bike lanes remain uncleaned

The time is nearly May.

The snow has been melted for months now.

I take a 40km bike ride from

1) UW

2) up Westmount

3) to Northfield

4) left on Weber out of town

5) hop onto side highway to Heidelberg.

The entire bike lane system has NOT been cleaned.

The gravel and broken glass is prodigious.

Not to mention the hoses, belts, rebar, et al.

We should rename bike lanes GCLs.

Gravel (and glass) Collection Lanes.

It only takes on flat tire to make bike riding a serious pain in the ass.

Waterloo remains an example of how NOT to set up bike lanes.

1) build SOME - though not necessarily many

2) build them WELL

3) MAINtain them.

I'm so frustrated.

Invest in Mr. Tough inner tube urethane liners. Not cheap...

I'll grab pics of the charming stuff in the lane today.

espn host jokes about running over cyclists... lance armstrong takes exception

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/espn-tony-kornheiser-audio-youtube-run-em-down-cyclists-bikes-lance-armstrong.php

"What a complete F*****NG idiot" ... yup.

But there is give and take. I remain horrified by cyclists on the road after dark without lights.

Cars don't do that  - for a reason.

And a cyclist has no shell of metal around them.

Believe me when I say cyclists very much don't like to be in pinch points on the road with cars.

Uptown Waterloo, poor parking on King - and a complete lack of painted parking guides- all but ensures this.

Maybe folks buying SUVs should need to pass a skill -testing question- parallel parking.

In that situation, with 2 lanes each way available, I do in fact hog the whole lane.

That, or I can swerve suddenly as the lane narrows. 

Also,  the only reason I will very slowly cycle on the sidewalk uptown is because I occupy so much width if I walk it. I personally dislike cyclists that gun it fast past store entrances. Most folks don't have the good sense to look first when stepping out of stores.

Of course, I can still *pretend* not to see the cyclist- forcing him to swerve.

Serves them right.

Below is a typical sentiment.

-----

Natasha  is irritated by bicyclists. Why can't they go on the sidewalk? It is safer to run into a pedestrian than a car going 50 no? And don't gimme the bullshit that "they're a vehicle too" - whatever, you can't go the speed limit (which again, is 50km/hr, not 10) then don't ride in the middle of the fucking lane!!!!!!

16 March at 17:42 · Comment · 

google maps now has bike lanes

http://gizmodo.com/5490018/google-maps-gets-bike-lanesdirections-just-in-time-for-spring

Not for K-W yet. But give it time.

Of course, there is no reason the city couldn't do this...

I tried to peel the layers of the GRT transit map apart, but it's hard to just put it in the parts that I want.

derelict bikes

D: I read recently that Toronto will remove junker bikes that have been chained there forever if you call '333'.

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Around UW campus, there are bikes that have been there for a year.

You can tell since the tires are flat and the chain is rusted solid.

Not only are they unsightly.

They are also in the way for other cyclists.

They cause resentment towards cyclists on both counts.

Here is what I propose: use some ribbon or tape or string.

At the start of each term, mark every bike in a week.

Any bike with the tag still on it at term's end gets removed.

This way, there is no chance for a misunderstanding.

D: those bike stands on campus are mostly not sized to fit mountain bikes.

And/or won't hold a bike without a kickstand upright.

single tip- don't cut off a big truck

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/the-one-tip-for-staying-safe-on-a-bike.php

Pretty shocking stat.

Trucks scare me.

I experienced "truck suck" a few years back, and it still makes me break out in a cold sweat.

That's where air currents try to pull your bicycle under the side of a big rig truck.

Spooky stuff.

Again, don't think a rig is like any other vehicle.

An uneven load can sway sideways past the white dividing lane.

Don't think that hugging the edge of highway asphalt is a good idea.

I swerve off into gravel every time I hear/see a big truck coming.

(I finally will use a mirror on a recumbent bicycle. No eye strain, no annoying vibrations and wild pivotting of rear field-of-view.)

In a bike lane, I try to centre myself off the curb now instead of the lane on this side of the curb cement. I occupy a whole lane with my big chopper handlebars. Plus when my folding baskets are deployed. I've had cars that are *just* in their lane nearly touch me...

D.

Congrats to Raj at WPIRG for her Record sound bite on ghost bikes and that dead cyclist.

bike lanes uptown- the good, the bad and the ugly

D: the picture order is the Ugly, the Bad and the Good.

OK, the first one is at Erb and Father David Bauer.
This intersection was already like this last year.
It remains unchanged.
The bike lane suddenly ends on FDB.
There are 2 lanes for cars spilling out onto Erb.
The lanes are very narrow.
The bike has nowhere to go, or to fit.
Very UGLY.

Bad: this is on Caroline Street, behind the uptown Waterloo mall.
Inexplicably there is additional on-street parking that suddenly appears mid-street.
As far as the eye can see, there are parking lots.
?!?
To a car driver's point of view, the cyclist who attempts to follow the bike lane to the left of this unnecessary parking will seem to suddenly swerve to cut off the car.
Nice way to go SPLAT.
I saw this a lot in Cambridge.
Fortunately, cyclists sensibly ride on the sidewalk in these stretches instead of risking death.
BAD.

GOOD! I cannot believe it. Something I ranted about last year was actually FIXED!
This change is at Caroline and William Street.
Last year it was identical to the UGLY intersection listed already.
This year, there is enough space for both the intersection and bike lane and cars!
Wow.

I've said it before. A bike lane that blinks out of existence at intersections- the critical juncture where 1/2 of bike accidents take place - is NOT a bike lane.
It's a waste of time, money, and pavement.
It's an afterthought.
Add more nice grass and trees instead.
OR: do it right.
How many bike lane maps are accurate?
If we discount any bike lanes that don't exist at intersections, and ignore any bike lane stretches that don't survive from one street intersection to the next, how many are there REALLY?

BTW, FDB remains uncleaned, uneven, puddly and otherwise excreble this year.
This is an example of do it right or don't do it.
They really shouldn't have bothered.
Most smart cyclists ride on the sidewalk anyway.
Like I said, built it right AND maintain it.
Or just don't.

D.

my jaunt to nearby Guelph

My car broke down there.
I biked there and around for a coupla days.

Impressions?
1) Kitchener's Victoria becomes Guelph's Woodlawn.
It is equally unfriendly. No sidewalk, no bike lane.
Even the grass is intersected by curbs.
At one point, the dirt path is inches away from a sharp slope.

Edinburgh, heading toward U o' Guelph, has signs forbidding biking on the sidewalk.
The street is OK.

By campus, a few blocks on Gordon have bike lanes.
However, it is not maintained.
There were TWO patches of broken glass.

Back to Woodlawn.
The huge sea of parking for cars at the Cineplex conspicuously lacked bike parking.

There ought to be a bylaw.
100 car spots? One for bikes.

OR we could boycott.
Try to take your bike to the movie.
Of course they won't let you.
That's the point.
Nowhere to lock it up.
Boycott.
Imagine our financial clout if we organized...
D>