Bikes, bikes, bikes

[adam]

Originally Posted by FairHamilton

I think you missed my point. My point was drivers see cyclists as mavericks who flaunt all aspects of law while riding. Even if that's a small minority of cyclists. To get more respect from drivers we need to clean up those cyclists.

To illustrate my point. Monday night at th Main West Exit fom the 403, a cyclist riding westbound on eastbound direction sidewalk quickly turns and and rides across pedestrian crosswalk at the light. The GO bus driver advances turning right while checking traffic driving eastbound (he'd already checked that corner for pedestrians and none were present) he slams brakes thus avoiding collision with cyclist. Bus driver shakes head and mutters under breath.

Also, as a pedestrian in this city I'm worried about getting hit by a bike on the sidewalk then I am a car. Monday night between Jimmy Thompson Memorial Pool and Carrick (a very short distance), 3 bikes on sidewalk riding east on King Street (a westbound street).

I agree with you. The pedestrian should have the right of way.

But how can you blame these kids on bikes who use the sidewalk? They'd be assinine to risk their life on the road with SUVs who race through the downtown at 80km/h and higher. The majority of cars don't even stop at stop signs anymore.

[Jon Dalton]

Originally Posted by FairHamilton

First off I'm a cyclist, and I've posted as such previously.

Here's what I'm saying. If you want to be safer on the road then you have to be respected by drivers. Currently, I believe the one major thing that is preventing us (cyclists) from getting our due respect are the yahoo's who pull the stupid stuff.

How many times have you heard from drivers, "Hey, you cyclists blow red lights/stop signs, ride on sidewalks, ride at night with no lights, and generally have no respect for the rules of the road." I've read letters to the editor in The Spec which have said that. Those drivers don't respect cyclists.

Heck, why should they cyclists break laws all the time right in front of police without repercussions (Monday night on King Street the 3 bikes on the sidewalk passed 3 police cruisers on a traffic stop of some sort without any issue). I think police should enforce the rules of the road on cyclists. When people ride on the sidewalks they should be ticketed, when they ride at night with no lights they should be ticketed, when they blow red lights/stop signs they should be ticketed.

When drivers see most cyclists respecting the rules of the road, and being ticketed for infractions they'll develop a respect for cyclists. I've posted before I ride with a forward facing white flasher on my bike all the time even during the day, and why shouldn't I. There are laws for cars sold in Ontario to have daytime running lights why shouldn't I be the same on my bike.

I have yet to see another cyclist riding with a flasher during the day. And it's my belief that if I act like those around me, then they'll respect me (I'll be part of the club) and they will afford me the room on the road I deserve.

Without their respect, what should I expect to get? Probably, close brushes........

Very good points. Just to clarify, I don't advocate for the complete lawlessness of cyclists, that said I do engage in some questionable practices, most of which are technically legal. All of the examples recently brought up here I agree are not acceptable and I don't support - riding on the sidewalk, cutting off vehicles, whizzing through stop signs / lights. The big issue here and I would say the single most important one for cyclists to follow is right of way. If we don't violate someone's right of way, they have no legitimate reason to be angry. That brings me to my next point - why do people get angry? If it is because a cyclist puts others in danger, or puts himself in danger of getting hit, that's legitimate. However I rarely see this in my own travels. More often than not the root cause of anger towards cyclists is either that the driver has to slow down because there isn't enough room to pass, or that the cyclist is going faster.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by Jon Dalton

Very good points. Just to clarify, I don't advocate for the complete lawlessness of cyclists, that said I do engage in some questionable practices, most of which are technically legal. All of the examples recently brought up here I agree are not acceptable and I don't support - riding on the sidewalk, cutting off vehicles, whizzing through stop signs / lights. The big issue here and I would say the single most important one for cyclists to follow is right of way. If we don't violate someone's right of way, they have no legitimate reason to be angry. That brings me to my next point - why do people get angry? If it is because a cyclist puts others in danger, or puts himself in danger of getting hit, that's legitimate. However I rarely see this in my own travels. More often than not the root cause of anger towards cyclists is either that the driver has to slow down because there isn't enough room to pass, or that the cyclist is going faster.

Agreed, most people engage in questionable practices (i.e. bending or slightly breaking the law - i.e. speeding, roll through stops, etc) and I would never advocate enforcement to the letter of the law.

Why I think people get so angry is that everyone is in a hurry, which causes stress. Also, when you are in a car there is a separation between you and everyone else and you have a tendency to do things you'd never do when face-to-face with people.

[adam]

Its easy to forget how how lethal you are when you are in the comfortable seat of a car. More expensive cars enhance the barrier between the interior of the car and what I'll call REALITY. The reality that one false move could see you in the hospital or a pedestrian or cyclist dead or seriously injured. I think that motorists need to remember this and forget about trying to shave 5 minutes off their trip.

[Jon Dalton]

It's also easy to forget how vulnerable you are on a bike when you're used to not getting hit. I got hit at probably 5km/h and it still knocked me down and completely taco'd the rear rim. Huge trucks pass by me at 60-80km/h with sometimes a foot to spare and I don't even blink an eye (maybe it's because that's 7:45am and I'm too tired to be scared). Maybe it's time to re-evaluate my policies in Burlington. I heard it's legal to ride on the sidewalk there.

[SteelTown]

Bike rack use on buses takes off
Mountain routes see most action

October 11, 2008
Rob Faulkner
The Hamilton Spectator

Racks to carry bikes on the front of Hamilton Street Railway buses are more popular than some at city hall ever expected.

In a daylong survey on Thursday, Aug. 21, HSR drivers reported that 109 bicycles were loaded onto racks across the system "reflecting a usage rate far in excess of expectations and other reported industry experience," city staff say.

The HSR finished installing racks on all 204 of its buses in October 2007 in the wake of concerns they would cause a space crunch in storage garages, cause problems for bus cleaning machines, or raise liability issues for vehicle length.

"Everyone's very pleased. Some were surprised because there were people who were cautious about it," said Daryl Bender, city project manager for alternative transportation, which includes cycling.

HSR bike racks were paid for out of 2007 gas tax money. More recent Metrolinx money went toward bike storage and parking this year, Bender said.

Peak times for use were 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. It's not entirely different from trends of all city traffic, Bender said.

But the peak routes used were interesting, he notes. Top routes for rack usage were Upper Ottawa, Upper Gage and Upper Sherman, and King, Upper James, Upper Wentworth/Upper Wellington, Delaware and Barton.

Many of the Mountain bus routes include a climb up the escarpment, so one might assume cyclists were seeking a break from riding up that climb, Bender adds.

The survey -- done from 7 a.m. on Aug. 21 to 1 a.m. on Aug. 22 -- will be repeated this month to track use during the school year and outside the summer vacation period.

The city plans to keep the racks on buses all winter, like last year.

[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.

[Jon Dalton]

So the spec mentions today that the cyclist wasn't wearing a helmet, but no further details other than that the driver wasn't injured when his SUV hit a bike (whew!). Good work, team.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/666131