Jarvis St. bike lanes will be re-examined

[KBear]

Encouraging cyclists to take control of the lane would reduce the number of deaths. It would also make drivers aware of why bike lanes are needed.

Wonder what the cost is for the bicyclists who are injured for life.

The sidewalk would be a better place for bikes, like the paths along lakeshore. Having lines drawn all over the sidewalk to divide it up would also work better as people walking or riding bikes have the time to figure out what all the lines mean.

 

[Brill]

The sidewalk would be a better place for bikes, like the paths along lakeshore. Having lines drawn all over the sidewalk to divide it up would also work better as people walking or riding bikes have the time to figure out what all the lines mean.

I guess you aren't a pedestrian, bikes on the sidewalk are annoying and dangerous.

Why are you against having bike lanes, away from traffic?

 

[onthebottom]

Change the law to allow cyclists to take full control of the rightmost lane. Pretty soon drivers will be demanding more bike lanes.

Note that in the city this is the only SAFE way to ride a bicycle in the absence of bike lanes. If you hug the right edge of the right lane cars routinely pass you in unsafe ways. I've seen drivers pass cyclists under these circumstances at an unsafe distance--once I saw a driver clip the cyclist, who then wobbled out of control and fell off his bike, landing under the wheels of the following car. Fortunately the driver behind slammed on the brakes fast enough to avoid running over the cyclist who was now lying on the road in front of his car--but you get the point. The only way to ride safely in the city is to take control of the lane, as it forces drivers to pass only when it's really safe to do so.

Encouraging cyclists to take control of the lane would reduce the number of deaths. It would also make drivers aware of why bike lanes are needed.

Banning cell phone conversations and texting would also help.... I can't tell you the number of drivers I see from a bike talking on their phone with no idea what's going on around them.....

OTB

 

[fuji]

Wonder what the cost is for the bicyclists who are injured for life.

You will have fewer cyclists injured for life if cyclists take full control of their lane. It prevents drivers from trying to do a dangerous "in lane" pass, where they drive by a cyclists without moving into the left lane, clipping the cyclist and possibly killing them.

When the driver has to move their vehicle into the next lane to the left, whether it's oncoming, or same direction, the driver is MUCH more cautious and aware and double checks around their vehicle to ensure it's safe to pass. They naturally give the cyclist much more clearance in doing so.

A cyclists out in the middle of the lane is also MUCH more visible to drivers--you simply get paid more attention, and that is always safer. Sure, sometimes you get honked at--but a driver who is honking at you SEES you.

It's much safer.

It also means bikes will be out in front of cars, slowing them down, on any street that does not offer a bike lane. It will then be drivers, rather than cyclists, who demand bike lanes--and this is as it should be.

Stated this way you can see why bike lanes should be a PRIORITY on arterial roads. They aren't nearly as necessary on side streets...

 

[chiller_boy]

Bike lanes are ALWAYS a good idea. When roads are being reconstructed, they should always be widened by 2 metres on either side to accomodate a bike lane. Jarvis was a whacky idea previously (5 lanes) and it leant itself to having a bike lane added on either side.

Jarvis is fine at 4 lanes.

As far as I am aware, there are no 4 lane roads which were converted to 2 lane roads to accomodate bike lanes. (I could be wrong.)



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I live in the Jarvis area and am a cyclist. I belkieve they were a big mistake. Just one long block away is sherbourne with bike lanes that run from Bloor to the waterfront. All the way. the famous jarvis lanes run from isablella to queen(where the old five lanes used to run). The Sherbourne lanes should be upgraded and possibly separated from the roadway with a barrier. Jarvis should be restored to five lanes because it is an arterial. with only four lanes. Minor construction(or deliveries) snarls traffic and during non rush hours parking near the stores is lost. Even after the jarvis bike lanes were put in I still cycle using Sherbourne to get down to the lakeshores. Its safer and I dont have to jog off jarvis onto queen.

I think dundas(east) and eastern avenue were reduced to two lanes in some places to allow for bike lanes. They were clearly unneeded on Eastern(one block from best bike lanes in the city on the lakeshore) and may have been put in to deter Walmart from building on Eastern(at least the reason was good). I have heard some humorous complaints from peoplewho commute on Dundas east and they encounter
a nightmare ride whenever a garbage truck plies its route on Dundas east.

My feeling is that more thought needs to be put into choices and when we do build a bike lane it needs to be done properly(separated if possiblefrom the roadway).

 

[KBear]

I guess you aren't a pedestrian, bikes on the sidewalk are annoying and dangerous.

As opposed to mixing bikes with cars?

Why are you against having bike lanes, away from traffic?

I'm not. Bike lanes away from fast traffic is a fine idea.

It seems foolish to put skinny bike lanes in between parked cars on the side of the road with people opening their doors to get in and out, and steady fast moving traffic. They draw all these lines on the road, dotted and otherwise, that run in between lanes, and expect people to know what is going on, and somehow respect that there could be the odd bike around mixing it up with traffic.

I feel sorry for these young girls I see using these bike lanes, maybe thinking they are safe, or required to use them. Just a matter of time before they are taken out.

The city councilors who came up with this bike lane idea should be required to use them daily…

 

[KBear]

I belkieve they were a big mistake. Just one long block away is sherbourne with bike lanes that run from Bloor to the waterfront.

Agree.

Seems the people who came up with putting these bike lanes in with fast traffic don’t drive, or ride a bike.

When driving at night, in the rain, is tough to see some bike coming up beside you, whether your turning, or opening your car door.

 

[red]

I guess you aren't a pedestrian, bikes on the sidewalk are annoying and dangerous.

Why are you against having bike lanes, away from traffic?

i have no problem with bike lanes at the zoo

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I live in the Jarvis area and am a cyclist. I belkieve they were a big mistake. Just one long block away is sherbourne with bike lanes that run from Bloor to the waterfront. All the way. the famous jarvis lanes run from isablella to queen(where the old five lanes used to run). The Sherbourne lanes should be upgraded and possibly separated from the roadway with a barrier. Jarvis should be restored to five lanes because it is an arterial. with only four lanes. Minor construction(or deliveries) snarls traffic and during non rush hours parking near the stores is lost. Even after the jarvis bike lanes were put in I still cycle using Sherbourne to get down to the lakeshores. Its safer and I dont have to jog off jarvis onto queen.

I think dundas(east) and eastern avenue were reduced to two lanes in some places to allow for bike lanes. They were clearly unneeded on Eastern(one block from best bike lanes in the city on the lakeshore) and may have been put in to deter Walmart from building on Eastern(at least the reason was good). I have heard some humorous complaints from peoplewho commute on Dundas east and they encounter
a nightmare ride whenever a garbage truck plies its route on Dundas east.

My feeling is that more thought needs to be put into choices and when we do build a bike lane it needs to be done properly(separated if possiblefrom the roadway).

I agree that the bike lanes should have been put in on Church and upgraded on Sherbourne instead of Jarvis. Unless the City has a major plan to completely re-vamp, re-zone and rebuild Jarvis to make it into a true community-neighbourhood. Thus far, we have seen nothing that would indicate this is the case.

Eastern Avenue's bike lanes were and are a clusterfuck. The best bike lanes in the city are a couple of hundred metres to the south (and are barely used for commuting anymore) and there are no plans for real meaningful development along Eastern.

I'm all for making cities more liveable and much less car-dependent, but without an overall plan that threads all of the pieces together - including tolls on cars and multi-level parking garages that reflect the real cost of cars on society and passes the revenue on to alternative forms of transportation - ideas like the Jarvis bike lane come across as haphazard and foolish.