Wine with that vinegar? You decide.

In January 2010 the immovable Teutonic plates under MTO began to shift!

MTO will be re-instating the high speed channel ramp from Fairview St. west to the QEW.  They considered Burlington's requests for a ramp with a sharp right turn or a ramp with a smaller radius both of which forced drivers to slow down before entering the ramp.  Both options were rejected in favour of MTO gold plated standard Partial Cloverleaf ramp.  MTO admits motorists will probably drive at higher speeds than the city's option but the number of vehicle collisions will be fewer.  Unfortunately, because of the higher speed, the collisions may be more severe.
 
However, MTO has agreed to several quantum changes from their norm:

1.  1.5m bike lanes on Fairview St. under the overpass will be part of the design.
2.  the bike lanes will be coloured, probably chartreuse
3.  vehicle lanes will be narrower, promoting slower speeds
4.  the current speed limit will be lowered to 50kpm from the current 60kpm
5.  streetscaping will be added to encourage motorists to slow down in this area
6.  off road bike lanes & jug handles will be added for the less intrepid cyclist.
7.  ramp access speeds will be monitored to determine if speeds will be slower as expected.

From the city's point of view, if the calming measures work & collision rates stay low with the narrower lanes, the new Fairview interchange will set a precedent for other overpasses & underpasses in Burlington.  I can see the bike lanes on the QEW overpasses in the not to distant future!

Compromises rarely satisfy.  How's the wine taste?

Gene

More exiciting than Rachael, Jamie, Holly, Joslyn etc, etc, showing up on Tiger's doorstep!

We'll be back at it again in Jan. as MTO promises us a design more exciting than all of Tiger's alleged showing up on his doorstep together.  A design that will meet our needs, making it safe and comfortable for vulnerable road users on Fairview at the QEW.

MTO is on the cusp of giving us bike lanes and even chartreuse coloured bike lanes on Fairview at the QEW.  However, they are hedging their bets on a sharp right turn lane that forces motorists to slow down on Fairview Street before entering a new on ramp to the QEW Niagara.

The sharp right turn works.  Since is was installed on the opposite side of Fairview, there have been no deaths or serious injuries in an eleven year span.  Contrast this with 2 deaths & 1 serious injury in 3 years under the old MTO standard.

Fairview QEW - New Interchange to be built

June update: City hall staffers have not yet OK'd the interchange designs brought to them by MTO.

The purveyor of Lets Make it Better for Cars, our Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) has lifted the kimono on its cunning plans to add a new QEW ramp access for motorists traveling west on Fairview St.

A new channel lane will be added to Fairview allowing westbound motorists to access the QEW, magically eliminating purported back ups on Fairview.

However, this design is extremely dangerous for cyclists. Burlington will provided a curb cut so cyclists can travel on the sidewalk & cross the new ramp at the jug handles.

This underpass breaks the beautiful long stretch of bike lanes that run from Brant St. to the RGB in Hamilton. According to city hall engineering, MTO will not allow bike lanes on Fairview in the area of the overpass. Neither will they allow sharrows or wide traffic strips. However, the new lane will be 4.5m versus the standard 3.5m.

I'm an experienced but intrepid cyclist. When I get to these interchanges (there are many in Burlington) I get nervous. Image how the motorist feels. I must decide, do I hug the curb & cycle in the channellized access lane or do I ride on the traffic stripe?

Its dangerous! Two lives have already been lost at this interchange. Why risk any more lives?

MTO is not listening.