These sorts of bike lanes that have car lanes on both sides are tragically common in Ontario. Especially near intersections. If the intersection has a dedicated right turn lane, the lane will often split off around the bike gutter. This means cars who are just planning on turning right often change lanes and cut off the bike lane without even looking back (because let’s be real, who does a full visual check when changing into a lane that just began?)
in this situation I think it would be safer to make a shared car+bike lane where cars have to slow down for a narrow (for cars) lane and the lane is simply too narrow to pass the bike so no passing.
If your city only allows travel to some areas by using these roads, adding a bike lane might be the least bad option with available funds. Some people don’t have any other way to get around, so if this is a safety improvement for cyclists using this road, it could be worth it.
Obviously, a complete road redesign would be better but sometimes it’s not an option politically or financially.
That said, of course citizens should be fighting for better than this. This is awful and unacceptable. I’m just explaining why it might get built.
I would argue this is in no way a safety improvement. Many cyclists are at risk of being hit as cars prepare to turn. Many drivers will not check side mirrors for cyclists before entering the turning lane.
I’m not sure honestly. People often bike on sidewalks in situations like this but from what I’ve read this is actually more dangerous because drivers don’t look there. At least in the middle of the road you should be somewhat visible.
I’m not sure that applies here (Google Maps link to where the picture was taken). The issue is vehicles changing lanes to get on to the expressway. They’re often speeding up and just drift across the bike lane which makes this a really dangerous conflict point.
If I had to cross this overpass on bike, I think it might actually be safer to get on the sidewalk and cross the 2 driveways, then cross the on-ramp at ~90°.
Up until 3 years ago, I lived in KW. I agree this is insane and completely avoid biking on these lanes. However, whenever this picture pops up on social media, I always question what would have been a better option?
Should they just not have put in bike lanes? They are useful on either side of the overpass.
Should the bike lanes be centre running? They could run beside the LRT, but I know centre running bike lanes present a bunch of new problems.
I would love to see dedicated bike infrastructure to cross the expressway, but I don’t see that happening in the short/medium-term. There aren’t any other nearby crossing, though the next one south of here is okay~ish.
Here’s the location on Google Maps, if anyone wants to poke around.
That adds a LOT of context, since this green strip is only used for a short distance after the off-ramp.
However, I wouldn’t trust any vehicle to pay attention to cyclists during that transition, and I have no doubt there are a lot of conflicts there.
A solution would be to have a STOP SIGN at the off-ramp to protect cyclists. It’s not ideal for motorists, but it’s a far safer option, and there’s more than enough distance coming off the highway to allow for it.
A solution would be to have a STOP SIGN at the off-ramp to protect cyclists. It’s not ideal for motorists, but it’s a far safer option, and there’s more than enough distance coming off the highway to allow for it.
Sure, the yield sign could be turned into a Stop Sign (I honestly don’t know why it isn’t one now), but that’s not what’s in the picture, or where most of the conflicts happen. What’s pictured is the an on-ramp and most of the conflicts are drivers drifting across the bike lane to get on to the expressway.
I was commenting on the location given in the map link (off ramp), but I’ve just had a look at the on-ramp section and I do see the concern. I would be worried about cars crossing, too, and I’m not sure how that could be addressed.
Where I live (another part of Ontario), we don’t have any protections at all for cyclists near high on/off ramps, and it’s terrifying.
Maybe just remove the turning lane and add an intersection, with the turning lane becoming a protected bike lane.
It looks like a horrible stroad in any case and it would probably be a great improvement to make it only one lane in each direction and use the space for more productive purposes.
make the whole length of the bikeway interchange 30 km/h
add those hemisphere buttons onto the road surface that are not as intrusive as speed bumps but notify the driver to pay attention and make it uncomfortable to speed up
those buttons need to be alongside the bikeway on the line at least. But preferably protruding into half the neighbouring lane
Thanks for the map pin. It does a good job of showing how tight that space is but there does seem to be an island that starts south and moved north that would be a good dedicated bike path. Here’s an example of a median turned into a walkway (for my example, it would be a dedicated bike lane) that would work well in this kind of location, and probably specific to here as well. It may not be pleasant to use but it will be MUCH safer.
That’s basically what I envisioned as the centre-running bike lanes. However, the issue is how to transition on-to and off the median. And if the centre-running bike lanes extend further than the overpass, how do people get to destinations along the road?
I found in the replies, there was a proposal for a walking (potentially cycling too) bridge just south of here, but that was rejected by the province.
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