Bikes, bikes, bikes

[raisethehammer]

oh my goodness. are you ok??
that's horrible news!

[FairHamilton]

Jon,

I hope you are relatively unscathed. That's brutal, how bad? Were the police involved in the incident (i.e. ticket to driver).

[Jon Dalton]

It's all good, no injuries, but scary that someone would just plow right into me from behind. The area is terrible for people just gunning it out of driveways as if there's no sidewalk. Also, yesterday I was counting the number of drivers on cell phones which is truly astounding. 5 in a row were on the phone including a lady who almost ran the red and was reaching to grab the phone from the passenger seat while jerking the wheel abruptly with the other hand and screeching to a halt halfway into the crosswalk.

[FairHamilton]

I'm glad for no injuries! That's the most important thing.

[highwater]

Oh jeez, Jon. Glad you're ok. Take care of yourself.

[thistleclub]

The press release version of Rob Faulkner’s piece in the Spec:

Hamilton Shifting Gears to Expand Cycling Infrastructure

HAMILTON, ON - October 2, 2008 - Hamilton's Public Works Department has initiated updates to the City's Cycling Master Plan in order to enhance the cycling experience for all riders. Updates to the plan, Shifting Gears, which was written in 1999, will focus on improving and expanding Hamilton's cycling network.

"The updated Cycling Master Plan will address the needs of all cyclists, from recreational riders to all-season cycling commuters," said Daryl Bender, Project Manager of Alternative Transportation in Hamilton's Public Works Department. "We want to ensure all riders, regardless of skill level, can be accommodated on Hamilton's bike lanes and trails."

Cycling is encouraged as an alternative form of transportation for numerous health and environmental benefits. Shifting Gears takes a holistic approach to cycling, and aims to make cycling accessible and attractive to all citizens and tourists of Hamilton. In addition to expanding Hamilton's network of routes, the updated Cycling Master Plan will review bike safety issues, bicycle parking and other ways to improve cycling.

As part of Hamilton's goal to develop an integrated sustainable transportation system, Hamilton has already been aggressively enhancing cycling facilities. Latest improvements include the installation of secure bicycle parking facilities at the York Boulevard parkade and the addition of bicycle lanes on North Service Road, York Boulevard, Ferguson Avenue and Stone Church Road.

The Environmental Assessment process will begin this fall to allow for consultation with stakeholders and the general public. In order to engage stakeholders and gather feedback, the City intends to hold public information centres by the end of this year and again in the first half of 2009. Stakeholders and the general public are welcome to attend these meetings to learn about updates to Shifting Gears and voice suggestions. More details will be shared as they become available. Comments are also welcomed by email anytime at [email protected]

For more information on the Cycling Master Plan, please visit www.hamilton.ca/cycling.

[raisethehammer]

anyone noticed the construction on Wilson, east of Wellington?
It almost looks like they are going to redo it as 3 lanes instead of 4. Perhaps room for a bike lane??
I'm sure this is just wishful thinking...when it's all said and done it'll be back to a 4-lane freeway, but for now they've got painted dots in a 3-lane design.
I can't see a bike lane going there or we'd have heard about it years ago and the subsequent 2 dozen studies, 6 years of hand-wringing and constant delays while the brainiacs at city hall try to figure out if it's possible to add a bike lane on a 4-lane, one-way street without the world coming to an end.

[raisethehammer]

anyone see the new bike parking in front of the GO Station?
It's awesome.
I LOVE the green bike. That should be used all over town as the symbol for bike parking areas.
Very cool.

[thistleclub]

Crazy CCTV-enhanced story about London mayor Boris Johnson's Friday morning ride with a couple of his transportation officials. Trying to imagine a Hamilton version of this but all I'm getting is a laugh track.

[SteelTown]

Cast your vote for McMaster engineering
by Faculty of Engineering
July 14, 2009



Mechanical engineering and management graduates Lindsey Kettel and Cory Minkhorst need your help.

The two inventors have entered their award-winning Crosstown collapsible bicycle trailer in an international design competition and they need your vote to win the Canadian category.

The James Dyson Award celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers. Its winner takes home approximately $19,000, with a matching prize for their school's design engineering department.

"The money would definitely help to get us further along in commercialization," said Minkhorst. "If we were to win the overall award, the donation would also be great for the mechanical engineering department!"

While the overall winner is chosen by Dyson with the recommendations of a panel of expert judges, the competition also includes a People's Choice Award. The public is encouraged to vote for their favourite design, which is done by country of residence. The most popular choices from each of the 21 participating countries automatically qualify for the judged competition.

Though the trailer is fundamentally the same, Kettel and Minkhorst have made many design modifications since their wins at the Ontario and Canadian Engineering Competitions earlier this year.

"This is our third prototype of the trailer," said Minkhorst. "The first was a simple design made from off-the-shelf materials like plywood and door hinges. We now use panels framed with aluminum tubing and covered with aluminum mesh, which has made the trailer lighter and stronger. We also reversed the folding direction and changed the towing arm in order to make it simpler and faster to stow the trailer on the back of the bike."

Kettel and Minkhorst came up with the collapsible bicycle carrier idea for their final year capstone project in mechanical engineering. They were inspired by research showing that more people would bicycle to work if they had a convenient, safe and secure way to transport things on their way to and from their destination.

Voting closes July 20 and People's Choice Award winners will be announced on July 21. The overall competition winner will be announced Monday, September 7.

For more information on the James Dyson Award, visit their web site.....
http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/

To view and vote for the Crosstown.....
http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/Proje...ct.aspx?ID=665

[FairHamilton]

You'll have to register; http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/Regis...istration.aspx

And the voting is kinda different. It's not just a straight vote. You can select your rating, and the higher the rating the higher the product ranking. Right now the Crosstown is in 4th place, so if you are going to vote for it, rank it high.

Hopefully, we'll see it available at Bikehounds in the near future.

[flar]

An example of bike rental station:

[markbarbera]

Heads-up for those cyclists that use the bike racks on the front of buses: I was riding the GO Bus back home this evening and heard a call over the radio from a Burlington GO driver reporting a bike stolen from the rack as he was stopped on Fairview. If you're going to use the rack, make sure you wrap a bike lock through the wheel spokes and around the frame before mounting it on the bike rack.

[matt602]

Wow, that's just ridiculous.

[FairHamilton]

I want on of these as soon as they are available. Heck, I'll even buy a prototype.

http://thespec.com/article/624633

August 26, 2009

Special to the Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 26, 2009)
Two McMaster University graduates are pedalling into the bigtime with an invention that keeps capturing awards.

The latest feather in the caps of engineering grads Cory Minkhorst and Lindsey Kettel is the James Dyson national design award for their ingenious lightweight foldaway cargo carrier for bicycles.

They won the Canadian portion of the award and are now among the top 20 finalists in the world.

Kettel and Minkhorst created the Crosstown trailer as a graduating project in mechanical engineering. The lightweight carrier attaches to the rear forks by a single arm. When not in use, it rides over the back wheel. The trailer swings down, opens up the bed and raises the fabric walls. The carrier bed opens out to be a little larger than a case of 24 beers, and can haul up to 45 kilograms of cargo.

Dyson, a famed Canadian inventor, himself chooses the overall winner in consultation with an expert panel that is reviewing entries from 21 countries.

[SteelTown]

New buses, bike lockers
Transit upgrades part of Metrolinx strategy for city

September 01, 2009
Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/626989

New bike lockers are set to open in the downtown core this month to better help commuting cyclists link up with public transit.

The 16 lockers, designed to hold 16 bikes each, will open at the Hamilton Convention Centre as part of Metrolinx's $2.2-million program to provide secure bike parking for cyclists across the Golden Horseshoe area.

The lockers were mentioned yesterday by Metrolinx chairperson Rob MacIsaac at the delivery of 18 hybrid buses to the city for a new north-south transit route.

"It's to make cycling a more feasible way for people to get around," he said at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, where he, city and provincial officials unveiled the diesel-electric buses.

Studies by Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency overseeing the Golden Horseshoe, suggest people use their bikes less than they'd like because of the risk of theft.

"People don't like taking their bike to work and coming out and seeing that it's not there anymore, obviously," said MacIsaac. "If we can help encourage and provide more secure locations for bicycles, we think people will use them more."

He also said the idea is to have secure bike lockers in areas that are cycling, pedestrian, transit, employment and leisure hubs.

They will be accessible to registered users with a key card and will be under constant video surveillance.

The buses, first announced by Metrolinx last year, will be employed on a new route that will start next Tuesday and essentially run between the city's waterfront and the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. It will serve such destinations as the GO station on Hunter Street and Mohawk College. It will only operate on weekdays during peak periods, but will someday expand into all-day service.

Six buses were lined up on the tarmac behind the Mount Hope museum and their destination signs spelled out the message: Hamilton and Metrolinx launch the new 20A Line Express Transit Routes.

"These improvements will result in more frequent service, more capacity and more comfort for our riders," said Mayor Fred Eisen- berger. "We look forward to working with Metrolinx in the coming months to implement future transit projects in Hamilton."

The buses cost $16 million and came from $33 million allotted to Hamilton by Metrolinx this spring to provide immediate transit improvements. The bus purchases, however, were first announced at the end of 2008 as part of a deal with Winnipeg-based New Flyer to buy 160 buses for 12 municipalities.

[highwater]

Take the poll:

http://thespec.com/

[Jon Dalton]

Another one bites the dust?

November 03, 2009
John Burman
BURLINGTON – A cyclist was seriously injured in a collision with an SUV on Dundas Street at Guelph Line this morning.

Halton police said the man, in his mid-30s who is believed to be from Mississauga or Oakville, was riding his bike east on Dundas Street when he collided with an SUV in the intersection just before 10 a.m.

The cyclists name has not been released.

Sergeant Brian Carr said the SUV had been westbound on Dundas moments before and was turning left, southbound onto Guelph Line.

The cyclist was taken by ambulance to Hamilton General Hospital. The full extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

Members of the Halton police collision reconstruction unit closed the intersection for approximately two hours for investigation. Dundas Street was closed from Walkers Line to Guelph Line which was closed from Driftwood Drive to 1 Sideroad.


http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/665711

[rousseau]

Obviously I'm speculating, but it sounds like a classic case of douchebag driver syndrome: "I am in my car and turning left; said cyclist riding in the opposing direction can't be going that fast, but even if he is, he should yield for me anyway."

[Jon Dalton]

Either that or the cyclist was pushing the yellow, which is not likely. Those intersections are so wide that if you enter during the yellow, cars to the right will be gunning it by the time you're half way through.