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Victoria Bicycling Survey


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#1 jklymak

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 12:53 PM

There is a City of Victoria bicycling survey at:

 

http://www.victoria....ut/cycling.html

 

with a chance for input into improved cycling infrastructure.  

 

Their plan looks to put a bike lane along Bay, which I got pretty mad about - its like none of the bike planners actually ride bikes because Haultain is packed with bikes, whereas Bay is a busy street that is nasty for biking.

 

 



#2 sebberry

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 01:14 PM

Bay would be a great road for a bike lane.  It'll calm traffic, everyone will be safer, bunnies will hop around playing with butterflies and unicorns will grow great big horns!

 

 

Unintended consequence of Pandora bike lane:

 

There's a dental office on the ground floor of my building.  Some of the patients use Handy Dart.  The Handy Dart bus can't get into our parking lot (especially if the rider needs the wheelchair ramp down so it now has to stop blocking the new bike lane and the only westbound car lane on Pandora. 


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#3 Dimitrios

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 08:28 PM

The problem with Haultain is that it ends so unceremoniously at Cook. Most riders bike on Bay anyway west of there; but yes, Haultain is nicer than Bay east of there. The big problem is the hill between Quadra and Blanshard; there's a block where the sidewalk even disappears on the uphill side (between Wark and Quadra, I think, on the south side). Bikes are crawling up the hill right in the lane while vehicles are flying by, switching lanes to avoid cyclists. Those wanting to go straight through to Douglas, Rock Bay, or Vic West have to deal with several blocks of being right in the midst of the cars until the bike lane returns after crossing Government.

There are other routes that one can take off of Bay (like on Kings, 1 block to the north), but in practice, this is much slower, much hillier, and a pretty clunky ride compared with just going straight on Bay.


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#4 sebberry

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 10:14 PM

Surely there has to be a way to collect data from cyclists that would help the city plan bike routes better.  Oh wait, there is: http://blogs.wsj.com...urban-planners/

 

I'm all for some well thought out bike routes.  Heck, if need be, Shellie can lower the speed limits on those routes (ahem, as they'd actually warrant it...) but this method of sticking bike lanes on every major route in and out of the city has got to stop. 

 

I'm guessing cyclists would prefer to ride on roads with less traffic and drivers would prefer to drive on roads with fewer bike-specific accommodations, so let's start with that.  Main roads with medical clinics and other businesses shouldn't be losing street parking to bike lanes just like residential roads shouldn't be (and aren't) used as major thoroughfares for cars.   


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#5 Dimitrios

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 06:28 AM

I'm in Vancouver right now, spending a few weeks here with the family, biking around towing my baby daughter. Man, this place rocks for cycling! Lots of well-planned continuous routes on quiet but direct side-streets, with major crossings planned out (often prioritized) for bikes. Yes, Victoria could learn a lot from Van in this respect.


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#6 rjag

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 08:32 AM

Are they freaking serious????? First question......

 

Question #1

Please indicate your gender

Female Male Transgender
other

 

 

Yup this survey is going to make historic inroads by clearly demonstrating inclusiveness with "other" WTF does that mean?

 

"I'm a hermaphrodite and you value my opinion on cycling but need to demonstrate that you recognise my status as that makes a huge difference when it comes to planning where to paint lines on the road?????"

 

Surprised they don't have checkboxes for non-human/vegan/harperite/union member.....

 

Such a flawed survey....where's the questions about whether bikes are my primary mode of transport? Do I own a car? Do I ride more than drive? Do I like the current bike routes? bike lanes and bus lanes?

 

I also took the survey twice on the same computer so not many safeguards built in to protect against bias.

 

Buffered Bike Lanes on Pandora Avenue (Johnson Street, Begbie Street and Shelbourne Street) (2013/2014) – buffered bike lanes were installed on these corridors, with minor curb and sidewalk work. 

  • Cost - $350,000 

 

Wow! I'd like to see the breakdown of that bill....


Edited by rjag, 14 May 2014 - 08:34 AM.

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#7 Mike K.

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 08:35 AM

Agreed. Very odd survey that one can't help but feel wants you to say you only ride bikes in closed off areas and are terrified of vehicles, therefore millions must be spent on calming traffic and replacing vehicle lanes with bike lanes.

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#8 Dimitrios

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 09:52 AM

Are they freaking serious????? First question......

 

Yeah, but don't sweat the small stuff...



#9 jklymak

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 10:13 AM

The problem with Haultain is that it ends so unceremoniously at Cook. Most riders bike on Bay anyway west of there; but yes, Haultain is nicer than Bay east of there. The big problem is the hill between Quadra and Blanshard; there's a block where the sidewalk even disappears on the uphill side (between Wark and Quadra, I think, on the south side). Bikes are crawling up the hill right in the lane while vehicles are flying by, switching lanes to avoid cyclists. Those wanting to go straight through to Douglas, Rock Bay, or Vic West have to deal with several blocks of being right in the midst of the cars until the bike lane returns after crossing Government.

There are other routes that one can take off of Bay (like on Kings, 1 block to the north), but in practice, this is much slower, much hillier, and a pretty clunky ride compared with just going straight on Bay.

 

Yeah, I agree that Bay west of Quadra is a mess, and its hard to take any other road.  Its also brutally congested, so knocking out lanes for bike lanes is not going to be very popular.  Encouraging bikes to turn S on Dowler and then proceed E on Queens is not a crazy suggestion.  You actually miss the hill at Quadra and Bay, so I doubt the 100 m total detour slows a bike down very much.  Going west, this isn't so good, but the eastern slope to that hill is a lot less dangerous, and bikes can share the lane on the downhill without slowing anyone down.

 

But Bay is a total wuzzle.  Maybe the city just has to bite the bullet and widen it so its truly safe for multi-modal travel.  


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#10 Mike K.

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 10:16 AM

But Bay is a total wuzzle.  Maybe the city just has to bite the bullet and widen it so its truly safe for multi-modal travel.

 

 

That would be the best solution, but in an age of doing no such thing in the City of Victoria I highly doubt the powers that be would give this option an iota of interest.

 

Eventually what's going to happen is a reduction of lanes on Bay between Cook and Wark. Once you pass Wark westbound the westbound lanes will widen to two lanes and at that point the eastbound lanes will merge into one.


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#11 jklymak

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 11:38 AM

That would be the best solution, but in an age of doing no such thing in the City of Victoria I highly doubt the powers that be would give this option an iota of interest.

 

Eventually what's going to happen is a reduction of lanes on Bay between Cook and Wark. Once you pass Wark westbound the westbound lanes will widen to two lanes and at that point the eastbound lanes will merge into one.

 

Yeah, and despite the belly-aching, that will probably be OK.  I guess I don't have a feel for how far the turn from EB to NB on Bay to Quadra backs up, but taking that left turn lane from the other side of the road still leaves room for bike lanes in both directions. 



#12 sebberry

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 12:51 PM

Wow! I'd like to see the breakdown of that bill....

 

You think that's bad...

 


Pandora Avenue Cycle Track (between Cook Street and Store Street) (in planning stage) – a 1.3 km cycle track, physically separated from moving traffic by raised medians and on-street parking, is proposed for this corridor. 

  • Preliminary cost estimate - $1,350,000
  • Funding sources are yet to be determine

 

http://www.victoria....ng/funding.html


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#13 Coreyburger

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 01:45 PM

Surely there has to be a way to collect data from cyclists that would help the city plan bike routes better.  Oh wait, there is: http://blogs.wsj.com...urban-planners/

 

I'm all for some well thought out bike routes.  Heck, if need be, Shellie can lower the speed limits on those routes (ahem, as they'd actually warrant it...) but this method of sticking bike lanes on every major route in and out of the city has got to stop. 

 

I'm guessing cyclists would prefer to ride on roads with less traffic and drivers would prefer to drive on roads with fewer bike-specific accommodations, so let's start with that.  Main roads with medical clinics and other businesses shouldn't be losing street parking to bike lanes just like residential roads shouldn't be (and aren't) used as major thoroughfares for cars.   

 

The Strava data is great, but it is biased towards those that have devices and smart phones (and thus certain demographics). It also doesn't tell you where people WANT to ride, just where they ARE riding.


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#14 Hotel Mike

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 03:38 PM

 

 

Yes, Victoria could learn a lot from Van in this respect.

The problem with that Geek is that Vancouver is designed in a grid pattern. Victoria's streets are all over the place.


Don't be so sure.:cool:

#15 Dimitrios

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 07:25 PM

The problem with that Geek is that Vancouver is designed in a grid pattern. Victoria's streets are all over the place.

True. Also, I didn't realize it before, but Victoria is way hillier. It's pretty obvious when you think about it - the difference in geology between a wide river valley and a big rock.


Edited by geekthegreek, 14 May 2014 - 07:26 PM.


#16 pherthyl

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Posted 14 May 2014 - 09:17 PM

Surely there has to be a way to collect data from cyclists that would help the city plan bike routes better.  Oh wait, there is: http://blogs.wsj.com...urban-planners/

 

 

Interesting, but not necessarily all that useful.  Strava is used by competitive bikers or people that want to track their workouts.  Not going to tell you anything about someone riding to work because those people aren't likely to have Strava running.



 



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