Cycling grows by leaps and bounds
Cycling is getting steadily more popular here, with bike path usage alone growing 20% between 2010 and 2011.
Also a related piece on the bad feelings between motorists and cyclists and an anecdote from a cyclist who was knocked down by a motorist.
Tangentially, the Gazette today has a book excerpt from a work about 21st-century urban layouts (it’s interesting, but the book paragraph length is way too long for the web).
Robert J 11:25 on 2012/08/11 Permalink
Bikes and bike paths are becoming so popular there are traffic jams at intersections. I often take the bike path through Laurier park to go from Rosemont to the Plateau. Bikes pile up at the corner of Christophe-Colomb and St-Grégoire as well as Brébeuf and Laurier (opposite ends of the path that crosses the park). When the light turns green for cyclists, everyone sort of merges into a big blob in the middle of the intersection that oncoming bike traffic swerves around chaotically.
It would be hard to convince people to calmly move across the intersection in single file, as the green light doesn’t last too long. Lane-wide bike boxes in both directions and on both sides of these kind of intersections would be perfect, as people would naturally move across the intersection in groups of 3-4 and have space to merge back into single file once on the other side. Turning bikes could stick to the sides of the box and not obstruct bikes going straight through.
This would also bother cars a lot less. As it stands, drivers don’t know what to expect and end up just sitting in the intersection. If it were visually clear that bikes get an advance green to clear the intersection first (in the form of a bike box), then the drivers would be able to predict bike movements more easily and move through the intersection faster.
Kate 13:18 on 2012/08/11 Permalink
I know they’re experimenting with bike boxes here (“sas velo”) in a few places, but not sure whether their use will be extended.
It’s true that cyclists ought to go single file, but I know well the corner of Laurier you mention.
SN86 15:48 on 2012/08/11 Permalink
I bike a lot on Montreal roads and paths and the things that I see frequently that are dangerous always have to do with turning.
On Maisonneuve the problem is cars turn on the same solid green as bikes. What city hall needs to understand is drivers have very limited visibility and most turn left blindly, even the most courteous ones. You need to look at 5 things to make a turn there safely. Peds from the east & west, bikes E &W and people infront of them. This aggravates drivers very much so eventually I hope they separate the lights for one party.
Off bicycle paths the most frequent thing I notice is drivers don’t signal turns any more.
Matt 17:34 on 2012/08/11 Permalink
@SN86 I called the city about this very problem and the guy in charge of the cycling department (or whatever) actually called me back to hear what I had to say. He mentioned that reassessing the light cycles along de Maisonneuve was part of an ongoing program meant to improve cycling in the city. Call the city.