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Ben @LdnOntBikeCafe is a dedicated and vocal cycling advocate with a direct financial stake in #ldnont's active transportation network. It would be such a shame to see him and his business leave the Core ... https://twitter.com/LdnIncMag/status/1278765958010671104
... and a direct result of Council's failure to get things moving downtown. Since I moved to London in 2016, protected lanes have been added to King and Colbourne - the North section of which is slated for construction this summer. ... These tiny efforts are an embarassment.
The King lane is great, however it is not policed and I have never used it without having to navigate around illegally parked cars; Dundas Place was completed last Fall and (to my knowledge?) has never been fully closed to traffic like it was designed for ...
Colbourne lane is well constructed but goes nowhere, and you have to question why a narrow street that shares a bus route was chosen as the major north/south bike artery ...
Colbourne does not connect to the TVP in the south and ends at Dufferin, where Colbourne narrows and, combined with severe road deterioration, is NOT safe for cycling;
There is currently a battle raging about bike lanes on Dundas to better connect OEV and East London to downtown that seem never ending and futile (although I heard that the route was recently approved so there's something happening there maybe?)
Ridout is supposed to be safe for cyclists (as an extension from the TVP at Blackfriars Brdige) but 1) is missing road markers/protected lanes 2) the lights do not change without the weight of a vehicle being present forcing cyclists to run the lights almost every time.
Talbot has sharrows which have been shown to be even more dangerous than having nothing at all, and is narrow and super dangerous for EVERYONE where it goes under the rail bridge at Oxford.
Dufferin is nice enough but again, only sharrows, small signage indicating for drivers to share the road, unclear markers which lanes cyclists should be in (curbside turning lane or straight on or?) and the lights are poorly timed for E/W traffic, again encouraging running lights
Queens goes from a dedicated (unprotected lane) in OEV to a terrifying share-the-lane situation at Adelaide, completely disappearing without any signage for drivers between William and Maitland; reappears @ Colbourne and then disappears as you approach Waterloo.
Don't get me started on Richmond or Oxford - total deathtraps. Even trying to cross Oxford anywhere between Richmond and Adelaide is next to impossible unless you're at a light (only located at Waterloo and Colbourne).
If @LdnOntBikeCafe leaves the Core it will be a huge loss, and should be considered the "canary in the coal mine" for Downtown London's future viability. I salute London for finally hiring an Active Transportation Manager or whatever the title is - so there is some hope at least.
But the fact it took more than THREE MONTHS to increase pedestrian space on Richmond in pandemic times and only after patios brought problematic crowds downtown, as if the City couldn't foresee that being an issue beforehand on R's narrow sidewalks, I'm sorry, is pathetic.
Parking, parking, parking is all I hear about being the issue. London has an insane amount of parking downtown in my opinion. The pervasive entitlement to be able to park directly in front of any destination in a dense Downtown core area is completely baffling to me.
Drivers: next time you're downtown (or anywhere in London for that matter) take note of the parking infrastructure for bikes and how busy they are. I often have to park a few blocks away from where I'm going to find a bike stand/decent sign and walk ... Oh the humanity!?
At a mall or a plaza? Beer Store/LCBO? Good luck, have fun finding a rack that isn't decrepit or only meant to lock your tire to (wtf?) + then enjoy your 10 minute walk through the parking lot or around the building to get to an entrance.
This isn't about a war between cyclists, pedestrians and cars. There are obvious ways the transportation network could be improved for everyone's safety and enjoyment without taking much, if anything in most cases, away from drivers.
Cyclists get just as invalidated and rageful as drivers do, but we're not in giant 1 tonne AC-isolated-from-the-world hunks of metal to protect us from your rage. The 3 second delay for you to get safely around us can be the difference between our life and death.
Your panic and uncertainty about what to do with a cyclist on the road (assuming they're also obeying the rules, not double-riding, etc) that results in a rageful encounter is more about your skills and confidence as a driver and less about the other road user.
Beneath that rage I know (usually) there is a genuine fear that you could have gotten into an accident or hurt someone. Which is great! Thanks for your concern. At least this is how I live with the rage lol.
It's like when a child does something potentially dangerous, like running away, and the parent's knee-jerk response is to get mad at the child; in reality it is the fear of losing the child that's being projected inappropriately in the form of anger and ur just happy they're safe
If you don't like where a cyclist is on the road (we are legally allowed to take the lane as a vehicle would under the Traffic Safety Act) don't get angry at the cyclist, contact your City Councillor ( https://www.london.ca/city-hall/city-council/pages/default.aspx) and be an advocate for the safety of all road users.
Just because I don't pay for insurance, car payments, road tolls, or gasoline doesn't mean I don't have an equal right to use the road. My taxes go towards road maintenance the same as you do, yet I receive substantially less benefit.
"It's your choice to ride a bike instead of a car?" Check your privilege. This is sometimes true but often not the case. And chances are, based on Canada's household debt statistics, you probably can't actually afford the car you're driving and its costs either.
Combined with Canada's rising level of obesity, continued suburbanized sprawl planning (why London, why) that encourages sedentary lifestyles and chronic illness, our society and healthcare systems can't afford it either.
End rant.
End rant.
