Alternative Transportation

[DizzyEdge]

[Danma]

^ Yeah, basically.

[jeffwhit]

City Centre Blog is looking for commuter bike lane ideas. This site is full of people who are very good at drawing lines on maps, have at er


http://www.centrecitytalk.com/my_weblog/2010/11/we-like-bikes.html

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

City Centre Blog is looking for commuter bike lane ideas. This site is full of people who are very good at drawing lines on maps, have at er


http://www.centrecitytalk.com/my_weblog/2010/11/we-like-bikes.html

Thanks jeffwhit, I added a couple of ideas to the folks at City Centre.

[Ramsayfarian]

I noticed today, that's there's a bike lane on 9th SE, between 4th and 6th street. Pretty useless for now, but I'm sure it will improve.

[Radley77]

I am curious what people here think about dedicated bike lanes in the winter in City Centre as it pertains to snow removal and road capacity? The road lanes look packed whenever there is a snowfall meaning all road capacity is needed for moving vehichles. At the same time I notice that when it snows people are a lot less likely to bike. I don't mind the cold, but the windchill is brutal unless you are going to wear ski goggles and mask.

Should the bike lanes in City Centre be trimmed back in the winter to temporary spring to fall installations? How do you snow clear a small width bike lane?

I noticed the bike lanes in Chinatown are not being snow cleared and there are now hardly any cyclists along this route.

It's almost too bad there is not enough snow at the road intersections to convert the cycling routes to cross country skiing routes in the winter.

Also, the security guard in the Telus building that they are looking at having +15's installed between Telus and the Bow in March of 2011... That will get the +15 network all the way out to the Harry Hays building. The +15 keeps getting closer and closer to Crescent Heights and Bridgeland. W00T!

[mwalker_mw]

My feeling is any sort of "temporary" or "seasonal" bike lanes will seriously impact the speed with which drivers become accustomed to the presence of these lanes. As many of these lanes are not separated from traffic the interaction between drivers and cyclists is critical - safety will be improved greatly once this cooperation becomes second nature for both drivers and cyclists. There is also the issue that snow does not stick around very long here - the lanes will go from usable to unusable on almost a weekly basis. Having them simply not present even if the month of December sees no snowfall would not make sense and we'd just end up back where we are right now.

As for snow removal - if bidirectional lanes could be arranged these would be ideal width for a bobcat or similar size snow clearing machine (The City of Kingston has ones they use on the sidewalks that would be perfect). Of course ones that are no more than lines on the road can be easily addressed by existing snow clearing. Not sure if I have a good solution for single direction, separated lanes other than a guy with a snowblower. That being said, I'm not sure if detailed snow clearing is necessary. Snow doesn't stick around for very long, perhaps the lanes usability can be left up to nature for the time being. It will be a long time before we have enough cycling infrastructure to justify excluding cyclists from the roads (if ever). Bike lanes will do just fine as a voluntary measure provided they are made attractive enough for cyclists to use (no speed limits, separation from traffic, good placement, etc.).

But, going back to the start of this post, I strongly believe the only way we will see successful integration of cycling into north American road usage patterns is by making the interaction between cyclists and motorists second nature for both parties. This will not happen through temporary or uncertain measures. Whatever decisions the city makes with regards to the future of cycling in the city - they must be executed with absolute confidence and commitment to ensure they are accepted by the majority of road users.

[Radley77]

Calgary Cycling Survey Results

... The results are in!
HarGroup Management Consultants conducted a telephone and online survey in September 2010 asking Calgarians about barriers to cycling and possible measures to encourage people to cycle more often. These surveys were the first comprehensive effort to hear from all Calgarians about cycling.

And the results…? Calgarians want to cycle! Nineteen per cent of Calgarians already ride at least once a week, and more than half – 59 per cent in the telephone survey and 63 per cent in the online – said they would like to cycle more often. The most common reasons were for exercise and because it's a fun way to get around. The online respondents also thought it was more convenient than other forms of transportation.

Eighty per cent of telephone survey respondents and 64 per cent of online survey respondents do not feel safe cycling in traffic. When asked to suggest improvements, more than 80 per cent of Calgarians in both surveys suggested a form of bicycle-only space: physically protected cycle routes, separate pathways and bike lanes.

Both the telephone and online survey results are available for download on the right. The cycling committee stakeholder group also identified and prioritized cycling barriers. The first priority for the committee is "street concerns", which includes issues related to traffic safety. The second priority is "pathway concerns," which includes issues related to safety on multi-use pathways.

The survey results and committee input will be used to develop actions for the Comprehensive Cycling Strategy. For more details on this process, please see the Cycling Strategy Action Development. ...

City of Calgary - Transportation - Cycling Strategy Website

Telephone Survey
Telephone Survey Executive Summary
Online Survey
Online Survey Executive Summary

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

City Centre Blog is looking for commuter bike lane ideas. This site is full of people who are very good at drawing lines on maps, have at er


http://www.centrecitytalk.com/my_weblog/2010/11/we-like-bikes.html

I heard a neat suggestion. It was to open cycle lanes on each side of elbow drive. More contenders in my eyes would be cycle lanes for both sides of 8th st sw, 5th st SW, and !st st SW.

[Radley77]

I was thinking the other day about some of the opportunities for improving cycling in Calgary. One of the things I thought of was installing wayfinding signage specific to cyclists. While nearly every street can be used for cycling, finding the onstreet cycling routes without constantly referencing a map can be difficult.

Here are some examples of signs that could be installed:

• X.X km to X Avenue, estimated cycling time is X minutes
• Turn left\right onto X Avenue onstreet cycling route
• Bicycle parking here

What are some additional ways that could improve the legibility of cycling routes in Calgary?

[Me&You]

Originally Posted by Radley77

I was thinking the other day about some of the opportunities for improving cycling in Calgary. One of the things I thought of was installing wayfinding signage specific to cyclists. While every street could be used, finding the onstreet cycling routes without constantly referencing a map can be difficult.

Here are some examples of signs that could be installed:

• X.X km to X Avenue, estimated cycling time is X minutes
• Turn left\right onto X Avenue onstreet cycling route
• Bicycle parking here

What are some additional ways that could improve the legibility of cycling routes in Calgary?

Just what Calgary needs, more street signs


Source - Calgary Sun

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by Me&You

Just what Calgary needs, more street signs

My suggestion would be to consolidate signs to reduce clutter as below. Right now, I would think a lot of potential cyclists just don't know where these routes are because there is little to no wayfinding in place.



Another idea might be actually using the preexisting poles as wayfinding mechanisms. Use blue poles or a colour coding scheme for streets with on street cycling. It would allow one to identify onstreet cycling without increasing visual clutter.

[kw5150]

Starting cycling to work again this week (and a little bit last week). I was previously walking from the beltline to the west end of the ctrain line and riding the train to the core (3rd avenue station). It is SO much quicker to cycle to work and refreshing! I even take my time and enjoy the ride. I have noticed quite a few cyclists out there already as well....... This is going to be a true cycling city and I hope to see many people out riding this year.

I cant wait to hit up the pathways on the weekends.

Cheers.

[Bigtime]

Went down to the bike storage on P1 last night and pumped the tires up again, I think I'll start riding to work 2-3 times a week to start.

[fusili]

I am doing the ride to conquer cancer this year. So I definitely need to start riding again.

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by fusili

I am doing the ride to conquer cancer this year. So I definitely need to start riding again.

I was debating whether to do it, ended up not. I should have done it.

I need to bike to work again, I've been lazy when I've had a vehicle around to use.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed

I was debating whether to do it, ended up not. I should have done it.

I need to bike to work again, I've been lazy when I've had a vehicle around to use.

It isn't so much the ride that scares me, but the need to raise $2500 to do so. But the ride still scares me. Time for some training.

[Bigtime]

Back in my single days my dad and I would do a big ride every Sunday. Usually going from my place in The Bridges out to Chestermere via the canal path and back. We'd top off the season with a bigger ride in Kananaskis that would usually be around 100-120km long.

Since then I've become lazy and really need to get my ass in gear and start commuting via bike again. The ride from home to work is only about 8km.

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by fusili

It isn't so much the ride that scares me, but the need to raise $2500 to do so. But the ride still scares me. Time for some training.

That's really what scared me off too, but it shouldn't have scared me off. I shouldn't have had any problems raising the $2500.

Had I done it though, I think I would have done some upgrades to my bike for road use - skinny road tires, etc. Which I'd like to do anyway, but can't really afford.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by fusili

I am doing the ride to conquer cancer this year. So I definitely need to start riding again.

Damn straight you do. The ride failed last year.