Bike lanes on New St. - it's time!

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New St., between Martha & Guelph Line will be resurfaced in 2015. This is an ideal opportunity to fill in another gap in Burlington's bike lane network by adding bike lanes.

Bike lanes on New St. provide an alternative access for those who wish to cycle to the library, Central Park, the Senior's Centre, Community Gardens, Tennis Courts and Arena.  However, New St. is busy and the bike lanes must be buffered or protected to be useful and safe for all to use.

Yes, it costs more to add buffered bike lanes but in the long run more people will use them and the city will benefit in numerous ways.

Impossible for a cyclist to cross.

For those that feel the multi-purpose path is an alternative,
it is not.  I tried cycling this path on March 11th. well after the winter ice storms.  They have not been ploughed and if they aren't ploughed now, they will never be cleared and they are not safe to use by cyclists or pedestrians.

No way the multipurpose path will be
cleared.

Hope you will attend the presentation on March 27th and add your voice to those calling for bike lanes on New St.

Bold ideas are welcomed - needed!

Mayor Dave in Mississauga

Madison, Wisconsin
We share the same latitude and the same cold, snowy winter (actually Burlington has warmer winter highs, fewer snowy days & less snow) but we are miles apart in attitudes towards cycling. 

This week, former Madison Wisconsin mayor, Dave Cieslewicz spoke at the Share the Road cycling summit in Kingston.  Mayor Dave reminded the crowd, cycling friendly cities attract a creative class.  He also said the ciclovia event and the resultant culture of cycling was the most popular thing he ever did!

At a similar event in Mississauga, Cieslewicz warned his audience to expect controversy, saying, "People will imagine all kinds of horrible things, like the end of the free world, just because you're installing a bike lane or a bike box and it will be very controversial. But the truth is once you install these things, people love them. You need to get over that initial political hump."   Not content to rest on its laurels as a gold rated bike friendly city, Madison will be implementing a 100 recommendation plan, spending millions over 5 years to improve existing cycling infrastructure!

The cycling mayor, Boris Johnson

London, UK

Meanwhile in London, England, the mayor announced his cycling vision promoting a plan to spend $1.4 billion over 10 years.  “Cycling will be treated not as niche, marginal, or an but as what it is: an integral part of the transport network, with the capital spending, road space and traffic planners’ attention befitting that role.”  Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.

New York City

In New York city, Mayor Bloomberg's vision is similar - "Cyclists and pedestrians and bus riders are as important, if not, I would argue more important, than automobile riders."  During his tenure, under the guidance of transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. bike lanes and a bike sharing program has bloomed, along with the necessary angst from motorists.

Chicago

18 months into his first term as mayor, Rahm Emanuel introduced a protected, bi-directional bike lane running directly through the heart of its downtown.  Chicago choose a high profile street because of the message it sends to its citizens - cycling is important, cycling matters!  In Chicago, the committee advising city council is  known as the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council.  Overnight, Chicago  has become the envy of cycling friendly cities such as Seattle, New York and even Portland.

Toronto

Finally, in Toronto, even on blustery winter days, nearly a third of travel in downtown Toronto is now by bicycle or on foot. Chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat wants to make the streets safer for cyclists.  “It’s a much more cost-effective way to move,” Ms. Keesmaat said. “Does it mean every trip will be on bike? Absolutely not. But some trips will, and that wouldn’t be a bad thing, if more trips were.”

Does the rest of the world know something we don't?  If Burlington aspires to be a true cycling friendly city, Burlington needs more boldness.  We need to get over the political hump Mayor Cieslewicz referred to. We need a council that heeds the well researched, advice of its hard working citizen's cycling committee.  The cycling committee must be more than just window dressing.

Burlington MISSED its game changer opportunity

"Leadership - Is it telling people what they want to hear, or taking them where they want to go!"

How one kilometer of bike lanes sparked a revolution

Heather Deal - Vancouver councillor  - "A couple of years ago we made the decision to close a lane of the Burrard Street bridge to cars and make it a bike lane. That was a game changer. That was the first time we took space away from cars. I was assigned the media, I thought this is the last time I’ll ever get elected because I’m going down over 1 km of 1 lane for traffic."  

Burlington council missed a golden opportunity to choose leadership that would have impacted generations of citizens in a positive, healthy way by voting against putting bike lanes on Lakeshore Road.

Councillor Deal of Vancouver was re-elected and Vancouver embraced and benefited from its bike lanes.

The other [less than] 1%

At the Lakeshore Road (LSR) improvement committee meeting one council member asked why staff bothered producing a report outlining the feasibility of bike lanes because only .7 of 1% of the daily traffic were cyclists?  Similar sentiments were echoed in letters to the editor and to other council members.
There is a simple reason why few cyclists use LSR.  
The majority of cyclists will not cycle on dangerous roads with a high volume of traffic and no bike lane.  Make it safer and studies indicate, they will use it.

1.

Researchers found the presence of off-road bike paths and on-street bike lanes were, by far, the biggest determinant of cycling rates in cities. And that’s true even after you control for a variety of other factors like how hot or cold a city is, how much rain falls, how dense the city is, how high gas prices are, the type of people that live there, or how safe it is to cycle. None of those things seem to matter quite as much. The results, the authors write, “are consistent with the hypothesis that bike lanes and bike paths encourage cycling.”  Transportation July 2011 Buehler & Pucher.


A Portland, Oregon study gave cyclists GPS devices and recorded riding patterns.   She found that cyclists will go out of their way to use streets with bike lanes.

Focusing on a meaningless number is a red herring.  Independent studies from around the world show that if you bike lanes, people will use them.  If you build bike lanes that are safer to use, more people will use them.  

Doubting Thomas - Built it and they will come!

To the Doubting Thomases on Burlington Council goes the award!

In Feb., after a tedious 90 minutes debate at the Committee level, new bike lanes for Appleby and Walkers, an investment of $45,000, were approved with a provision to re-examine the efficacy of the bike lanes in 2 years.  

The bike lanes will go ahead but not before the ugly debate reared it head again at the Council level and was narrowly defeated by a 4-3 vote.  To those 3 councillors goes the Doubting Thomas award.

Studies have shown that if you build it, cyclists will use it.  The better you build it the greater the number of cyclists that will use it.  

"Rutgers researcher John Pucher - he studies what seems like common sense in transportation, and then makes it sound good.

Studying bike lanes in 90 or the 100 largest American cities, Pucher and collaborater Ralph Buehl used Pearson’s correlation, bivariate quartile analysis, and two different types of regressions to measure the relationship between more and longer bike lanes and quantity of cyclists.

Their conclusion: cities with a greater supply of bike lanes have more bike commuters. And according to the researchers, that correlation exists even when controlling for things like land use, climate, socioeconomics, gas prices, public transport supply, and cycling safety."

A 2009 study found that bike lanes work.  In Portland, Oregon Professor Dill found that although only 8% of the city streets have bike lanes, 51% of the trips were taken on them.

Bike lanes on Walkers and Appleby were first discussed in 2007.  It shouldn't take 5 years to pass a $45,000 investment that will result in traffic calming, slower speeds and safer roads for cyclists and pedestrians. Let's get them done already.  

Thank you to Mayor Golding and councillors Dennison, Craven and Lancaster for realising the logic in staff's recommendation and getting the original proposal passed!  

Burloak Drive bike lanes? Its up to you.

The City of Burlington and the Town of Oakville are initiating the review of lane configurations along Burloak Drive (New Street to Lakeshore Road) to accommodate on road cycling. 

The primary option being considered is a reduction from three travel lanes to two lanes (removing the centre left-turn lane) and implement on-road bike lanes in this roadway section.

A joint public meeting with the Town of Oakville will be held on:  

Date: Thursday, June 16, 2011         7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Location: Appleby Ice Centre                 Multi-Purpose Room (Arena A)

Format: Formal presentation at 7:15 p.m.

Anyone with an interest in this project is invited to attend and participate. 

If you wish to provide input or require further information, please contact:

Mr. Dan Ozimkovic, C.E.T                             E-mail: ozimkovicd@burlington.ca

Transportation Engineering Technologist

Heard last night: 10++ reasons why bike lanes shouldn't be on Walkers & Appleby Line south of New St.

City staff is recommending road diets on Walkers & Appleby Lines south of New St. to Lakeshore.  The 4 vehicle lanes would be reduced to 2 vehicle lanes, a centre turn lane and  bike lanes - a mirror image of Guelph Line south of New St.

Important slides from the presentation last night:

Send your comments to Dan at City Hall.  OzimkovicD@burlington.ca

Want bike lanes on Appleby & Walkers south of New St?

The City of Burlington is carrying out a Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Study to review lane configurations for Walker’s Line and Appleby Line (areas South of New Street).  The project is following the approved planning process for “Schedule B” projects under the Municipal Engineers Association Municipal Class Environmental Assessment. The primary option being considered is a reduction from four travel lanes to three lanes (north/south and turning) with on-road bike lanes in these roadway sections, same as Guelph Line south of New Street.

A good idea

Date:   Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Time: 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

Location: St. Raphael’s School,  4056 New Street

Format: Formal presentation at 7:00 p.m.

Anyone with an interest in the study is invited to attend and participate. If you cannot attend and would like to provide comments, please email Dan at ozimkovicd@burlington.ca by June 17, 2011.

Dan is looking for your input, please come out and be heard.  Thank you.

Playing catch up - its virtually impossible

Whether it's sports, business or your RRSP, playing catch-up is always the hardest way to win or meet your targets.  In sports, breaking, then recovering from a losing streak is a gargantuan task.  As the Maple Leafs have shown, time and time again, meaningful recovery from a losing streak is insurmountable.

Burlington's 20 year Cycling Master Plan is already behind the eight ball and we are only 2+ years into a plan that averages ~15km of bike lanes annually.  By the end of 2011, Burlington should have ~37km of new bike lanes.  If the City of Burlington meets its 2011 target we will have 16km.

Unfortunately, according to the chart below, which adds the bike lane & path projects from the 2010 - 2019 Road Capital Budget and Forecast, it doesn't get any better by year 2012 & 2013.

Target = total new CMP bike lanes/years.
* No its not a mistake, only 1km of new bike lanes expected in 2012

Recently, the city has called for public input into it's strategic plan and asked for feedback from its citizens.  Here's my 2 cents:  get the $80,000 cycling master plan back on track.  Its good for residents and Burlington.  The sooner its done, the sooner we reap the benefits!

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!!!

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!

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!

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.

Bike Lanes added in 2009

Another year has come & gone.  Time to make new resolutions and looks at how the old ones fared.  

Ever wondered how many bike lanes are added each year in Burlington?

In 2009, 4.46km of new bike lanes were added!  Let's round it up to 5km.  

Our Cycling Master Plan proposes the addition of 118km by 2015.  This is an average of 16.9km each year.

Hate starting behind, but there's time to catch up!

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

UNMET NEEDS - What's important to YOU?

The new Cycling Master Plan lists all the projects for our complete bike network over the next 20 years. Many of these projects (but not all) are incorporated into the CoB year capital budget plan. The capital budget evolves and changes with funding priorities annually.

If a road reconstruction project is in the capital budget, bike lanes will be added automatically! (Unless the cost is prohibitive.)

However, if a CMP project is NOT in the capital budget plan, to be completed, it will have to be on the UNMET NEEDS spreadsheet. Listed below are the UNMET NEEDS projects presented to the cycling committee. We've been asked to rank them according to the priority in which they should be completed. Please feel free to let me know your preference. (You can click on the image to get a better picture.)

Thanks