11042 replies to this topic

[AllseeingEye]

Sorry I'm being lazy since my time these days for researching and posting is quite restricted - but does anyone one know generally what the design for the replacement for the JSB will incorporate in terms of (presumably) improved bicycle access specifically from Wharf Street?

Whatever it is can't come soon enough for me since my wife got completely blindsided off her bike a few weeks back by an inattentive driver who claimed he never saw her - in spite of the fact he hit her from the rear and they started off from that red light with her literally sitting directly in front of him. I rather strongly suspect something to with mobile technology and 'fingers on the keyboard' were involved. Regardless three weeks, two hospital visits, plenty of morphine and one concussion later we're still dealing with the ramifications.

One of the VicPD officers who later followed up and came to our house mentioned the current approach/design onto the bridge deck off Wharf generates more "automobile-bicycle" police incidents than anywhere else which is probably no great surprise. For this reason alone I can't wait for the current situation to be resolved.

[SamCB]

^But aren't you glad they removed that unsafe rail span? What a joke...
That's awful, ASE. Hope she has a full and speedy recovery.

[Barra]

Yea, ASE - sorry to hear about your wife's accident. I hope the driver was charged for inattention, and that she will be made whole financially as well as physically.

So going back to the troika bike guy with his 2 dogs (wider than the average bike) if he has equal rights on the road maybe he should have been riding in the middle of the lane, at the same speed as the car flow (which would have been too fast for the dogs) and with some kind of flag to draw attention to his weird little ensemble. I can see that he would be a challenge for a VicPD officer who may have wanted to charge him for being stupid. Probably the only charge available would be under animal cruelty legislation.

[jaylow]

I always wonder, when going on shelbourne between hillside and bay, why bikers don't use scott street, a block to the west...Google Maps

[jklymak]

It is actually from the MVA: the correct citation is s.183(14)(b) - not s.14(b). It's interesting in that MVA, as written, does allow for one to ride their bicycle on the sidewalk, provided it is with due care and attention. However, one would by contravening a municipal bylaw (in Victoria) if one rode their bicycle on the sidewalk and was caught by a bylaw officer...or even a police officer. To carry it further, if one was issued a Violation Ticket for a contravention of MVA s.183(14)(b) and NOT the municipal bylaw, the burden of proof is on the enforcement officer to prove that you were riding on the sidewalk with undue care, rather than merely being on there (the municipal threshold).

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

182(14) doesn't give one the right to ride on a sidewalk, it just say that if you are, you have to use due care and attention. 183(2) clearly superseded 183(14), and 183(14) is only if bylaw allows you to ride on the sidewalk.

[VicHockeyFan]

Driving hme this afternoon along Wharf St ahead of me I see a low slung something or other with a dog running along on each side When I got close I realized that it was a recumbent bike - a very low one - buddy is pedaling along with big ear muff ear phones on, holding a leashed dog on each side. I gave him lots of clearance and hoped that other drivers would be equally careful. What an idiot. Presumably he loves his dogs (looked like pit bulls) so why would he risk their safety by running them in busy traffic?

Now I saw a similar type of guy the other day, but it was not a regular leash. It was a rigid "stick" attached to the bike frame, then with a small, very short leash from the end of the "stick" to the dog's collar. This kept the dog away from the spokes etc. But I still wonder what would have happened if suddenly dog could not move at the speed or direction of the cyclist. Something would have to give.

[jklymak]

I always wonder, when going on shelbourne between hillside and bay, why bikers don't use scott street, a block to the west...Google Maps

And then where will they go if they have to go N of Hillside?

[jaylow]

Back onto shelbourne? It turns into 2 lanes there. Thats what i do anyway, I never like biking between that section of Shelbourne. Actually, i don't like biking any of it, I take side streets if i can.

[Holden West]

Back onto shelbourne? It turns into 2 lanes there. Thats what i do anyway, I never like biking between that section of Shelbourne. Actually, i don't like biking any of it, I take side streets if i can.

I always use Scott instead of Shelbourne on that stretch. They replaced the four-way stops with roundabouts so it's clear biking all the way until you transfer to Shelbourne. Unfortunately, there isn't a good parallel street after crossing Hillside.

[jaylow]

I always use Scott instead of Shelbourne on that stretch. They replaced the four-way stops with roundabouts so it's clear biking all the way until you transfer to Shelbourne. Unfortunately, there isn't a good parallel street after crossing Hillside.

Exactly, being a biker and driver, it just makes sense. No worries about vehicles coming close or if you are holding up traffic.

[jklymak]

Yes, but how do you keep going N on Shelbourne? You need to turn R onto Hillside, cut across two lanes that are either slowing for a light, or going 60 kph, and then turn left w/ the light. Or somehow turn left onto Shelbourne before Hillside. I don't go that route very often, but it strikes me as easier to just stay on Shelbourne.

[Bingo]

Saanich has been busy with some new curbs and sidewalks, as well as a bike lane on Cedar Hill Road heading north from Oak Crest to Cedar Hill X Road.

[jaylow]

Yes, but how do you keep going N on Shelbourne? You need to turn R onto Hillside, cut across two lanes that are either slowing for a light, or going 60 kph, and then turn left w/ the light. Or somehow turn left onto Shelbourne before Hillside. I don't go that route very often, but it strikes me as easier to just stay on Shelbourne.

Yeah, I agree that is the problem, as Holden pointed out, but my own safety trumps my need for an easy route. I drive that route everyday, and lane space is at such a premium that some parked cars pull their mirrors in.
Unless they get rid of parking along shelbourne (where are residents going to park?) and put in bike lanes, I will be taking scott and other side streets when biking.

[Bingo]

Unfortunately, there isn't a good parallel street after crossing Hillside.

There is a 2500 ft stretch on Browning one block West of Shelbourne, between North Dairy and Derby. If there was a way to increase that as far as Cedar Hill X Road, that might be an alternative route.

[VicHockeyFan]

There is a 2500 ft stretch on Browning one block West of Shelbourne, between North Dairy and Derby. If there was a way to increase that as far as Cedar Hill X Road, that might be an alternative route.

Ya, including the Browning Park trail. Then you really are stuck going out onto Shelbourne.

[Holden West]

There is a 2500 ft stretch on Browning one block West of Shelbourne, between North Dairy and Derby. If there was a way to increase that as far as Cedar Hill X Road, that might be an alternative route.

The north exit of Sears lines up with the end of Scott Street, so if you continue off Scott and ride through the mall (quickly, the security guards are fast) you can connect right up to Brownring.

[Coreyburger]

The north exit of Sears lines up with the end of Scott Street, so if you continue off Scott and ride through the mall (quickly, the security guards are fast) you can connect right up to Brownring.

Hillside is still hard to cross. A fairly glaring gap when looking at any map that highlights bicycle routes.

[Bob Fugger]

I nearly got clipped at the same intersection where the bus mowed down that Japanese girl last month - Douglas @ Humboldt @ Fairfield. I was coming down Fairfield and onto Humboldt - I clearly had the light (it changed and I started from a stop) - and the idiot in the southbound curblane of Douglas taxi stopped at the red light and proceeded to turn right...right onto my back wheel, almost. Luckily, I swore at him loudly enough and we were both going slowly enough that I deftly avoided an accident. *******.

[drt]

Thought this essay might be of interest here:

The Bicycling Apocalypse: A Manifesto of Liberation Over Segregation | Commute Orlando

Written a while ago, about the US, but seems relevant here and now.

As American cyclists our first goal must be to be seen as normal and predictable. The solution to that is quite simple. Be polite to motorists. Be predictable, which means behaving the way other law-abiding drivers do (which includes controlling a lane when it is warranted). Be reasonably conspicuous. And dress like normal people; not Tour de France wannabes.

Key to achieving that goal are the values of trust, cooperation, and nurturing. The vast majority of motorists treat competent, liberated cyclists in a safe and polite manner, and if we increase the number of competent, liberated cyclists, motorist behavior will only get better, since cooperation breeds more cooperation. So we must trust motorists to do the right thing.

[VicHockeyFan]

Bicycles vs. Cars in Italy:

Italians buy more bikes than cars for the first time since WWII


In the midst of economic turmoil in Europe, more Italians are turning to bikes as their preferred mode of transportation. Such is the bicycle's popularity in Italy that purchases of the pedal-powered two wheelers have eclipsed automobile sales for the first time since World War II.

Italians buy more bikes than cars for the first time since WWII