172 replies to this topic

[aastra]

See edits/additions to post above.

[VicHockeyFan]

This is good (forgetting about curbside parking for the moment), but how do you know when you're required to do so? Methinks that's the point of the broken line as versus the solid line. It indicates where you're required to turn from within the bike lane and where you're required to turn from outside the bike lane. If you turn right from outside the bike lane and the line is broken, then you're in violation**. If you turn right from inside the bike lane and the line solid, then you're in violation.*

*even though some jurisdictions seem to use solid lines only... sigh.

**so what if your vehicle is long and you claimed you didn't think you had room to take the turn any tighter than you did?

You know you are required to do so when you see that your turn-off is on the other side of the bike lane.

Honestly, I see the idea of the LEFT line of bike lanes, they remind drivers to stay more than 24" to the left of parked cars, and a little closer to the centre of the road in other places.

Too many rules... When I got my driver's license, there were no rules on bike lanes, indeed there were few such lanes. I don't know what "problem" they suddenly were able to address. I can assure you, when I went to elementary school, all my friends rode bikes to school, the bike racks were full. 20 years later, kids going to the same school on bikes were way less apparent. I don't think ridership went down due to biking dangers, they went down because of too many "hover" parents or whatever they are called.

[Mike K.]

The discussion has veered significantly from the topic of bike lanes and has been moved into its own thread. Please continue the discussion there. Thank you

[Ismo07]

Still on the fence on this one a bit but there is interest south of the border in larger cities...

http://www.nationofc...ember_146230427

[Bingo]

Steve Wallace has a good article on what the lane lines mean in todays TC.

[Baro]

The main things stopping me from riding my bike more are hills and traffic. Riding on a busy street is not fun, specially when you don't have a bike lane or a safe place to ride and are forced to take up a whole lane. You can just feel the road rage pressure brewing behind you from all the cars you're forcing to go 8kph up the hill.

I can deal with one but not both. I love riding on the goose or the blenkisof trails, it's fun and relaxing. If there was a trail or even just sidewalk sized road-separated path like that near me that got me downtown I'd probably ride my bike way more often. But until then I'm sticking with the bus...

[aastra]

As shown in Google's street view, how do we account for the inconsistent marking of the bike lanes along Fort Street between the 900-block, the 1000-block and the 1100-block?

[Coreyburger]

As shown in Google's street view, how do we account for the inconsistent marking of the bike lanes along Fort Street between the 900-block, the 1000-block and the 1100-block?

They are of different ages?

[aastra]

Fair enough. So what do the markings mean on each of the blocks?

[Coreyburger]

Fair enough. So what do the markings mean on each of the blocks?

The dashed line is usually used to show that vehicles will often cross it, but why it is inconsistent here, I really don't know.

[D.L.]

The bike lanes on Bay St. between Quadra and Cook are useless. They were put in place a couple of years ago and necessitated the removal of one west-bound vehicle lane.

The reason these bike lanes are useless is because there is a designated east-west bike route one block north along Kings Rd. Many cyclists use this route.

The removal of the west-bound lane on Bay St. means that when someone travelling that direction wants to make a left turn to Vancouver St. and there is a constant flow of opposing traffic then they prevent any west-bound traffic from flowing at all. I have seen traffic back-up quite significantly because of this.

I have seen very, very few cyclists use the bike lanes on Bay St. They should be removed.

[arfenarf]

The bike lanes on Bay St. between Quadra and Cook are useless. They were put in place a couple of years ago and necessitated the removal of one west-bound vehicle lane.

The reason these bike lanes are useless is because there is a designated east-west bike route one block north along Kings Rd. Many cyclists use this route.

The removal of the west-bound lane on Bay St. means that when someone travelling that direction wants to make a left turn to Vancouver St. and there is a constant flow of opposing traffic then they prevent any west-bound traffic from flowing at all. I have seen traffic back-up quite significantly because of this.

I have seen very, very few cyclists use the bike lanes on Bay St. They should be removed.

I see your point, although I haven't been caught in the kind of backup you're describing. Bay (I used to live very close to the Jubilee) is a great cross-town connector and rarely backs up.

As a cyclist, here's my problem with those lanes: They're great, but they don't make the final connection to Blanshard/Douglas elegantly. The laneless section between Quadra and Blanshard is *terrifying*, squeezed between the rock walls, which really makes it scary to get from Blanshard over to the lanes in the first place. It's usually safe and easy to claim the car lane westbound, but grinding up the hill eastbound, I always feel like a jerk, holding up traffic.

When I go south-and-east, I generally turn east off Blanshard onto Hillside and jog over to Kings as you describe.

Unfortunately, going that way, you get kind of stuck: you can use the crosswalk to get across Cook and then onto Haultain (I feel bad about making everybody stop for me and it's difficult and dangerous in the dark), or go south on Cook and left at the light at Bay (not easy in traffic) or hack south to Bay before you hit Cook and try to turn left there (really not easy in traffic)

So, although I hate to diss any bit of cycling infrastructure, that one-block section of doom makes the whole enterprise less attractive to the intended audience.

[Mike K.]

This thread has been closed. Please refer to this thread for bike lanes and cycling infrastructure in Victoria: http://vibrantvictor...e-south-island/