Quote:
Originally Posted by Buggys
Regarding the swooping right turns, it's probably because Baseline is a busy main/arterial street, and it's better for traffic flow. I would think that it's better for seeing cyclists with as well, because the turn angle is smoother.
|
I'm not certain of how this would be. The channelized right turns give a false sense of exclusivity to automobilists (similarly to a highway), which is not conducive to good awareness of other road users. And for pedestrians and cyclists, this means always looking out for fast-turning vehicles, wondering whether they might have the largesse to stop (or not). This could be solved by signalizing the right turn. But if you add a stoplight to it, there's little advantage to having it channelized.
Quote:
|
What is the 3-3.2m standard and why is it safer to cyclists than 3.5m?
|
Lane widths are a careful balance between having just enough space to move about safely, but not so much space that you feel compelled to increase your speed. For a road that is meant to carry a lot of traffic, that point of equilibrium has been to shown to be between 3m and 3.2m. Anything less, and it becomes difficult for cars to manoeuvre and anything more and cars speed up.
Often, cyclists' safety is used as an argument for wider lanes. The evidence just simply does not back this up. Worse, the speed induced though wider lanes results in more serious accidents for cyclists. For streets with speeds of over 30 km/h, the only way to insure any measure of cyclist safety is separate infrastructure. There's no way around this simple reality. Of course, the point is moot on Baseline since there will be separate cycling infrastructure anyways.
Quote:
|
Regarding the refuge islands, Baseline is already very tight for fitting in 2 bus lanes + 4 car lanes. Expropriation will be needed along stretches of Baseline, and can't go as far as inches from people's single family home's living room windows.
|
This is a valid point. However, it does not require additional space; If you look at almost all of the proposed intersections, you see that the medians on Baseline stop just shy of the crosswalks. Why not extend them so that they can also serve as refuges. It also causes left-turning cars to slow down just before the crosswalk instead of being able to turn a wider radius and higher speeds diagonally through it.
I hope that they also put in place some of the signal safety features used in a number of other cities, such as the 5-second advanced signal for pedestrians, cyclists and non-turning vehicles (which prevents cars from cutting off or turning onto people crossing) and pedestrian wait countdowns (which count down to the next green light as opposed to the next red). Baseline may very well end up establishing the blueprint for our post-war arterials all over the city, so let's try to make it something worth emulating!
Threaded Mode