1124 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

We collect more in gas taxes in this province then we spend on road maintenance.

 

So what.  Municipalities pay for roads, sidewalks, and parks out of property tax.

[amor de cosmos]

I'm not sure which would be worse, having these cities' problems, or not having these cities' problems
http://www.treehugge...ies-people.html

Edited by amor de cosmos, 10 October 2014 - 02:10 PM.

[Bingo]

Mind you...if you waltz on over to our VV crime thread you will find postings on some low life users of the Galloping Goose trail.

http://westshore.bc....contentId=38570

http://vibrantvictor...thread/page-213

[D.L.]

I ride the Goose and Lochside often recreationally. I find by far the worst problem are the groups of "professional" cyclists who slow down for nothing. They're the ones all suited up in spandex, on an organized ride of 5 to 20, who don't want their heart rate to drop below a certain level for fear of not being worthy.

[Linear Thinker]

How about this surface for slowing things down?  

 

 

 

That wont keep the spandex types away.

Ever heard of the Paris-Roubaix?

 

BTW, the city paved the 2 metre wide pedestrian strip between the Selkirk trestle and Regatta Landing (Railyards) this week and will apply the colour and stamping in the next week or two.

[LJ]

Couldn't they separate the pedestrian and bike lanes, widen if necessary then the cyclists could fight with the other cyclists and the pedestrians would be safe.

[Mike K.]

I ride the Goose and Lochside often recreationally. I find by far the worst problem are the groups of "professional" cyclists who slow down for nothing. They're the ones all suited up in spandex, on an organized ride of 5 to 20, who don't want their heart rate to drop below a certain level for fear of not being worthy.

 

For sure, it's brutal. One of these guys once collided with a small child on the trestle. According to an acquaintance who saw the incident, the kid was literally launched meters into the air by the guy who couldn't think ahead and foresee what might happen if that small child ahead of him suddenly darted into his path.

[pherthyl]

For someone who advocates bike lanes on roads predominantly used by motor vehicles I can't believe you're actually suggesting that we barr pedestrians from the Goose because you feel cyclists are the predominant users of that trail.

You don't see the irony here?

Anyways, I love the cobblestone idea. That's a great way to lower cyclist speeds where necessary. Second order of business should be to restrict racing teams from using the Goose. They'll queue up 30 at a time and their speeds can be quite high.

 

Please show exactly where I suggest we barr pedestrians from the Goose.  I said nothing of the sort.  I said it is not surprising that it isn't ideal for pedestrians and it will only get worse with increased traffic.  

[pherthyl]

Great let's do it. Have the cycling community raise the necessary funds if they want to have a race track along the Goose, we'll see just how much these folks believe in their right to maximum speeds along the Goose when it's time for their wallets to open up.

Drivers through gas taxes pay for road maintenance, road improvements, cycling lanes, you name it, drivers pay for it. Then you've got the feel-good brigade coming down hard on drivers for, you know, using the infrastructure they paid for as it's intended to be used.

 

Everyone pays for roads, cycling lanes, sidewalks etc.   Gas taxes don't cover the cost of our infrastructure.

 

Edit: Actually I can't find solid numbers to back this up, so maybe they do.  Of course cyclists also drive cars so the argument makes no sense regardless.

Edited by pherthyl, 10 October 2014 - 11:40 PM.

[dasmo]

Lefavre separated pedestrian from bike through the rail yards. It's nice. Could be done where it made sense.

[sdwright.vic]

For sure, it's brutal. One of these guys once collided with a small child on the trestle. According to an acquaintance who saw the incident, the kid was literally launched meters into the air by the guy who couldn't think ahead and foresee what might happen if that small child ahead of him suddenly darted into his path.

By saying it is not suited to pedestrians, one does imply they should not be there.

[Mike K.]

That's my take. If you're saying pedestrians have alternate choices and eventually cyclists will fully dominate you're not beating around the bush, you're taking a stand.

Inclusiveness only applies when cyclists want bike lanes. But it's suddenly impractical when pedestrians want cyclists to be more accommodating.

Speaking of which, cycling lobbyist Edward Pullman has been posting subtle attacks on Andrew J. Reeve's thread, but his absence on this thread and others suggests he's not interested in participating in discussions that deal directly with cycling issues and problems. It would be great to hear what he thinks of the problems on the Goose and what cyclists can do to be accommodating on the trail.

[sdwright.vic]

^ Well one must pick and choose battles... and when they do they generally choose to attack then to defend...

[pherthyl]

Lefavre separated pedestrian from bike through the rail yards. It's nice. Could be done where it made sense.

 

I'm all for it.  Let's double the width of the goose and have a pedestrian side and a cyclist side.  Happy to have my taxes go to that.   While they're at it pave those crappy wooden bridge decks.

[pherthyl]

That's my take. If you're saying pedestrians have alternate choices and eventually cyclists will fully dominate you're not beating around the bush, you're taking a stand.

Inclusiveness only applies when cyclists want bike lanes. But it's suddenly impractical when pedestrians want cyclists to be more accommodating.

 

Fact is there is orders of magnitude more pedestrian-first infrastructure (i.e. sidewalks and trails in parks) than cyclist-first infrastructure in Victoria.  The Goose, while marked as mixed use, is in reality a cyclist-first trail both in how it is used (count the number of cyclists vs walkers) and in suitability.   Just like any road is a vehicle-first design even with bike lanes.  

The Goose should remain a multi-use trail, but it will never be as good for walking as a pedestrian only trail.  That should be obvious to everyone.

 

So you propose what, speed limits on the Goose?   If you're arguing that on mixed-use trails the faster users should be slowed down to the speed of the slower users, then I assume you are also in favour of a 25km/h speed limits on all roads with bike lanes.  After all it would be unfair to cyclists to scare them by driving 50km/h.  

[VicHockeyFan]

And remember folks, by doubling the width, we need not add more pavement, the walking portion can be chip or whatever, that way bikes don't stray onto it.

 

Where we can't realistically widen it (bridges, tunnels, against rock bluffs) than we need everyone to squeeze in a bit.  If everyone is single-file in the tight spots, there is room for two lanes of bikes and two lanes of walkers, no problem.

[Mr_E_Squirrel]

When walking the majority of problems I have are 

 

-The two cyclists maintaining a conversation and riding side by side and passing by my walking, or two individual cyclists passing each other and instead of one yielding for 2 or 3 seconds they have to both pass me at the same time. 

 

-At intersections and those three pole dividers, every now and then a genius cyclist will come from behind and try and fit at the same time or pretty close to it as I walk through.

 

 

I wish more cyclists yelled out or had a bell, but I do thank the ones that do.

[pherthyl]

When walking the majority of problems I have are 

 

-The two cyclists maintaining a conversation and riding side by side and passing by my walking, or two individual cyclists passing each other and instead of one yielding for 2 or 3 seconds they have to both pass me at the same time. 

 

-At intersections and those three pole dividers, every now and then a genius cyclist will come from behind and try and fit at the same time or pretty close to it as I walk through.

I'd be in favour of some enforcement of groups that don't don't ride/walk single file.  

[VicHockeyFan]

Come on, you can not expect couples to walk single-file.

[sdwright.vic]

So you propose what, speed limits on the Goose?   If you're arguing that on mixed-use trails the faster users should be slowed down to the speed of the slower users, then I assume you are also in favour of a 25km/h speed limits on all roads with bike lanes.  After all it would be unfair to cyclists to scare them by driving 50km/h.

You pretty much just described the reason there are speed limits on roads. To limit the speed of the user to limit and control on a safe manner. A road is built to a different standard to a multi use trail. You don't have people walking in the middle of a highway and their are laws and rules to the use of that for cyclist. Like staying to the right. But if I remember correctly you disagree with the bike must travel to the right law?!?