11042 replies to this topic

[sdwright.vic]

Going to be fantastic - Wharf St was the busiest street before Pandora got built (and might still be, haven't checked the most recent numbers). This lane is going to be fantastic.

🙄 Of course you would feel that way.

[sdwright.vic]

I still don’t understand this idea of “social engineering”. Weren’t the roads as we know them today engineered specifically to encourage a particular form of transportation (cars)?

Actually roads were built for horse and carriage and eventually paved when more cars replaced that. If you look at the Avenues of NYC they were built as wide as they are so that a stage coach could make a u-turn without issue.

Edited by sdwright.vic, 05 January 2019 - 10:03 AM.

[GaryOak]

Sorry for you, I own a car and still take vacations. Matter of fact I leave for Cabo on February 2 to not return until March 4!

Im happy that you are going on a month long trip, but I'm not asking for sympathy. In fact im going on a 3 month long trip to Europe in the summer.

[Coreyburger]

but crd stats show mode share has not changed in 15 or more years.

 

Uhh, no. Mode share shifted considerably in the past 15 years, whether you measure all trips (CRD OD data) or just work trips (Stats Can Census Data). And regional mode shifts mask much bigger trends at the city and smaller level.

[On the Level]

Uhh, no. Mode share shifted considerably in the past 15 years, whether you measure all trips (CRD OD data) or just work trips (Stats Can Census Data). And regional mode shifts mask much bigger trends at the city and smaller level.

 

Still single digit unless it's the middle of summer.  

 

Is the "explosion" of bike use across new bridge continuing this month?  No.  We'll see a bump when Wharf gets done then reality will set back in again as soon as winter arrives.

 

Has there been growth of bike usage?  Yes.  Is it or will it be significant in terms of transportation?  No.

[Cassidy]

Didn't see any bikes on Pandora or Fort at all during the past two or three days of heavy, heavy rain.

I saw lots of cars though, people going about their business and driving to and from where they were required to be.

 

I guess bikes are just a fair-weather hobby?

[jonny]

Didn't see any bikes on Pandora or Fort at all during the past two or three days of heavy, heavy rain.
I saw lots of cars though, people going about their business and driving to and from where they were required to be.

I guess bikes are just a fair-weather hobby?

No ****. Didn't see anybody else walking their dog last night in the deluge, either.

(This is like the dumbest argument on VV...cyclists cycle less in the rain...no kidding. I bet playgrounds are less busy too. Should we rip those out?)

[Nparker]

I believe the point is there aren't fewer cars during inclement weather.

[On the Level]

No ****. Didn't see anybody else walking their dog last night in the deluge, either.

(This is like the dumbest argument on VV...cyclists cycle less in the rain...no kidding. I bet playgrounds are less busy too. Should we rip those out?)

 

The point is that we are reducing vehicle capacity for fair weather riders all while agreeing that the capacity is needed when it rains.

[Brantastic]

I would hardly call one of the most important advancements of the industrial/post industrial eras a mistake. Without cars our society would be wildly different than it is today, and so much so that it is literally impossible to imagine an alternate reality without dipping into hypotheticals that are based more on utopian ideals than a sincere concept of an alternate eality of a modern society without personal vehicles.

I'm not saying the invention of the automobile was a mistake. Everything you said is still true. In fact, I have one! Automobiles are an integral part of how many people get around. I'm saying the mistake was the design of cities to prioritize automobile traffic over every other method of transport. The ripping out of streetcar networks, the lack of adequate sidewalks in Saanich and Langford, the extremely narrow sidewalks along many busy roads, the lack of safe cycling infrastructure, the design of the strip mall, the giant parking lots separating the sidewalk from retail store fronts, etc. I'm talking about the creation of cities and road networks without much consideration for the comfort, safety and efficiency of pedestrians, cyclists or transit riders.

The vast majority of urban planners around the world recognize this. Which is why attempts to modernize our transportation infrastructure in a way that nearly every other major city in North America is doing is not social engineering, but merely accommodation for other modes of transport in a network that is currently monopolized by one form of transport. In some instances, that may mean the closure of a road entrance, like Humboldt at Douglas, but that's necessary to actually create a comfortable cycling environment. 

[Brantastic]

The point is that we are reducing vehicle capacity for fair weather riders all while agreeing that the capacity is needed when it rains.

Cycling ridership was up every single month in 2018 over 2017 regardless of higher or lower rainfall, but months that were drier this year than last year had an extra boost. Rainfall obviously has an effect, but numbers are still up with or without rain.

[On the Level]

Cycling ridership was up every single month in 2018 over 2017 regardless of higher or lower rainfall, but months that were drier this year than last year had an extra boost. Rainfall obviously has an effect, but numbers are still up with or without rain.

 

Again.....we will all agree ridership is up.....but it is still insignificant.  I have no problem with having bike lanes or additional infrastructure.  I object to the irresponsibility of how it being rolled out.

 

30 years of a CoV/CRD strategic plan at having growth outside the core to now pretend that didn't happen.      

[Cassidy]

No ****. Didn't see anybody else walking their dog last night in the deluge, either.

I saw people walking their dog, and I saw kids walking to school, and I saw people walking on all the sidewalks downtown (I was one of them).

 

But I didn't see any bikes on Pandora or Fort.

[jonny]

I saw people walking their dog, and I saw kids walking to school, and I saw people walking on all the sidewalks downtown (I was one of them).

But I didn't see any bikes on Pandora or Fort.

Oh YOU didn't see cyclists. Oh dear. I've seen cyclists every day this week.

[Brantastic]

Yeah, interesting how some see them and some don't. I saw several yesterday downtown. 

[Greg]

I saw people walking their dog, and I saw kids walking to school, and I saw people walking on all the sidewalks downtown (I was one of them).

 

But I didn't see any bikes on Pandora or Fort.

 

 

Oh YOU didn't see cyclists. Oh dear. I've seen cyclists every day this week.

 

Those two statements are easily reconciled. Any who regularly or occasionally cycles in Victoria is aware that a lot of people rarely see any cyclists, often when they are sharing the same stretch of road with them. 

[jonny]

Those two statements are easily reconciled. Any who regularly or occasionally cycles in Victoria is aware that a lot of people rarely see any cyclists, often when they are sharing the same stretch of road with them.

Excellent point Greg!

[sdwright.vic]

Im happy that you are going on a month long trip, but I'm not asking for sympathy. In fact im going on a 3 month long trip to Europe in the summer.

Good for you! My point was more owning a car does not limit your options. Otherwise I wouldn't already be planning two weeks in the Bahamas in August.

Your post made it sound like your great adventures are only able to occur because you made the decision to not own a car.

[Love the rock]

I don’t use bike lanes because of injuries never can .The painted line,simple ,safe are fine for now . Until you can prove they are no longer efficient .Lots of roads are busy I’d like to see bike lanes busy too .Write enforceable laws that bike lines must be used if they are on a street your riding on .Lots of our roads and sidewalks desperately need repairs ,new crosswalk lighting ,wheel chair slopes etc.Walk down by James Bay lodge the elderly residents have been struggling to walk on broken lifted sidewalks for as long as I remember. Keep it simple share the tax dollars Use some common sense

[Cassidy]

Yeah, interesting how some see them and some don't. I saw several yesterday downtown. 

Well, yesterday it was sunny, with blue sky, no rain and a high temperature of 11.2 celsius.

 

So of course you saw bikes yesterday downtown!

Edited by Cassidy, 05 January 2019 - 09:21 AM.