The gift that keeping on giving - in a good way!

IKEA walks the talk.  

After finding that 20% of its Danish customers biked to IKEA, the world's biggest put-it-together-yourself furniture chain, provided bike trailers to enable their Danish customers to get the household products home!

Here in North America, IKEA USA really does believe that Change Begins at Home!  Each of its 12,400 U.S. employees were given bikes for Christmas.


No assembly required!!!!!!
"IKEA notes that riding a bicycle 30 minutes a day can burn a number of calories equivalent to an individual shedding 30 lbs. Cycling just 30km a week can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50%. Riding a bike versus owning and driving a car can also save an individual $8,000 annually in automobile-related costs (gasoline, general car maintenance, and insurance costs)."  It's the gift that keeps on giving in a good way!  Healthier employees, also take less time off, lower the company's health costs and are happier!


Sadly, Canadian employees didn’t get bikes.  However, IKEA Canada commissioned Canadian artists to produce 5,000 unique pieces, one-of-a-kind art for their annual co-worker holiday gift, supporting Canadian talent and artists.   

No Assembly!

Let's hope, the bike, as a company Christmas gift is a prelude of great things to come!  Hopefully other retailers, and companies jump on the bandwagon and offer their employees bikes sweetened with a uniquely Canadian 1 year free service program at MEC.  It would require confident, forward thinking CEOs and management to embrace this idea.  I'll wager that an Return on Investment analysis would show the company would recoup its investment many times over.
Thanks for your comments and emails.
Merry Christmas to all!  

Beijing out of its haze - Back to the Future

No longer a common sight

"Twenty years ago, four out of five residents in the Chinese capital pedalled to work through  one of the world’s best systems of bicycle lanes."   Beijing's 9 million bicycles are being crowded out & disappearing.  Bike lanes are blocked by parked cars & frustrated motorists seeking to avoid traffic jams.  It is now "The most congested city on earth." 


The number of cars in Beijing has doubled since 2005 & 2,000 more cars are added daily.  4.7 million cars in 2010!  Pending car regulations, have spiked sales to 3,000 per day in Dec.

The Globe's Wheels section points out the fallacy of the auto-centric planning mentality.  According to Zhang Yu, a senior engineer with the Urban Transport Center under the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, “Before 1990 the government was building more and more roads but that was fine because there was a need for those roadways,” she said. “But after that, the more roads they built, the more serious the traffic jams became. So building new roads does not solve traffic jams.”

Avg Speed 20kph!
4miles in 2 hours.

"Zhang suggested different classes of tickets on public transportation to attract better-off customers, better bus and bike lanes, and more space for pedestrians. Building more roads was not the answer, she said." 
During the Olympics traffic congestion was reduced.  Cars were banned from roads on alternate days based on an even / odd system and the license plate number.   At some time, the only option is to ban cars or ironically, to make the cost so prohibitive, only the rich of this socialist country will be able to drive.  

Are there any clear days left to see
Beijing?

"[Chinese].... studies show that 60 per cent of the time, people's destinations are less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from their homes."  Its 57% in Canada!
 
Drowning in cars, bumper to bumper gridlock and a sickening pall of air pollution blocking the sun, Chinese leaders are now drafting regulations to "encouraging people in the former land of bicycles to revert to pedal power."  The state's next 5 year plan targets boosting  the number of cyclists by 25%.
The haze in Burlington is also lifting as it slowly moves back to the future.  Bike lanes help everyone, including drivers!  Why shouldn't there be bike lanes on Lakeshore Road?  The sooner, the better!

Halton's one size fits all - short-sighted approach

Beautiful landscape, winding roads

Italy with its unique topography, landscape and winding routes is a mecca for cycling.  Cycling tourism is big, big business in Italy.

Italian roads lack basic safeguards needed to keep cyclists safe.  Wide paved shoulders are non-existent.  Many roads lack the centre dividing line.  Yet despite these shortfalls cycling tourism thrives, significantly boosting the economy of many hilltop towns.

Typical Italian road, no shoulder, uphill

Encountering many cyclists, I asked if they felt threatened on Italian  roads.  Unexpectedly, they believed Italian motorists were especially cautious on the roads, aware of cyclists.  As one of the motoring tourists, I really questioned this belief.

At home, cycling tourism has a tremendous positive impact in Niagara. ~ 5,000 jobs, $200 million in annual revenues.   While cycling our waterfront trail, I encountered a group of Penny Farthing cyclists from South Africa, Germany and New Zealand.  Cycling tourists spend more per day and stay longer in the area than other tourists.

Halton Region sometimes adds 1 metre paved shoulders to rural roads when they are resurfaced.  Numerous studies show the paved shoulder extends road life and provide other benefits making it worth the added cost.  It appears that Halton views the speeds vehicles travel on these roads as a secondary issue e.g. currently under resurfacing, Derry Road has a 1 metre shoulder (sometimes less) despite cars buzzing by at speeds well over 70kph.  Going forward after Derry Road, Halton is proposing 1.5m - if it can be easily done.  One size fits all is the Halton approach.

From Haliburton Cycling Master Plan

We'll never match Italy's topography but by adding wider paved shoulders to all of Halton's rural roads, wider than 1 meter, we will attract cycling tourists to our region generating returns far greater than the original investment.  Haliburton believes this and the paved shoulder width depends on vehicle speeds and traffic.   It will save lives too!

Early Christmas gift for cyclists and all others too!

Confucius had it half right.  The picture map below is worthy of a million words - all of them grand.

Bronte Creek Prov. Park  to City Hall - by bike!

A year ago, Google Maps gave us the transit option.  You could get from point A to your destination using public transit without having to decipher Burlington's Einsteinian bus schedule.

This year Google added bike routes as a travel option and said it would be rolled out soon to a town near you.

It works in Burlington!

It displays our hydro corridor trail!

The maps show a bike route from Bronte Creek Provincial Park to Burlington City Hall.  Yes, you cycle Burloak Drive over the QEW but then Google maps suggests you get onto the Centennial Bike Trail all the way to Dynes Road.  That's the new & improved, safe, recently paved hydro corridor.

Thank you Google.  It's still in Beta mode and has bugs.  It doesn't display the Headon hydro corridor and it may take you on a road without a bike lane but its a start!  Expect it to improve over time as more data is added & routes are refined. 

The city & Halton Region repaved Burloak with fabulous, wide, comfortable bike lanes but the bike lanes stop at the QEW overpass.  Maybe  Google has the solution for MTO to make it safer for cyclists to get over the QEW.

Step by step, inch by inch, ........ slowly it happens!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC)

At council's final meeting on Nov. 25, 2010, they took that step & passed the following amendment
"THAT Transportation Services staff, in collaboration with the Engineering Department, be directed to investigate the feasibility of widening Lakeshore Road from Burloak Drive to Downtown Burlington in order to accommodate on-road bike lanes and median refuge islands where possible while maintaining two narrowed travel lanes and a narrowed two-way left turn lane."

Its only 8 km from Brant to BurlOak.

With its left turn lanes and few traffic lights, Lakeshore Road encourages motorists to speed up.  The only east - west road in Burlington with fewer traffic lights than Lakeshore is the QEW!  This is a huge first step in making Lakeshore Road safer for everyone.  Thank you out-going council & mayor.

We're talking a distance of only 8km.  The impact will be dramatic!

To the new Transportation Services & Engineering Departments - let's make it happen so the new council enjoys what the old council started.  (Translation - let's do it in less than 4 years!).

Councillor Dennison was responsible for the amendment.  Thank you Mr. Dennison!!

As strong as the weakest link .... or leaving the most difficult til last!

Have you noticed?

Slowly the bike network is being expanded across Burlington.  6.5km of bike lanes were added in 2010.

Sharrows and paved hydro corridors as well.   Progress!

Brant St. now has fabulous bike lanes from Caroline almost to the QEW, disappearing for a block around busy Fairview St.  The Brant St. bike lanes also disappear just before you reach the QEW underpass.  The awesome, comfortable new bike lanes on Upper Middle from Sutton to BurlOak run to the QEW making cycling safer & enjoyable.  However, the bike lanes disappear at the overpass continuing on the other side of the QEW!

The disappearing bike lane phenomenon occurs so frequently approaching busy intersections, one would think that it's planned!

If car lanes were to suddenly STOP and the vehicle lanes disappear, even for half a kilometer, it would not be allowed.  Disappearing bike lanes shouldn't be tolerated either!

Bike lanes provide an element of safety.  Both the car driver & the cyclists benefit from bike lanes.  As a car driver, you know where the cyclist is going.

We need the city to put the bike lanes where they are needed (& often difficult to do) not where it is easy to put them!

1 mile of urban freeway or ........

   ...... ~300 miles of bike network, boulevards, trails!

Portland Mayor Sam Adams

In 2009, the Spec reported the HOV lane on the QEW would cost taxpayers $60 million - 2.5% of the $2.4 Billion Ontario earmarked for road spending.  Another article included bridge widening, bumping up the cost to $380 million.

The QEW is fully built out - its now 8 lanes wide.  We can't add any more vehicle lanes!  We're done! 

So what are the benefits?  What will taxpayers save as a result of the HOV lanes?  Will the commute be faster?  Worth $380+ million???  What do we do when its congested again?


Portland, Oregon took another approach.  Portland invested in their bike infrastructure.  
“The cost of the entire bike network we have today, if you picture all the bikelanes you can see, the trails, the bike boulevards – that whole thing, cost about $60 million to build. So if it all went up in smoke and we had to rebuild it – $60 million. That is the same cost as one mile of urban freeway.”

"For the cost of about one mile of freeway, $50 million, we've built a network of 275 miles of bikeways, that's one heck of a bang-for-your-buck investment."  -- Mia Birk, Alta Planning and Design


You can either spend money or invest it!
The photo on the right, from the Ont. Bike Summit, shows the ANNUAL dollar benefit Portland derives from its INVESTMENT in bike infrastructure.

The annual benefit is $2.6B, just about what Ontario spent on its roads.   Impressive!  Yet, Portland's cost benefit analysis doesn't include health benefits, environmental benefits, quality of life benefits, economic growth (Portland is now a bike industry hub) and that special feeling you get from living in a healthy, vibrant city.

We need more investment in cycling infrastructure & "bang-for-our-buck investing."  For the same investment in bike networks for 6 communities, we could save over $15B annually!

every bike is 1 less car

You can file this one under "Cycling is Good for ALL of us!"

Cycling at a reasonable clip on Brant Street, I was startled by the loud, long blast of a car horn.  Couldn't hear the driver, his windows were closed and I didn't catch his wild gestures.  Next time you get irritated by the person on his bike going 12 kph in your lane, or heaven forbid a bike lane, this article is for you!

I ride my bike to the library, to the grocery store, to the mall and even to visit my friends at city hall.  Studies show the quickest way to make a short journey of 3 km. is NOT by car, but by bike.  As you can tell from the pictures below, a number of other people do this as well

Bikes @Brant No Frills = more freed parking

Who bikes to Walmart?
Full bike rack @ Walmart!

Every bike you see, really means less congestion - extra parking spots and less vehicle traffic to deal with on the roads.


 
Of course there are other benefits few people consider: less wear and tear on the roads, bikes don't emit hydro carbons and cyclists will be less of a drain on our limited health care resources.  We also help our economy because we spend less on transportation costs leaving us more for other purchases.  


Maybe that's one of the reasons why cyclists are happier people!

Heresy, cyclists doing good for ALL of us!!!

Toronto Star columnist, Joe Fiorito doesn't have a bike and won't ride one!

I jokingly refer to those heretics who don't cycle, as embracing the dark side when they see the light.

In a great article in the Star, Joe writes, "I intend to die at home in bed, and not on a city street under the wheels of a big car driven by a jerk in a cheap suit with a cellphone, a cup of bad coffee and a vein busting out of his forehead." 


It's a thoughtful article recognizing the dangers of cycling in the city, and realizing the benefits of cycling.  


Its a very good read.  Cyclists doing good for ALL of us!


Thank you Joe Fiorito!

Cam's Kobayashi Maru and Canada's 3rd best place to live!

Why live anywhere else? 


In 2010, MoneySense magazine ranked Burlington as the 3rd best place to live out of 179 cities in Canada.  We moved up from number 4 in 2009.

Better still, Burlington wasn't even ranked in 2006.  It was lumped in with Hamilton.  According to Mayor Cam Jackson, he called the editors & asked why Burlington didn't have its own rank when several similar sized cities did.  Presto in 2008, Burlington had its own #8 ranking.  Jackson then pulled his "Kobayashi Maru" move straight out of Star Trek and took advantage of how the rankings are developed to plot Burlington's ascent.


With a bit more planning and effort from the new Transportation Service Department in Burlington, we can move up further.  One of the criteria is the number people who walk or bike to work.  Burlington ranks 156.  Lots of opportunity to improve this ranking and catch up to Kingston (12) and Ottawa-Gatineau (54).

You can click on the link and pictures for more details.

The sooner the bike lane network is completed, and overpasses made safer, more people will cycle.  The better our ranking will be in 2012!

Mayor Jackson  & Kobayashi Maru - thinking out of the box.  In the 2006 Sound of Music parade, Cam Jackson chose a bike rather than the ubiquitous parade convertible.

Letterman for a day, er blog.

Depending where you live in Burlington, you may not know what improvements have been made to our cycling infrastructure in the last 11 months of 2010.

The top  10 improvements brought to you by the new Transportation Services Department (TSD) at city hall, the BCC & others in Burlington:
 
10.  The BCC hosted the largest gathering of bike committees ever held in Ontario.  They came from KW, Guelph, Cambridge, Chatham, Niagara, Halton, Hamilton and Mississauga.  We shared plans, victories, failures and were energized, capping it off with a fabulous ride through Burlington. Thank you John H. & Barron.

10 b  Steve opened the Waterfront Trail Leisure Company, a fantastic addition to our downtown core.  Thanks Steve!

Leah was a workhorse!

John has the Guiness record for most installed bells.

9.  Bike Week.  Lids for Kids.  Kudos to Halton Regional police for organizing this event and fitting over 250 bike helmets.  The BCC installed bells, the Road Safety group gave out reflectors and Chris from Brant cycle gave his usual superman effort repairing many kid bikes.  Thanks to ALL who made a difference!

8.  Bike Week at Spenser Smith.  In spite of the rain & cold weather, MEC had a great bike event at Spenser Smith Park.  Thank you MEC gang for keeping this event going.  The new 2010 Burlington cycling map made its premiere at this event.  Thanks Dan for getting the map out ON TIME, as promised!

7.  New bike shelters at Tansley Woods & Brant Hills.

6.  Sharrows are here!  They really stand out!  Sharrows on alternative streets such as Dury Lane, Caroline St. Prospect. 

5.  Centennial and Headon hydro corridors have been paved.  Running across the city, these are a safe way to get across Burlington from Brant to Beswick in the north & just east of Appleby Line in the south.  Get out there & enjoy em!

4.  6.5km of new bike lanes!  Look for them at North Service Road, Maple, Harvester, Appleby Road.

3.  In Burlington, but considered part of Halton's domain, 3km of bike lanes were added on BurlOak from the QEW north onto Upper Middle then west.  Doesn't matter who gets credit as long as it's a new bike lane.  Now we need to work on the overpass.

2.  Completion of the new safer on ramp at Fairview & the QEW complete with coloured bike lanes & jug handles for the less intrepid sidewalk cyclist and a host of other safety measures.  Thank you Tom E., Vito & Dan at city hall.

1.  Burlington hosted the 2010 Ontario Bike Summit.  Our politicians heard about the benefits of cycling from luminaries such as Mayor Sam Adams (Portland), MTO's Kathleen Wynne, JF Courville of MFC and many others advocating safer cycling in Ontario. (View pictures from the Ride and the Ontario Bike Summit below.  For more details, click on the picture.)  Thank you Eleanor.
 

Thanks CoB, especially Dan, & the BCC team under Rob N. & Danielle for helping to make Burlington a safer place to cycle & a better place to live in!

If I've missed any, let me know.  Don't hesitate to forward this email to others in your network.  They need to know the great stuff happening in Burlington!  Thanks

No helmet, NO ride!

I admire the laissez faire attitude of the student cyclists in the previous blog, however, too many in the biking universe think nothing of cycling without a helmet. Especially adults!

Very early one Saturday morning (~ 6:30am), I hit an unexpected, very large, unleashed dog on the waterfront trail.  The dog ran directly in front of my bike.  As I lay there on the ground, wind knocked out and my helmet cracked, I heard the dog's owner berate his dog for running away from the leash.

A helmet is really your only protection against the unexpected.   In my case it worked.

The fabulous video below, of a passionate Burlington city hall associate & her family, was created in conjunction with the Burlington Road Safety Committee.  It effectively get's out a meaningful message!

Thank you for taking the time & effort to make this great video!!  And let's hope it goes viral.

Recapture the magic

Remember the fun???  Before we turned 16, we all rode bikes.  We rode bikes everywhere because it was the easiest, fastest and fun way to get around.  Cycling in rain, cycling with friends, cycling at night, cycling to school, cycling with two or three on a bike and even cycling to church.  And it felt great!!

What happened? Why did we let the magic get away?

You've got to view this inspirational 3 minute video from Colonial High School in Orlando, Florida.  Inclusive, not discouraged by the lack of bike lanes, the students took the initiative & started their own cycling club riding to school.   They brought back the cool into cycling - even the kid riding his MOM's old bike!

Its worthwhile watching, you'll feel great, filled with hope for the future.    They did it on their own.  All they needed were helmets! 
Doesn't your [kid's] school need its own cycling club??

Change things. VOTE FOR ME!

We have a new mayor and 3 new faces on council.  This means easier cycling infrastructure in Burlington, right?

Time will tell.

But based on talks with Portland, Mayor Sam Adams and observations and discussions with cycling committees in Niagara and Hamilton, the single biggest determinant influencing cycling infrastructure will be the people who work at city hall.

These are the day to day engineers and planners that, if they are impassioned to do so, can drive the change from within. 

When Mia Birk, (see previous post) began as Portland's bike coordinator, Rob, the city's lead traffic engineer cycled 15 miles to work daily.  Engineers that cycle, are engineers that look for ways to improve infrastructure for cyclists as well as cars.

The Burlington Cycling Committee can advocate, monitor, cajole and request cycling infrastructure and the Strategic Plan can mandate it but its really the people behind the scenes that move the mountains to get it done!

Welcome back to the incumbent councillors, congratulations to the newbies and mayor!  Looking forward to making Burlington a better, cycling friendlier city.

Before and after

Portland, Oregon is a cycling mecca.  In Burlington, Sam Adams, Portland's mayor spoke glowingly of the economic and quality of life benefits cycling brings to Portland.  Statistically, Portlanders spend less of their money on gas letting them spend more in their city.  They are healthier & less stressed.

It wasn't always this way!

In 1993 Mia Birk was the bicycle coordinator for the city of Portland.  Her first bike ride was a white knuckled, stress ride with motorists hovering behind, waiting to gun it to pass her!  "Portland at the time had but a few dozen miles of disconnected bike lanes, green “bike route” signs on a few neighborhood streets, dead-end paths, highway shoulders and way-too-narrow bridge sidewalks."

TODAY - "For less than the cost of one mile of urban freeway, for less than one percent of Portland's transportation budget, we have created a city where thousands of people can and do choose bicycling as a normal, everyday means of transportation. We have more money in our pockets. We are fitter. Our kids arrive by foot or bike at school energetic and ready to learn. We are less stressed. We are more free."

With your help, Burlington can be Portland!

Cycling for Your Life

I came across this post several years ago.  It still applies today.

The Benefits of Cycling:

http://www.rocklin.ca/biketrip/benefits.htm

1. reduces the cholesterol levels in the blood
2. increases the high density lipo-protein/cholesterol ratio in the blood as well
3. reduces the chances of strokes and heart attacks caused by clotting
4. reduces the chances of illnesses caused by high blood pressure
5. reduces high blood pressure
6. helps reduce the chances of diabetes
7. offers more energy
8. better sleep
9. strengthens bones
10. reduces the risk of cancer
11. lowers resting heart rate
12. reduces body fat
13. reduces stress
14. increases mental well being
15. lengthens your life span
16. if done regularly - will get you down to your ideal body weight

If you could buy a pill to get all of the above benefits, it would probably be called Cyclotrose.

Bicycling has several advantages over other exercises:

1. Cycling exercises the heart better than walking without the pounding of jogging.
2. One can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and at low cost.
3. Little or no time has to be lost, as bike travel can be used to get to work, perform errands, or enjoy the outdoors.
4. Commuting by bike reduces pollution that causes asthma and bronchitis. A commuting cyclist is also less exposed to air pollution than a commuting motorist.

And, let's not forget about saving you money,  $$$$ and being FUN!

Vote - it matters!

David said...

"The improvements to the Bike Lanes that the city has done over the past few years is awesome. Who do I vote for in the upcomming city election to ensure that Burlington continues to expand / maintain this great cycling infrastucture. What local businesses have been supporting this change as well?"

Fabulous question.  Thanks David.

1. Share the Road Cycling Coalition has received "pledges" from candidates who have committed to promoting active lifestyles, including cycling.  Several Burlington candidates have taken the pledge, some have NOT!  See the information here at . http://www.sharetheroad.ca/active-communities-s13791  Click on VIEW THE LIST.

2. In Burlington, several Businesses & city hall promote cycling.  MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op.) is probably the biggest advocate supporting a tremendous range of cycling events in the city.  They even provide free bike tune ups at these events.  Thank you MEC!!!  You've got my vote.

E E E E E - the 5 Es.

Safe cycling is about more than just bike lanes.  Its more than a complete bike network across the city.

 It also includes:

• Education - teaching our children and adults how to ride their bikes safely.  Traffic 101
• Encouragement - giving people the comfort, confidence and inspiration to get on their bikes and go to where they've never gone before by bike, even if that trip is to the library or corner store.  Bike maps, community bike rides and Safe Routes to School program.
• Enforcement - its a two way street.  Cyclists as well as motorists have to obey the laws.  Enforcement means keeping bike lanes free from parked vehicles and cyclists from cruising through red lights.
• Evaluation & Planning - you've got to continually evaluate cycling levels in the community as well as the collision statistics, the bike network and where its going.

Which will it be?

You can learn more about the Canadian Bicycle Friendly Community program at the Ontario Bike Summit.  Its FREE to participate and our self-assessment program guides your community towards reaching the goal.

Does our community have what it takes to achieve Platinum status???  Burlington will have complete the comprehensive questionnaire to find out if they can be Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze or honourable mention.

Fat and money

Officially, bicycles are vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act.

Except we all know they are not!

Cyclists are supposed to leave the real lane for cars, squeezing down into a bike lane, expect when there is no room for the bike lane.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carltonreid

What are we expected to do then?

–Environment Canada, “each Canadian makes an average of 2,000 car trips of less than 3 km each year. …For distances up to 5 km, cycling is recognized as the fastest of all modes from door to door.”


The sooner the bike network is completed, the sooner we start saving money, losing pounds, feeling better and helping the environment.

Think Different!

“Here’s to the crazy ones.

The rebels. The troublemakers.

The ones who see things differently.

While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.  Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

Apple Computer's 1997 voice over on their ad.

Cycling is part of the solution   ..... not a problem.

"Its easier to do nothing - no one complains." - Gil Penalosa

Gil Penalosa is a visionary with a message of change.  He is  a strong proponent of safe streets as a means of improving the quality of life spreading his message across Canada & around the world.


Summer Streets NY 2010 is the third year that they've experienced the wonders of closing the street to traffic.  If you don't know what Summer Streets is, or if you want to be inspired, check out the fabulous, inspirational, video from NYC first Summer Streets in 2008.   Gil is in the video (2 minute mark) and well acquainted with the NYC commissioner of transportation who promoted Summer Streets.

Summer streets or Ciclovias are held around the world.  From Bogota to Ottawa, from Winnipeg to San Francisco.  What could you do at a Ciclovia?  Play Scrabble on the street, maybe.  Check the slide show below.

In 2010 the event has gotten bigger, better & wilder.  Now they have dumpsters filled with water for people to swim in.  Don't worry, the dumpsters are lined and the water filtered and purified.

Are they nuts?  Those crazy city of New York politicians  keep closing down the streets, blocking traffic.  The retailers must all be going bankrupt and citizens must be furious!

My son & his wife live in NYC.  They love the new people friendly, NYC.  That's 2 less high paying tech jobs for Halton.

Burlington wants to do something!  We're hoping to bring some of the craziness to Burlington in Summer Streets 2011.

The SHARROWS are coming, the SHARROWS are coming.

Caroline St. SHARROWS

To a street near you!  

On the third day my wife noticed them & asked what they were & why?

Click on the picture & you will clearly see the SHARROWS on both sides of Caroline Street at the Pearl St. crossing.

SHARROWS are commonly used where roads are not wide enough for bike lanes. The distinctive markings remind drivers to share the road with cyclists and are a key component in traffic calming.  Much appreciated on a heavily traveled car & bike street like Caroline.

The Caroline St. SHARROWS run from Drury Lane to the Hydro Corridor.

Bicycling is a solution ..... not a problem.

Will more lanes help?

How many traffic lanes are enough?

The cars are moving too slowly, the cars are moving too slowly!  A local columnist has written 2 or 3 Lakeshore Road articles decrying council's decision to keep the status quo with 2 vehicle lanes and bike lanes.

Burlington's inglorious stretch of 4 lane Lakeshore Road, fronting our majestic waterfront, is the only 4 lane stretch until you reach Toronto.  When you think about it, the only other east/west road in Burlington with fewer traffic lights is the QEW!

Road diets, reducing 4 lanes to 2, with a centre turn lane are effective in reducing the number of vehicle collisions anywhere from 19-47%.   "Evaluation of Lane Reduction “Road Diet” Measures on Crashes"

What about off rush hour parking on Lakeshore Road?  Preliminary research on Toronto's Bloor West Village, indicated that "there is evidence to suggest that efforts to attract more pedestrians and cyclists will have a more positive economic impact on businesses than maintaining the existing parking on the street. On this section of Bloor Street, the existing parking demand can be accommodated by a reduced number of on‐street parking spaces combined with the existing off‐street parking spaces. It is clear that many merchants in the study area do not view on‐street parking as key to their business."

It would be a tremendous enhancement to the quality of life in Burlington if we road diet all of Lakeshore Road, and add bike lanes on Lakeshore to the Oakville border.

Bicycling and bike lanes are a solution, not a problem.