding on the sidewalk.

Maybe if you stop making mean comments about her on here, she'll stop trying to hit you.

[Nparker]

Next cyclist I see on the Pandora sidewalk I will be pushing into the bike lane.

[rjag]

It's related to the storm water utility hook up for 1515 Douglas occurring this month (see below).

 

No right-hand turn at all because there's only the single lane, and right-hand turners would block off the entire single lane for those wanting to go straight through. Just one more block to make your right turn.

 

As the impact is related to a new building development (= density & 'vibrancy'), one would have thought there'd be plenty of tolerance and understanding for any (very short term) inconvenience, especially in a forum headed up with the title 'Vibrant Victoria'.  

 

It comes down to planning and communication. The developer in concert with the City thought it through enough to pay for 2 flag people to manage the bikes but not enough to provide signage between Quadra and Blanshard indicating 'Road reduced to 1 lane for vehicles ahead, no right turn onto Douglas today' to allow for folks to make the choice and turn onto Blanshard, which would have reduced the number of vehicles caught in the mess for the next few blocks. 

 

Not everyone makes a point of going to the CoV website to look at what is happening and where they may be caught in congestion, they just want to go about their business. Again communication, the developer can pay for some flaggers, they could have put up a mobile sign reader as well.

 

Its wonderful to see so much activity and density, but blocking the 2 main Westbound arterials like that at the same time does nothing to endear folks to be patient. The last few years have brought more congestion throughout the core and construction only plays a minor role, lane reductions and restrictions are foundational, so when construction takes place it simply compounds amnd exacerbates the problems  

[Kungsberg]

It comes down to planning and communication. The developer in concert with the City thought it through enough to pay for 2 flag people to manage the bikes but not enough to provide signage between Quadra and Blanshard indicating 'Road reduced to 1 lane for vehicles ahead, no right turn onto Douglas today' to allow for folks to make the choice and turn onto Blanshard, which would have reduced the number of vehicles caught in the mess for the next few blocks. 

 

Not everyone makes a point of going to the CoV website to look at what is happening and where they may be caught in congestion, they just want to go about their business. Again communication, the developer can pay for some flaggers, they could have put up a mobile sign reader as well.

 

Its wonderful to see so much activity and density, but blocking the 2 main Westbound arterials like that at the same time does nothing to endear folks to be patient. The last few years have brought more congestion throughout the core and construction only plays a minor role, lane reductions and restrictions are foundational, so when construction takes place it simply compounds amnd exacerbates the problems  

 

I don’t disagree with you, rjag, about adequate street signage for road work. If it was deficient, an email to the developer who is having work done on a city street, and one to the City’s department that deals with that, then? 

 

What I react to is the dumping of every traffic congestion problem onto VV’s bike lane threads, and the subsequent ‘pile on’ of vilifying city council for ‘causing’ congestion (presumably because of their support of bike infrastructure?).  Believe me, I have no sympathy for most on the current council and can’t wait to get back to the polls to have my (puny) say, but their support of bike infrastructure (and bus lanes, and support for regional rapid transit ideas) is not one of my complaints.

 

There is a traffic congestion thread.  This post says it all:

Attached Images

• 

[Bingo]

The B.C. Court of Appeal has made it clear cyclists have to share more responsibility when they’re in crashes involving motor vehicles.

In a decision released Wednesday, the court found that a driver and a cyclist were both at fault and the driver is now liable for only half of the $500,000 in damages originally awarded to the cyclist.

http://www.timescolo...ules-1.21101703

[Sparky]

I think the guy on the bike should have been 100% responsible for the accident. Apparently he was passing vehicles including a large truck on the right going 30K through an intersection. 

 

I wonder if it still hurts when he laughs?

[lanforod]

Passing on a shoulder. I totally get that. Certainly should have been more careful at the intersection - whether its a shoulder or a bike lane, every cyclist needs to be extra wary and slow down at intersections.

 

So, in spite of being equally at fault with the driver, the cyclist will still get 250k from the driver's insurance?

[HB]

they get nothing from each other

[Coreyburger]

Here's the fun bit:

shoulder - cannot pass on the right

bike lane - can pass on the right

 

In this part of Admirals Rd, it is a shoulder because it is Ministry-controlled, but just south in Esquimalt Rd it is a bike lane. Good luck telling them apart. Sadly this precedent is fully set and now needs a law change to make a shoulder & a bike lane legally equivalent

[sdwright.vic]

How did I know uou would want laws changed?

[sdwright.vic]

How did I know uou would want laws changed?

[lanforod]

they get nothing from each other

Yeah? that's not the interpretation I'm seeing. I still see 500k damages awarded, but the driver is only liable for half, and the cyclist is liable for half. So does the cyclist now get 250k or what?

[Greg]

How did I know uou would want laws changed?

 

It seems like the best alternative if the shoulder is not designated properly as a bike lane, would be for the cyclist to stay on the road and take the lane in order to ride safely. Which would you prefer? Make the de facto bike lane a legitimate bike lane, or share the road? Seems like Coreyburger's suggestion to change the law would be the best for both drivers and cyclists.

[lanforod]

When I try to share the road, I get vehicles who force me so far right i'm in danger of hitting curb. Lanes are better, if there is a shoulder already, make it a lane.

[LJ]

Yeah? that's not the interpretation I'm seeing. I still see 500k damages awarded, but the driver is only liable for half, and the cyclist is liable for half. So does the cyclist now get 250k or what?

They give each other $250k. 

[Bingo]

They give each other $250k. 

 

Put them both back on the road and let them duke it out in each others mode of transportation.

[AllJetNoPilot]

http://www.timescolo...ules-1.21101703

 

At trial, the judge found it was illegal for Ilett to pass on the right because the shoulder was not a proper bicycle lane. She also found that Buckley drove into her left turn without hesitation when she did not have a clear view of the northbound shoulder.

 

 

Apparently as a cyclist, we are intended to bike in the car lane, not on the shoulder of the road between Maplebank and Hallowell… I'm pretty sure there is a sign at the top of the hill that indicates that the shoulder is a bike lane, though.

Edited by AllJetNoPilot, 17 July 2017 - 09:48 AM.

[Coreyburger]

http://www.timescolo...ules-1.21101703

 

 

Apparently as a cyclist, we are intended to bike in the car lane, not on the shoulder of the road between Maplebank and Hallowell… I'm pretty sure there is a sign at the top of the hill that indicates that the shoulder is a bike lane, though.

 

Signage at the top of the hill is in Esquimalt, so it applies to the bike lane there. Once you cross into Songhees Nation the road becomes MoTI controlled and thus it becomes a shoulder (not a bike lane). Under case law and the MVA, a person on a bike cannot legally pass on the right on a shoulder.

 

So this means somebody riding from the base to the McKenzie interchange would be in the bike lane through Esquimalt, in the road through Esquimalt/Songhees Nation, in the road in View Royal where there is no bike lane and then in the bike lane in Saanich, then back in the road for the climb up the interchange where there is no bike lane (and the new "bike lane" built as part of the interchange will actually be a shoulder). Good luck explaining that to anybody.

Edited by Coreyburger, 17 July 2017 - 10:28 AM.

[lanforod]

Is there signage in the MoTI controlled portion stating its a shoulder and not a bike lane at that point?

[shoeflack]

Regional planning at its finest!