.... and 1 step back

Bike lane ends, where does a cyclist go?  Does he turn into the
IKEA plaza or chose no bike lane Plains Rd.

Most agree a bike lane, even an edge line, is better than nothing.  No where is this more apparent than on Plains Road, west of the QEW underpass.  The bike lane disappears and the cyclist is left to fend for himself in heavy traffic.

Once off the underpass bike lane, the cyclist - and motorist are confronted with a dilemma.  Will the cyclist hug the curb lane which is a turn only lane into the IKEA complex or will the cyclist veer left into the 2nd lane of straight through traffic?  The cyclist, even an enthused and confident cyclist, feels angst in this conflict zone.

The majority of people do not cycle regularly because they fear sharing the roadway with cars.  Cyclists can be grouped into 4 categories (2009 Cycling Master Plan page 16).

While the QEW Fairview underpass improvements are fantastic, they will be under utilized because west of the underpass there are no bike lanes in either the westbound or eastbound lanes.  There is no safe and comfortable way for the cyclist to bike from the QEW to Francis Road.  City engineers must take into consideration the bike lanes they are adding, should be designed for the 60% of Interested but Concerned Burlingtonians who will cycle when its safe and comfortable.

In 2012, the city plans to resurface and widen Plains Road from King to Francis adding bike lanes but there is nothing slated for Plains between the underpass and Francis.

Road width measurements indicate there is room for bike lanes between the QEW and Francis Road.  Grinding and painting is all that's needed.  This is not expensive work.  It's not difficult to do.  It does take foresight and attention.  This could have and should have been done in conjunction with the underpass road work!

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.

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