Halifax Active Transportation

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The study suggests that permitting the Idaho stop in certain circumstances would free up police to deal with more flagrant violations.


What kind of bogus study was this that contended that police actually issue tickets to cyclists while observing them in traffic? The only time I know of when that occurs is after an incident has already taken place and police get called to the crash scene.

If you read further down, you will see:

Chicago Police Department records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that 3,301 citations were issued in 2015, mostly for riding on sidewalks, or about nine tickets per day. That's down from a high of 4,706 in 2014 and up from 2,293 in 2013.

Which is obviously a departure from what we would expect to see in Halifax. Basically, they are saying that the cyclists are already breaking these laws and do it on a regular basis, and it costs more to pay for the police than it brings back in fine revenue, so therefore let's align the laws with the accepted behavior so the police can spend their time on doing more important things.

The unstated aspect is that there was likely a judgement made whereby the amount of police time spent on investigating accidents caused by this behavior will be less than that spent writing tickets, which may indicate that there will be little to no detriment to safety as an investigation uses up way more resources than simply writing a ticket and collecting money (or court time for the few cases that might contest or show up to court hoping that the officer will be absent).

But, essentially it seems that the data indicates no increases in incidents when the 'Idaho stop' is made into law, so why chase down people to give them tickets when this essentially has no effect on incident data?

If it were declared to be a safety issue (like DUI, for instance), then they could increase the fines to the point that they would hurt and dedicate more officers to ticketing for those offenses. They are not doing that, so it must be OK.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

But, essentially it seems that the data indicates no increases in incidents when the 'Idaho stop' is made into law, so why chase down people to give them tickets when this essentially has no effect on incident data?

That principle would also apply to speed traps that result in tickets for people going a little bit over the posted limit. I wonder if that lesson will be taken by HRP and their trolling for speeders on the Circ with its 80 km/h limit?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

That principle would also apply to speed traps that result in tickets for people going a little bit over the posted limit. I wonder if that lesson will be taken by HRP and their trolling for speeders on the Circ with its 80 km/h limit?

Maybe they should look into applying the same kind of principles to motorized traffic, but then the city would have to look for other things from which to generate revenue. But in reality it's not so much speed that causes accidents than differences in speed - i.e. all traffic traveling together at 90 km/h is safer than some traveling at 70 and some at 90. Of course the higher your speed is, the more momentum your vehicle carries and the less time you have to react to a situation.

Problem is, they have to make the speed limits a reasonable compromise for all types of vehicles - for example a high performance sport bike or sports car will be able to travel along the circ at 100+ km/h with no problems as their suspension, brakes, and tires are designed to be able to handle well and stop quickly. You do that same speed in a double-trailer transport truck and suddenly it's not so safe (even though those guys seem to be the ones speeding the most) - huge momentum and less able suspension and braking abilities. Toss a cell phone into the mix and it's a disaster waiting to happen. At least cyclists can't text while riding...

[Keith P.]

Christmas came a day late but what a welcome gift Santa brought us. HRM released the results of their consultation on the North End-West Bikeways proposals, and did citizens ever give them a lump of coal:

https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/6826/documents/13165

For the first time, the people who pay the freight spoke up and said no more. Aside from the usual HCC boilerplate comments in support and those of the planning students/cycling zealots, about as many of the responses are from people opposing this poorly-conceived overreach, with common-sense concerns about loss of parking, dumping these things on already too-narrow streets, the way HRM has botched previous attempts on streets like Hollis, Windsor and University Ave., and even the ever-popular racism card when taking away parking from communities which have a higher-than-typical concentration of black residents in parts of central Halifax.

Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for those members of our Council who up until now have been led around by their noses by the cycling lobby. If they listen to the public, it should now be clear to them that trying to overlay a cycling network that will get very little use by a tiny minority onto our ridiculously undersized network of overly narrow streets is a very foolhardy and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars. They should finally wake up and realize that cycling will never become any kind of reasonable solution to our traffic issues. Trying to force this on residents by flying in the face of this feedback will likely exact a steep political price upon those who do not listen.

Ho ho ho!!!

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Christmas came a day late but what a welcome gift Santa brought us. HRM released the results of their consultation on the North End-West Bikeways proposals, and did citizens ever give them a lump of coal:

https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/6826/documents/13165

For the first time, the people who pay the freight spoke up and said no more. Aside from the usual HCC boilerplate comments in support and those of the planning students/cycling zealots, about as many of the responses are from people opposing this poorly-conceived overreach, with common-sense concerns about loss of parking, dumping these things on already too-narrow streets, the way HRM has botched previous attempts on streets like Hollis, Windsor and University Ave., and even the ever-popular racism card when taking away parking from communities which have a higher-than-typical concentration of black residents in parts of central Halifax.

Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for those members of our Council who up until now have been led around by their noses by the cycling lobby. If they listen to the public, it should now be clear to them that trying to overlay a cycling network that will get very little use by a tiny minority onto our ridiculously undersized network of overly narrow streets is a very foolhardy and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars. They should finally wake up and realize that cycling will never become any kind of reasonable solution to our traffic issues. Trying to force this on residents by flying in the face of this feedback will likely exact a steep political price upon those who do not listen.

Ho ho ho!!!

This is the ultimate Keith P post.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Downtown bike paths will benefit cyclists, drivers, and environment

Last week, a 2.8 kilometre bike pathway system was approved by the HRM Transportation Standing Committee.

The next step is to seek approval from municipal council for the cycling infrastructure on Hollis Street, Upper Water Street, Terminal Road, and George Street.

"We're really pleased with that," says Kelsey Lane, the Ecology Action Centre's sustainable transportation coordinator.

Lane says this network makes up eight per cent of the "minimum grid" that cycling advocates hope to achieve in the city by 2022.

"Many people who have ridden down that street know the bike lane on Hollis Street has been problematic for a number of years," Lane says. "So the improvement and the upgrades have been a long time coming."

https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...tanding-committees/tsc190423item1212.pdf

[Keith P.]

Absurd and a waste of money.

[atbw]

Great news! The current lanes are in fact absurd and a waste of money, though thoroughly enjoyed by the Purolator delivery folks. Can't wait to get a bike this summer.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax now has an interactive and up-to-date online bike map.

Halifax.ca/bikemap

The South Park Street Protected Bicycle Facility is tendered and construction will start this summer on the Inglis - Spring Garden section. The north section is delayed until construction at the Pavilion/YMCA wraps up.

Vernon Street Local Street Bikeway was started last year. North of Jubilee is done and work is underway south to Coburg. The lights for crossing Coburg onto Seymour is delayed until work on Capitol Suites wraps up.

Allan Street LSB is under construction between Windsor and Harvard. The traffic diversion at Harvard and west onto Oak is delayed due to legal issues.

Construction on the Barrington Street Greenway extension to Devonshire will occur this summer. The temporary multi-use facility will be replaced by a permanent solution in the same location.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

The South Park Street Protected Bicycle Facility is tendered and construction will start this summer on the Inglis - Spring Garden section. The north section is delayed until construction at the Pavilion/YMCA wraps up.

The new sidewalk section along Pavilion YMCA has been cleaned up and is open to residents - it's wide! Going to be a nice change to get through there without squeezing between jersey barriers.

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Construction on the Barrington Street Greenway extension to Devonshire will occur this summer. The temporary multi-use facility will be replaced by a permanent solution in the same location.

I was out for a run along here a few weeks ago. The sidewalk is as narrow as they come, this new trail is going to be so much nicer to navigate. The buffer from traffic is going to be nice as well.

[Dmajackson]

VERNON STREET LOCAL STREET BIKEWAY




Halifax Developments Blog (Photo by David Jackson)

[Keith P.]

Wow, just look at all the cyclists...

[Nor'easter]

Hey, there's one!

[ILoveHalifax]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Wow, just look at all the cyclists...

I DON'T see any cyclists BUT I don't see any KEITHs either

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

VERNON STREET LOCAL STREET BIKEWAY




Halifax Developments Blog (Photo by David Jackson)

I don't understand the signage - it says no entry except bicycles, but there are obviously cars there?

[MonctonRad]

I think the sign might mean "no through automobile traffic". which means that the city still grudgingly allows vehicular access to residents so that they can park their cars there.

I wonder if this means that any car on the street needs to have a resident parking pass.........

[OldDartmouthMark]

I'm sure that's what it means but it's not really well marked. There should additionally be something that physically narrows the entrance to the street to make it obvious that this is the case.

It would be unfair to residents to tell them they could no longer park their cars at their houses, so that 2 or 3 cyclists per day could use their street, but the photo looks like there's more traffic than I would expect to see from residents going to/from their homes.

Seems to be kind of a Mickey Mouse way to do it but I haven't been to the site, so maybe it's easier to understand when you are there.

[Agricola]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

It would be unfair to residents to tell them they could no longer park their cars at their houses, so that 2 or 3 cyclists per day could use their street, but the photo looks like there's more traffic than I would expect to see from residents going to/from their homes.

Right, two or three cyclists! probably closer to two or three hundred per day.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Agricola

Right, two or three cyclists! probably closer to two or three hundred per day.

I was actually being a little sarcastic... but is it that many? I recall looking at stats last year and it seemed like the numbers were far less than that.

Do you have a source for the stats that you could share?

[Nouvellecosse]

During the school year that is the main route between Dal (probably the bike capital of the Maritimes) and the closest full size grocery store plus people commuting to parts further north and west via Windsor bike lane. I've been using it quite regularly and I'd honestly be a bit surprised if it was "only" 200-300/weekday during most of the year.