It's time we began connecting all the dots............ especially the difficult dots!

It's a recurring sight in Burlington - the ubiquitous Bike Lane Ends sign.  Sometimes there's no sign at all, the bike lane just disappears!

Like a chain, the bike network is as strong as its weakest links and there are too many weak links in Burlington.  Bike lanes end at the QEW over/under passes on Lakeshore, Brant St., Guelph Line, and Appleby.  On Walker's Line, there is an edge line, not a bike lane.

Disappearing bike lane Brant @ QEW

Northshore Road for example from Maple Ave. to west of the QEW is a prime candidate.  This forlorn stretch of roadway breaks the continuous bike lane from Aldershot into our downtown core.  It's a prime candidate for connecting dots!

Bike lanes also disappear when they approach major intersections especially when the bike lane gives way to channelized turn lanes, the exclusive vehicle right hand turn lane. Bike lanes are beneficial for both cyclists & drivers.  They provide motorists with a level of comfort knowing where the cyclist is going.

It's time to connect the dots, fill in the gaps.  It won't be easy.  It will take time.  We need our city engineers and planners to "fill in" one difficult gap each year.  From Amsterdam to Vancouver, from Australia to Europe, planners realize that 60% of the population would cycle if it were safer and comfortable.  This is the Interested but Concerned group who will come if you build it.  It's time Burlington started filling in the gaps.

TBV 2011!!!

It's become his legacy statement!  After the scandals of Madoff, Enron, Worldcom and others, its the mantra of savvy investors.  It will probably become the slogan for Burlington's Cycling Committee - Trust But Verify!

Ronald Reagan said "Trust but verify," but for the Cycling Committee it's Trust But Verify and keep doing it again and again.  It's Groundhog Day and deja vu all over again.  Why, such a cynical outlook?

Despite the new & improved 2009 Cycling Master Plan and the latest Future Focus VII document with 2 smiling cyclists highlighting  the transit & transportation page, proclaims  "In partnership with the Burlington Cycling Committee, update the 10 year Bikeway Master Plan  including strategies and recommendations related to financial and other resources required to ensure safe, reliable and fully integrated infrastructure for cycling," safer cycling seems to be a planning / engineering after-thought in Burlington.

bike lane missing in red

Engineering plans outlining improvements to the intersection at Brant St. & Fairview have been released.  We have existing bike lanes on Brant St. and Fairview St. but not on the northbound lane of Brant approaching Fairview.  At this heavily traveled intersection, and many others, there is a right turn lane for vehicles but no bike lane for cyclists.  Does the cyclist hug the curb or cycle in the through car lane?  As a motorist & cyclist, I dislike the uncertainty this causes.  The newly released engineering document, makes no allowance or mention of bike lanes on Brant St. between Maplewood & Fairview.

Yet, the 2009 Cycling Master Plan tells us exactly what is needed.  Why isn't it done automatically?  Why does the BCC need to painstakingly review engineering projects to claw out each small improvement it can wring out.  Does anyone read documents such as the 2009 Cycling Master Plan or is it a case they didn't know about the missing bike lane?

Burlington has made substantial improvements to its cycling network in the last few year.  And we can expect more in the future.  However, at times it feels it's two steps forward, one step back.  We can do better!  We must do better.  Its time to walk the talk - and this doesn't mean walking and talking at the same time.  It means getting it done, properly!

More details at the Public Information Centre Feb. 17, 6:30-8:30pm, City Hall, Room 247.


Woohoo!!    At tonight's PIC, city engineers displayed a revised plan that included a bike lane on Brant St. northbound, between Maplewood & Fairview.


Thank you!!!

[I'd] like a bridge over troubled waters

Red Hill 

They come in different styles, shapes, designs, costs and extravagance but they all do the same thing.  They enable pedestrians and cyclists a safe, direct way of crossing the major highways throughout Ontario.  They encourage people to cycle by making it safer. They promote active life styles and eventually cut health costs.
Bridges over [troubled] highways aren't cheap!  While the Cambridge bridge cost a paltry (in comparison) $1.8M, Hamitlon's new Red Hill Creek bridge is budgeted at $7.6M, paid for by the provincial government!

With the help of MTO & GO Transit, Hazel's gone for the gusto & built a $17M monument in Mississauga.

Pickering bridge rending

Pickering's 22M bridge is a monster from both an aesthetic & financial viewpoint.  However the $22M price tag will be picked up by the taxpayers through MTO, Metrolinx and the federal government.  
Bridge are not inexpensive investments but compared to the $5.3 Billion cost of inactivity in Canada, they are a bargain.
Hope that Burlington is grabbing a share of these government handouts.  The prohibitive cost of these bridges for any municipality or city like Burlington to tackle on its own, makes it a Bridge too Far.