Bikes, bikes, bikes

[flar]

Bixi, wow. They installed Bixi depots in Ottawa-Gatineau in summer 2009, but I didn't see it this past summer. Cycling is huge in Ottawa and there are tons of tourists, so I'm surprised it didn't survive the pilot test. I don't know if there's really a market for something like this in Hamilton but I hope it works out. I think the biggest problem in Hamilton could be damage, graffiti and theft at the bike depots. They're unsupervised, self serve.

[padthai]

Finally! Excellent news!

Completion of Rail Trail link under way
Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...link-under-way

Construction begins today on the long-talked about trail linking the Kirkendall Neighbourhood with the Rail Trail near the boundary of old Dundas.

The link between the Chedoke Golf Course and Ewen Road has been talked about for years, but gained traction in 2006 after Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to sell the link to the city. Delays occurred over disagreements on the price for the land between the city and CP Rail and opposition by some residents to paving the path. The trail will travel over a disused overpass that crosses Highway 403.

The nearly $2 million project work will see the city remove the remaining spur line crossing Leland Street, Emerson Street, Broadway Avenue and Stroud Road. The trail will be paved. Work on converting the line into a trail is expected to be done by September.

Some already regularly walk the line or the dirt path beside the tracks. It cost the city about $750,000 to buy the land from CP Rail, plus a one-time $150,000 lease cost that would cover lands through the Aberdeen rail yard, right beside the golf course.

The rails are the last remnants of the old Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway line between Hamilton and Brantford. The line opened in 1892, but rail movements along it halted in 1986 after it was washed out by a Grand River landslide in Brantford. It was converted into the 32-kilometre Rail Trail and opened in May 1993.

The new trail will extend the existing Rail Trail almost to Dundurn Street South. The trail will be 1.8 kilometres long with a pathway ranging in width from 4.5 to 5 metres. Timed controls will turn the pathway lights off during the late night and early morning hours to minimize electrical energy consumption.

The project will also involve a new traffic signal at Aberdeen Avenue and Studholme Road, which will be specially designed to allow cyclists to have a head start over vehicles when the signal changes from red to green. The layout is referred to as either an ‘Advanced Stop Line’ or a ‘Bike Box’ and will the first of its kind in Hamilton.


Plus here's a link to the map: http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/...ylettermap.pdf

[DC1983]

Originally Posted by flar

Bixi, wow. They installed Bixi depots in Ottawa-Gatineau in summer 2009, but I didn't see it this past summer. Cycling is huge in Ottawa and there are tons of tourists, so I'm surprised it didn't survive the pilot test. I don't know if there's really a market for something like this in Hamilton but I hope it works out. I think the biggest problem in Hamilton could be damage, graffiti and theft at the bike depots. They're unsupervised, self serve.

I played w/ a Bixi in TO recently and LOVE THEM!
Love the lil 'baskets', the flashing lights, the bell.. etc. I don't like how corporately whored out they are tho! I'm riding a BIXI bike, NOT a Telus bike!
I REALLY hope it catches on here.

[flar]

I should note that Bixi is back in Ottawa and Gatineau this summer.

[SteelTown]

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...ome-bike-lanes

[DC1983]

Originally Posted by flar

I should note that Bixi is back in Ottawa and Gatineau this summer.

Jealous

A few spots I feel Bixi's should be placed downtown Hamilton:
-CityHall Forecourt
-Gore Park
-York Blvd between CityCentre/Market (or maybe York Blvd)
-Bayfront Park/Trail and Pier 8/Williams Coffee Pub
-TH&B GO Ctr (and future JamesNorth GO Stn)
-Dundurn Park
-St Joe's Hospital
-Ferguson Station (King/Ferguson)
-Corktown Park (Ferguson/Young)

[palace1]

Sounds like this pilot project includes on-road bike lanes only but it would be nice if the city could clear the snow on the Rail Trail from Ferguson up to Mount Albion Falls during the winters.
I think the snow does get cleared on the Waterfront Trail from Princess Point to Bayfront Park (?)

[thistleclub]

Hamilton EMS reports:

HAMILTON, ON, June 21, 2011— Hamilton EMS is currently on scene at the intersection of Young Street and John Street for a collision between an automobile and a bicycle. Paramedics are treating the cyclist for serious head injuries and he is being transported to the Hamilton General Hospital. Additional information will be available once confirmed.

[mattgrande]

According to Nicole O'Reilly, the vehicle was a Blue Line taxi van that fled the scene.

[flar]

To be honest, BIXI would not work in Hamilton. It loses tons of money even in Montreal, where there are lots of tourists and everybody rides bikes.

I haven't tried it yet because it seems cheaper to walk, but I've been curious. I only know one person who tried it so far and it costs $5 to take a bike out, plus a security deposit, then it costs increasingly more money every half hour the longer you borrow it. It ended up costing her like $20. I guess if you buy a longer subscription you can use it for a half hour for free each time. You can buy a decent used bike for the cost of a subscription. Basically, I don't think many people in Hamilton have that kind of coin and there are virtually no tourists in Hamilton.

[DC1983]

Originally Posted by flar

To be honest, BIXI would not work in Hamilton. It loses tons of money even in Montreal, where there are lots of tourists and everybody rides bikes.

I haven't tried it yet because it seems cheaper to walk, but I've been curious. I only know one person who tried it so far and it costs $5 to take a bike out, plus a security deposit, then it costs increasingly more money every half hour the longer you borrow it. It ended up costing her like $20. I guess if you buy a longer subscription you can use it for a half hour for free each time. You can buy a decent used bike for the cost of a subscription. Basically, I don't think many people in Hamilton have that kind of coin and there are virtually no tourists in Hamilton.

Wait!? Bixi loses money in Mtl!? Everytime I'm there the Bixi Stations are always empty! I couldn't find one for my life last fall despite the stations being everywhere!

Montreal is awesome for cycling. Many of their bike lanes are seperated from traffic by a concrete median, marked clearly for bikes. Love it!
Also, I can never get enough of the Lachine Canal trail. I blade on it, but I wanna Bixi it next time I'm in town!

[flar]

The city of Montreal had to bail out Bixi with over $100 million in loans and financial guarantees. City of Ottawa has been debating whether they would be willing to use public money to keep it going here.

[begratto]

Originally Posted by DC1983

Wait!? Bixi loses money in Mtl!? Everytime I'm there the Bixi Stations are always empty! I couldn't find one for my life last fall despite the stations being everywhere!

Bixi is supposed to make profits once they have 50 000 subscribers, which they had planned to achieve on year 5. They are now at 40 000 subscribers in Montreal, with up to 27 000 bike movements per day.

[arch100]

I was driving down Longwood today and was shocked to see that the recently installed bike lanes and street parking between Main and King have been painted over!! Instead there is now one northbound land and 2 southbound lanes - no more bike lanes and no more street parking!

This is too bad - I used this route often to bike from the Durand / Kirkendall area to Westdale. Anyone know why the city has done such an about-face?? McHattie is generally such a champion of bike lanes.

[fuller]

The removal of the bike lanes is temporary, part of a rerouting scheme that detours traffic from the westbound 403 access ramp at King St. W., during construction work there.

(from a user comment on Raise The Hammer)

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by arch100

I was driving down Longwood today and was shocked to see that the recently installed bike lanes and street parking between Main and King have been painted over!! Instead there is now one northbound land and 2 southbound lanes - no more bike lanes and no more street parking!

This is too bad - I used this route often to bike from the Durand / Kirkendall area to Westdale. Anyone know why the city has done such an about-face?? McHattie is generally such a champion of bike lanes.

This is temporary for 6 to 8 weeks. The ramp from King Street to the 403 west bound (up hill) is closed for reconstruction. All the traffic that would normally go that way (in rush hour it is bumper to bumper) is being sent to the Aberdeen ramp. They have removed all of the on street parking and bike lanes on King Street from Paradise to Longwood and on Longwood from King to Main to accommodate the extra traffic. They have waited for the school year to end as not to effect Westdale High School and McMaster traffic.

[arch100]

That good news that it's only temporary!!

There's an article in the Spec this morning about the 403 ramp closure at King West: http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...3-closes-today

[SteelTown]

http://www.thespec.com/news/world/ar...lly-in-vilnius

Haha could we rent a tank and do this if cars are parked along the Dundurn bike lanes in front of LCBO and Beer Store?

[thistleclub]

Hamilton has been awarded a Silver Award for Ontario Bicycle Friendly Communities.

Press Release:

Share the Road Cycling Coalition Announces Bicycle Friendly Communities Awards
Announcement Made at Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference

Ottawa, Ontario – August 23rd, 2011 – The Share the Road Cycling Coalition, (SRCC) an Ontario-based non-profit organization which promotes bicycling as a mode of transportation, recreation and fitness through provincial advocacy, announced today the latest Ontario Bicycle Friendly Communities Awards.

The announcement was made at the Association of Municipalities (AMO) of Ontario annual meeting in London, Ontario by Share the Road Cycling Coalition CEO Eleanor McMahon and Janet O’Connell, Executive Director of the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada. AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments. More than 1,600 participants from hundreds of municipalities across Ontario are participating in this year’s conference.

The Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) Program, an initiative of the Washington-based League of American Bicyclists, provides incentives, hands-on assistance, and award recognition for communities that actively support bicycling. The League is the largest bicycling advocacy organization in the U.S. and represents the interests of the nation's 57 million cyclists. With a membership of 300,000 affiliated cyclists the League works to bring better bicycling to communities across the U.S.

The program was launched by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in Canada in August 2010 at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario annual meeting in partnership with the Washington-based League. The Bicycle Friendly Communities program requires that municipalities complete a thorough application. They are then judged in five categories often referred to as the Five “ Es.” These are Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning.

A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award. Communities with more significant achievements in these areas receive superior awards. Applications are assessed by a team of experts who receive input from local officials. The Award categories are: Honorable Mention, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

The following communities were awarded Bicycle Friendly status: Hamilton – Silver; London – Bronze; Oshawa – Bronze and Town of the Blue Mountains – Bronze.

“Share the Road is proud to announce these four award-winning communities. They join the cities of Ottawa (Silver), Waterloo (Silver), Ajax (Bronze) and Windsor (Bronze) as communities whose investments in making their communities more bicycle friendly were recognized by our panel of experts as worthy of this Award,” said Share the Road Cycling Coalition CEO Eleanor McMahon.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^ That's interesting...