Halifax Active Transportation

[someone123]

Some cities have little lifts that push bikes up hills. That could be interesting.

[Dmajackson]

2011 Projects (+/- 10 Km)

Bicycle Lanes

Purcell's Cove Road - In combination with some shoulder paving, bicycle lanes will be striped from Spinnaker Drive to Burns Drive, bringing to 9.3Km the total length (both sides) of bicycle lane on the Purcell's Cove Road. On a short section from Dingle Road to Reserve Road, there wasn't any space to widen the road to allow bicycle lanes on both sides, so the downhill (northbound) direction will be marked with sharrows instead. 2.9 Km
Waverley Road - Bicycle lanes striped from Micmac Street to Breeze Drive - 3.4 Km
Caldwell Road - Bicycle lanes striped from Astral Drive to Atholea - 3 Km
Dunbrack Street - Bicycle lanes striped from Lacewood Drive to Radcliffe Drive (northbound side only - 0.5 Km)

Trails

Burnside Drive Multi-Use Path - slated to start in fall 2011, this paved multi-use pathway will connect pedestrians and cyclists to Commodore Avenue from the pedestrian/ bicycle bridge over Highway 111 at Burnside Drive/ Highfield Park Drive.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

2011 Projects (+/- 10 Km)

Bicycle Lanes

Purcell's Cove Road - In combination with some shoulder paving, bicycle lanes will be striped from Spinnaker Drive to Burns Drive, bringing to 9.3Km the total length (both sides) of bicycle lane on the Purcell's Cove Road. On a short section from Dingle Road to Reserve Road, there wasn't any space to widen the road to allow bicycle lanes on both sides, so the downhill (northbound) direction will be marked with sharrows instead. 2.9 Km
Waverley Road - Bicycle lanes striped from Micmac Street to Breeze Drive - 3.4 Km
Caldwell Road - Bicycle lanes striped from Astral Drive to Atholea - 3 Km
Dunbrack Street - Bicycle lanes striped from Lacewood Drive to Radcliffe Drive (northbound side only - 0.5 Km)

Trails

Burnside Drive Multi-Use Path - slated to start in fall 2011, this paved multi-use pathway will connect pedestrians and cyclists to Commodore Avenue from the pedestrian/ bicycle bridge over Highway 111 at Burnside Drive/ Highfield Park Drive.

Sheer lunacy, all of it.

[Waye Mason]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Sheer lunacy, all of it.

Everywhere you go there are bike lanes and they are used. For me, the bike lanes in old Florence, in Tuscany, and the bike lanes all over Manhattan were most interesting. Why not here?

I like bike lanes, and I use them.

[haligonia]

Originally Posted by Waye Mason

I like bike lanes, and I use them.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax bike lanes aren't perfect but they are adequate for the most part so I like them and use them a lot. I was disappointed to see no work done in my community (Bfd/Sack/HPR) this year but I hear we will have some major improvements soon.

The grapevine says the Crosstown Connector, Downtown Street Plan, HUG Phase II, and Burnside Connector are all in the plans and are scheduled to start next year so while this year is slow budget increases are approved (initially at least) for the next few years so more projects will get through in the coming 5 years than the previous decade.

[beyeas]

What to me often seems like lunacy isn't bike lanes themselves (which I think are awesome), but rather the planning and implementation of them.

Most of the bike lanes should be renamed the Sarah Palin Memorial Bike Lanes because they are 1) bike lanes to no-where and 2) using some of them can get you killed.

Rather than the seemingly haphazard "draw some lines on the side of a road and then randomly end that lane for no apparent reason", I would prefer to see lanes that run completed from one terminus to another, ideally with some barrier or at least curb to protect the riders on busier areas. Spreading half done lanes around the city seems to me to often be worse than having fewer, but done well.

[Waye Mason]

My understanding is there is a bike network plan, and they are phasing them in as they do road work to save money. Eventually there will be a network, but it will take many years.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by beyeas

What to me often seems like lunacy isn't bike lanes themselves (which I think are awesome), but rather the planning and implementation of them.

Most of the bike lanes should be renamed the Sarah Palin Memorial Bike Lanes because they are 1) bike lanes to no-where and 2) using some of them can get you killed.

Rather than the seemingly haphazard "draw some lines on the side of a road and then randomly end that lane for no apparent reason", I would prefer to see lanes that run completed from one terminus to another, ideally with some barrier or at least curb to protect the riders on busier areas. Spreading half done lanes around the city seems to me to often be worse than having fewer, but done well.

Bingo... if painting a line creates a "bike lane" than how come this whole thing is costing so much and taking so much time??? Where is the money going? Seriously.

There needs to be a PHYSICAL SEPARATION of people, cars, and bikes. Bike lanes should be ashphalt and inside of the sidewalk or separated from cars by a curb.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Are the proponents of this supposedly educated in urban planning? Doesn't Watts have a masters in planning or something?

[planarchy]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Are the proponents of this supposedly educated in urban planning? Doesn't Watts have a masters in planning or something?

I think Watts is a planner by trade, but no idea of her education. But a lot of planners are also clueless when it comes to good urban design, including bike lanes.

Bike lanes are often better as separate paths, but they can work well as a simple line. The problem in HFX is that this is rarely executed well. These types of bike lanes should end with a painted "waiting area" at major intersections, where bikes wait in front of cars. And with new bike lanes emphasis should be put on connectivity, not on ad hoc, wherever-it-fits approaches that seem like the norm now.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by planarchy

I think Watts is a planner by trade, but no idea of her education. But a lot of planners are also clueless when it comes to good urban design, including bike lanes.

Bike lanes are often better as separate paths, but they can work well as a simple line. The problem in HFX is that this is rarely executed well. These types of bike lanes should end with a painted "waiting area" at major intersections, where bikes wait in front of cars. And with new bike lanes emphasis should be put on connectivity, not on ad hoc, wherever-it-fits approaches that seem like the norm now.

Hey now! I'm a planner and I don't deal with bike lanes at all. I think typically in many cities, the plan for bike trails is often done by transportation planners - which are a different breed, depending on what city you go to. So if they are the 'typical' breed I've seen, bikes still remain quite low on the priority list. Whereas in other cities, where the priority has been put to pedestrians and cyclists, they think differently.

[Waye Mason]

Originally Posted by halifaxboyns

Hey now! I'm a planner and I don't deal with bike lanes at all. I think typically in many cities, the plan for bike trails is often done by transportation planners - which are a different breed, depending on what city you go to. So if they are the 'typical' breed I've seen, bikes still remain quite low on the priority list. Whereas in other cities, where the priority has been put to pedestrians and cyclists, they think differently.

Heheh. One, Watts is a councillor, not a staffer, and the bike lane plan started well before she was elected, remember the first one, the orphan bike lane on Brunswick in front of the hill, from Sackville to Cogswell? That was it for a few years?

Two, I think on our busiest streets we need separation, for sure, though can you imagine the response of the pro-car people if we took, say, all the parking off of one side of Agricola and made it a bike lane? Our planners would probably tell us that to get separate bike lanes we would need to have 7-8 lane wide roads.

Here are pics I took of two separated bike lanes in NYC, first was 10th Ave, second 11th Ave, on the east and west of the High Line Park.



This one is just outside of old Florence, but still in the older part of town... a simple and low cost solution.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Waye Mason

This one is just outside of old Florence, but still in the older part of town... a simple and low cost solution.

That one is like a cheaper version of the Amsterdam model (and I don't mean that as a criticism).

Anything that helps protect bikers from cars, AND helps car drivers not worry about bikers swerving in front of them (to be fair) on the busier roads is a good thing... especially if it can be done without decreasing the number of car lanes.

[planarchy]

But on narrow streets sometimes these curbs are unnecessary and can be a hazard, not to mention just one more thing for snow plows to rip up in the winter

Colored pavement can go a long way and allows for good transitions between roads with separated bike lanes, to narrow streets where this isn't always possible, or even desirable.



And here is an example of a painted waiting area, which can significantly increase safety for busy intersections, although it takes away the sacred righthand-turn-on-red that North American drivers love so much (despite the fact that it is easily the biggest risk for pedestrians or cyclists in busy cities - and its illegal in most Euro countries).

[planarchy]

And to those who despise bikes based on the ludicrous notion that they take space away from cars, just remember:

[Dmajackson]

^^^ I think coloured lanes and bike boxes are great ideas for HRM and should be implmented. Coloured lanes should have minimal amount of people against them but bike boxes are much more controversial because turning lanes would have to be removed on certain streets. I think investing plenty of municipal dollars into bicycle infrastructure is a great first step. Creating clear corridors can result in high-density nodes that can later be expanded for transit uses. For an example I'll use North Downtown. I'll divide the sections into phases;

Phase 1 (2012 - 2014)

Agricola Street: Remove all on-street parking on this street and paint a coloured bike lane from Cunard to Young. Remove all turn lanes and ban right-on-red movements. Install bike boxes at all stoplights. Install signage to clearly mark road as part of the Crosstown Connector and the continuation up Almon Street.

Gottingen Street: Mark northbound lane as "No Stopping: Tow Away" Zone from Cogswell to North Street. Install bus/bike lane northbound only from Cogswell to Charles.

Robie Street: Change zoning to ban new car dealerships. Increase assessment taxes on under-used lots. Allow for mid-rise buildings. Encourage some office/retail uses. Allow high-rises where large-scale retail and community benefits could be included.

Phase 2 (2015 - 2019):

Agricola Street: Install pedestrian scrambles at North and Almon Streets. Change zoning to allow for high density/rise buildings. Require ground floor commercial. Cut parking requirements in half and require entrances to face adjacent streets.

Gottingen Street: Change zoning to allow for mid-rise (up to ~12 floors) buildings. Cut parking requirements in half and provide incentives for builders to include public parking in underground parkades (no MetroParks or surface lots). Ensure all parking entrances are accessed via Gottingen or adjacent lanes. Encourage development of lanes to the east. Require even split of unit affordability.

Barrington Street: Move all sidewalks away from street and install safety fencing. Extend five lane section to Cornwallis Street. Install bus-only lane southbound from Artz to Cornwallis. At Cornwallis make centre lane (SB) left-turn only. Increase speed limit to 60km/h from Cornwallis to Denvonshire. Change zoning to allow low-mid rise buildings. Cut parking requirements in half and limit number of driveways onto street. Allow for underground public parking.

Robie Street: List all existing car dealerships as non-conforming and offer land elsewhere to owners to encourage redevelopment.

Phase 3 (2020 - 2024):

Agricola Street: Ban all motorized vehicular traffic from Cunard to Young. Install permanent two track street-car system on section mentioned above. Upgrade all stoplights to transit priority (similar to Calgary's downtown version of this). Change pavement style on street to signify it as bicycle/transit only.

MacDonald Bridge: Reconfigure Halifax approaches of traffic lanes and bicycle path. Have bike path main entrance via Gottingen Street with access also from Brunswick Street. Reroute vehicular traffic to feed onto Barrington Street with minor access to North Street. Provide bus-only access from Gottingen Street.

Robie Street: Widen road to four lanes from Almon to Cunard. Reinstate left turns SB onto North Street.

[Waye Mason]

Originally Posted by beyeas

That one is like a cheaper version of the Amsterdam model (and I don't mean that as a criticism).

Anything that helps protect bikers from cars, AND helps car drivers not worry about bikers swerving in front of them (to be fair) on the busier roads is a good thing... especially if it can be done without decreasing the number of car lanes.

I'd argue that it would be okay to reduce car lanes on less important streets, and/or remove parking, but yeah, don't cut Quinpool to 3 lanes to accomodate bikes, put the bike lane on Pepperill.

[haligonia]

I was recently in New York this summer, and while the city certainly isn't the best for bike infrastructure, it has done a lot to promote cycling. The coloured pavement seems to work very well there.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by beyeas

What to me often seems like lunacy isn't bike lanes themselves (which I think are awesome), but rather the planning and implementation of them.

Most of the bike lanes should be renamed the Sarah Palin Memorial Bike Lanes because they are 1) bike lanes to no-where and 2) using some of them can get you killed.

Rather than the seemingly haphazard "draw some lines on the side of a road and then randomly end that lane for no apparent reason", I would prefer to see lanes that run completed from one terminus to another, ideally with some barrier or at least curb to protect the riders on busier areas. Spreading half done lanes around the city seems to me to often be worse than having fewer, but done well.

My point exactly. Painting lines on the Waverley Rd and calling it a bike lane will only cause accidents because there isn\t enough space on that cartpath for vehicles, much less bikes too. The same is true for much of Purcells Cove Rd.

Spending money on "trails" is simply a waste.