Cycling in Edmonton/Building a Bike Network

[Coldrsx]

Bells go a long way.

[Mikemike]

Originally Posted by Landlocked

Sidewalk use is fine if there are no bike paths (stay safe), however they should yield right of way to pedestrians, and also to vehicles at pedestrian crossings unless getting off the bike and become a 'right of way' pedestrian.

Yield to pedestrians for sure, and be aware of turning drivers but there's no good rationale for expecting cyclists to yield or get off their bikes if they wouldn't have to if they were 3' over on the parallel street.

Or if their wheels are a few inches smaller.

Getting off to walk takes more room, more time and is less predictable. Cyclists on the sidewalk are most often crossing with the flow of traffic, and it makes no sense that the one with the green should ever yield to the one with the red - neither should the one going straight parallel to the main road ever be expected to yield to someone on a driveway.

Given that we allow bikes with 20" and smaller wheels on sidewalks, and we expect young riders to be on the sidewalk rather than main roads the "crime" of riding a bike with too large a wheel on the sidewalk is about as serious as driving a car with window tint a couple shades too dark - purely a matter of non-complying equipment.

[s4.audios]

Originally Posted by B.ike

I do kind of echo black star's sentiments.

You have the 'regular' folk on the bike path.
You have the 'enthusiast' on the road.
You have the 'bmxer' that goes wherever the $#% he wants
You have the 'clueless' who still insists on riding on the sidewalk

Sometimes if you're lucky, and you're pulling out of a downtown alley that crosses a bike path, you get the treat of seeing all of them at once while you wait what feelings like an eternity for an opening.

Make no mistake, I'm not against bikes (pedal or gas powered)...look at my username..... but there needs to be some predictability. It's a free for all out there sometimes. Especially at 102 avenue and 103 Street with Encore taking up the bike path. Bikes all over the place every morning. accident waiting to happen.

I could say the same thing about drivers.

There is the slowpoke granny driving 10K under the speed limit.
There is the clueless inconsiderate idiot driving as if they are wearing horse blinders.
There is the douchebag pickup often taking more than two lanes and driving like they own the road.
There is the late guy thats tailgating everyone to get out of their way.
etc etc..

I really don't think you have to be any more cautious with bikers as you already have to be with drivers. If an accident happens, its either the driver's fault or the biker's fault, simple as that. If your life has really been affected by the new bike lanes and all the new bikes out, you really haven't been driving safely, to begin with. All in all, it's a good change for both bikers and drivers.

[rapid_business]

Originally Posted by YEGman

We'll be checking for the 'report' in November through to March....

This past winter the average usage of the lanes was about 1000 trips a day. I'm not one of them....yet.... but good on the people who do.

In the end, what do the lanes matter to non-users? The cost was minimal compared to any stretch of road. It takes up one lane of traffic on its respective roads. It creates a safer space for cyclists to ride keeping them safe, keeping them out of harms way from mixed traffic and get riders out like my wife out who aren't as confident. I pull my kids in the trailer behind my bike on them down to the Leg, the Farmers market, different playgrounds, across the river to Whyte. I've talked to a number of people who work downtown that have tried commuting downtown by bike for the first time ever (and often first time on a bike in a decade or two) because these lanes were built. They would never have, had it not been for the infrastructure.

At the end of the day, if it gets more people out riding... if it means one less kid, or mom, or brother is killed because we have better infrastructure to keep people safer, isn't that a good thing?

Have the lanes caused some minor inconveniences for motorists? Absolutely. But, like lots of things in a cohesive and evolving and a growing city, it's part of the trade-off.

I welcome you all to try it! I'll happily give tours. We can even hit a patio or two along the way!

[Coldrsx]

Walking to work this AM I believe we have a new record for my 5 block walk count. 23.

[Landlocked]

Originally Posted by s4.audios

I could say the same thing about drivers.
There is the douchebag pickup often taking more than two lanes and driving like they own the road.

Absolutely a ton of drivers on the road that shouldn't have licenses, just as there are many cyclists who constantly endanger themselves and others and should be removed from the road network. My personal favorite are those who don't yield the proper right of way at a four way stop and then give the Trudeau salute if anyone honks at them.

I'm confused by the pickup comment though. If I see anyone on the road taking more than one lane, it's the distracted drivers of any vehicle type. Sadly they're also often the ones doing 10 under the speed limit, selfishly aware that they can't properly drive while on their phone yet unwilling to stop.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Bells go a long way.

I am surprised by how many bikes have bells but the riders do not use them.

My rule is ring once when you see a pedestrian. then ring again as you get closer and a final time as you pass. Let them know you are coming up.

We were walking the trail between the FT Footbridge and the Terwilliger bridge. 20+ bikes passed, only one used the bell. My wife's walking aid has a bell so she started to ring it after they passed. You think they were tasered.

All my bikes have bells and lights, and the road bike has incident cameras as well.

[GreenSPACE]

Sitting at Bodega patio for dinner last evening, couldn't believe the number of cyclists on 103 Street, given it dead-ends at 103 Avenue.

[Landlocked]

Originally Posted by Airboy

I am surprised by how many bikes have bells but the riders do not use them.

My rule is ring once when you see a pedestrian. then ring again as you get closer and a final time as you pass. Let them know you are coming up.

We were walking the trail between the FT Footbridge and the Terwilliger bridge. 20+ bikes passed, only one used the bell. My wife's walking aid has a bell so she started to ring it after they passed. You think they were tasered.

All my bikes have bells and lights, and the road bike has incident cameras as well.

Edmonton Bylaw 5590:

"BICYCLE
CONDUCT
50 A person riding a bicycle on a sidewalk or bicycle path shall:
(a) yield the right of way to slower moving people;
(b) alert anyone about to be overtaken by sounding a bell a
reasonable amount of time before overtaking;
(c) use reasonable care when overtaking another person; and
(d) travel under control and at a reasonable rate of speed
having regard to the nature, condition and use of the
sidewalk or bicycle path including the amount of pedestrian
traffic."


It's more than just a courtesy. I use my bell and have taught my kid the necessity as well.

Smart decision on the camera. I'm not sure I'd operate a vehicle anywhere without a dashcam. I should probably pick up a battery operated one for use on a bike.

[Coldrsx]

Connectivity!

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/201...e-network.html

[Coldrsx]

KEEPING UP BIKE LANE MOMENTUM IN EDMONTON
Bike lanes make sense on the southside
WRITTEN BY JEFF SAMSONOW

https://edmontonquotient.com/2018/03...m-in-edmonton/

[mintzilla]

EPS really needs to start taking bike thefts seriously. It’s a goddamn epidemic this summer. And you know it’s probably the same deadbeat subhuman assholes every time.

[Landlocked]

Originally Posted by mintzilla

EPS really needs to start taking bike thefts seriously. It’s a goddamn epidemic this summer. And you know it’s probably the same deadbeat subhuman assholes every time.

Every now and again I'll see someone ride by on a bike with one hand on a second, riderless, bike. I'm either witnessing a bold daytime theft, or a weird version of Uber for cyclists. I'll let you guess which one it is.

[rapid_business]

Yea... I had a guy store a stolen bike under my front deck last year and come to grab it later that night. I called the cops and they were not that interested. It was actually shocking how little they cared. Sad to be honest.

[Coldrsx]

2 meetings today that are 20mins by foot or transit, an 8 min cab or an 8 min ride... in full summer suit.

A bikeshare cannot come soon enough!


@ianoyeg

[MichaelC]

Is the city even trying for bike share? Or are they all talk?

[Coldrsx]

Coming...

[Abii]

So I landed in Edmonton this morning and it's my first summer here since 2014. In the past year I've gotten into biking so I've been paying a lot of attention to biking/bikers and the sport in general. In Vancouver there's been a massive surge in the number of bikers in the past 5 years. Even in suburbs the surge is very very apparent. I noticed more bikers in Edmonton than when I was last here, but I wouldn't call it a surge. Bike lanes are still under construction all around the university so obviously once those are built, thing will be different. But I came here to say this: why do Edmonton bikers bike on the sidewalk? The majority of bikers I saw were on the sidewalk! Why? Are drivers that inconsiderate here? Or is biking still so new that people aren't comfortable with the idea of biking on the road?

[MichaelC]

^They bike on the sidewalks because people don't know how to drive in Edmonton, and the cyclists don't know road rules.

[itom 987]

I intentionally bike on the sidewalk because it is safer for me to do so. I never understood the logic of sharing a single lane with a vehicle that weighs 10x more than you. My hearing problem is another factor to consider.