Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitchissippi
I look at those projects and realize how useless it is to most cyclists and how much of the cycling budget is being hijacked by projects that are really for cars. For example the $4 million "renewal" program sounds ridiculous. It looks like they are just resurfacing these roads and painting new lines. The cycling portion on projects like these should be just the cost of the paint.
Also, I find it stupid that they account for shoulders as merely for cycling. They are not, otherwise they would not install them on the 400 series highways. Shoulders prevent soil erosion at the edge of the roadway, extending the life of the main surface. Since bikes have the right to be on the road, a cycleable shoulder really just frees the main roadway for cars.
What I am getting at is that the cycling budget should be spent on bike paths and segregated lanes (if warranted) and things like specialized bike signals and signage. What worries me is that it is being used to pad road building budgets.
Another thing that pisses me off royally is that the is nothing here for the downtown core where cycling facilities need a drastic fix especially if we are serious about expanding the Bixi program. The NCC had wanted a Bixi station at Parliament Hill until they realized there wasn't a safe way to get from there to the other stations in the Market and in Gatineau. Now that is sad.
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Kitchissippi, I have to disagree. I agree that there should be more invested into paths and segregated lanes, but retrofitting existing roads to acommodate cycling facilities is also imporatant. To be fair, there is $4.5 million for segregated pathways (even if it is the stimulus money).
In many cases they are actually moving the curbs to widen the road for bike lanes, so it's a bit more than lines. For the McIlraith Bridge, they are widening the bridge for better sidewalks and bike lanes.
It's pretty cynical to say that a paved shoulder just frees the road for cars. I cycle from outside of the Greenbelt and on the Airport Pkwy, and I am happy to be cycling on the paved shoulder- it's a far more comfortable environment. Maybe cycling programs should not bear the entire cost of paved shoulders, but they do make a significant contribution to the "cycleabilty" of a road.
This is somewhat off-topic, but it is frustrating that the MTO paves shoulders on 400-series highways (where bikes are banned), but does not pave them on 2 lane highways like Hwy 7, where bikes are allowed and where they would make cycle tourism much more attractive. I guess that's a whole other ball of wax, though...
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