Jarvis Bike Lanes are Gone!

[S.C. Joe]

There is more cyclist then ever before, even in the rain you see people riding their bikes now, problem is, 90% of them are under 50 years old and many are lower income people. So they get treated as second class citizens.

But both of those statements are in decline, more older people are using bikes and its no longer just people who do not have a car. Toronto needs to "get with the times", spending money to remove bicycle lanes just doesn't sound so smart. I like to know the REAL reason the lane markers are being removed ? The street doesn't seem that narrow to me and if it was so narrow, how come bike lanes happen in the first place ?

Even Detroit has some streets with bike lanes, on Michigan Ave the joke was the bike lanes were really "hooker lanes" cause it was mostly the street gals standing in the bike lanes to flag down the cars, ha ha

 

[gww]

Cyclists are required to have lights when riding at night. The new LED lights are inexpensive and very bright. It's just that most cyclist are too stupid to use them. I drove past 5 cyclists riding the wrong way on one-way streets, wearing dark clothing and no lights the other night. And people wonder why there's car/bike accidents.



http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/safety/tips.htm

It is stupid and they should have lights. I mean a helmet is not going to help a driver to see them. But to be fair, I have seen many cars driving at night with no lights too - local streets, back roads and highways.

 

[MattRoxx]

Jarvis Street is much better to bike along than Sherbourne because the blocks are longer, as are the distances between stop lights, and there are fewer driveways. So it made more sense to have a bike lane on Jarvis than Sherbourne.

There is more cyclist then ever before, even in the rain you see people riding their bikes now, problem is, 90% of them are under 50 years old and many are lower income people. So they get treated as second class citizens.

But both of those statements are in decline, more older people are using bikes and its no longer just people who do not have a car. Toronto needs to "get with the times", spending money to remove bicycle lanes just doesn't sound so smart. I like to know the REAL reason the lane markers are being removed ? The street doesn't seem that narrow to me and if it was so narrow, how come bike lanes happen in the first place ?

Even Detroit has some streets with bike lanes, on Michigan Ave the joke was the bike lanes were really "hooker lanes" cause it was mostly the street gals standing in the bike lanes to flag down the cars, ha ha

This morning was so nice and warm when I rode my bike 15 km to work. Was really looking forward to the return trip too because it's south and mostly downhill. Then in the afternoon the rain started falling, and I ended up biking home around 5:30 so it was dark, raining, and rush hour, didn't have my rain gear, and almost of the route is along roads without bike lanes. Was completely drenched long before getting home. I do have 2 red lights in back, reflective tape on fender, and 2 bright lights up front but it was still a wild, white-knuckle ride!

 

[hungry]

Cyclists are required to have lights when riding at night. The new LED lights are inexpensive and very bright. It's just that most cyclist are too stupid to use them. I drove past 5 cyclists riding the wrong way on one-way streets, wearing dark clothing and no lights the other night. And people wonder why there's car/bike accidents.



http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/safety/tips.htm

Tell me about it, I almost hit one of f-ing idiots the otherday going the wrong way down a one way, on a narrow side street as I was turning on to it from an alley He came from nowhere right in front of me, i came within an inch of hitting him. If wasn't for all the hassle, I wish I would have hit him. Then, not stopping at 4-ways, and they smile at you as you honk at them. Or cops on bikes not stopping a stop signs. I do not mind sharing the road, but most of these guys are idiots and deserve to run over. Sorry, just venting.

 

[BSLover]

Bicycle riders are a special interests group. One of the reasons Ford got voted in is because this city was being run by special interests groups. Meaning that small minority coalitions and lobbyists suddenly had more influence than most of the people that actually live and work in this city every day. The city was starting to lose touch with its own people and that had to change...that's why Ford was voted in. And the scrapping of the bike lanes is an example of finally removing a special interests project in favour of the majority of people who actually drive.

 

[Celticman]

Bicycle riders are a special interests group. One of the reasons Ford got voted in is because this city was being run by special interests groups. Meaning that small minority coalitions and lobbyists suddenly had more influence than most of the people that actually live and work in this city every day. The city was starting to lose touch with its own people and that had to change...that's why Ford was voted in. And the scrapping of the bike lanes is an example of finally removing a special interests project in favour of the majority of people who actually drive.

Also, I always felt that for the politicians the Jarvis Street bike lanes were more about the war on the car than bike lanes per say.

 

[GameBoy27]

Bicycle riders are a special interests group. One of the reasons Ford got voted in is because this city was being run by special interests groups. Meaning that small minority coalitions and lobbyists suddenly had more influence than most of the people that actually live and work in this city every day. The city was starting to lose touch with its own people and that had to change...that's why Ford was voted in. And the scrapping of the bike lanes is an example of finally removing a special interests project in favour of the majority of people who actually drive.

And the majority of the City Council who voted to scrap the lanes 28 to 9.

It drives me nuts that cyclists think there should be bike lanes on every street regardless of what happens to traffic. I suppose if you only ride then I can see where you're coming from but as someone who does both, I feel there has to be compromise. I mean honestly, it's so short sighted. There's a huge amount of surface transit in this city between buses and street cars that the more you impede traffic by eliminating traffic lanes the slower you make the commute for everyone. Cars aren't going away.

I bet the majority of the people who are upset they're eliminating the Jarvis bike lanes don't even use them. If you do, tell me where you ride to/from on a daily basis and I bet I can find you an alternative route that's just as fast.

Also, I always felt that for the politicians the Jarvis Street bike lanes were more about the war on the car than bike lanes per say.

That was "David Miller's" was on the car. Thankfully Council voted to restore it to what I have was always thought was a brilliant design with the reversing lane based on rush hour traffic flow.

 

[Celticman]

And the majority of the City Council who voted to scrap the lanes 28 to 9.

It drives me nuts that cyclists think there should be bike lanes on every street regardless of what happens to traffic. I suppose if you only ride then I can see where you're coming from but as someone who does both, I feel there has to be compromise. I mean honestly, it's so short sighted. There's a huge amount of surface transit in this city between buses and street cars that the more you impede traffic by eliminating traffic lanes the slower you make the commute for everyone. Cars aren't going away.

I bet the majority of the people who are upset they're eliminating the Jarvis bike lanes don't even use them. If you do, tell me where you ride to/from on a daily basis and I bet I can find you an alternative route that's just as fast.


That was "David Miller's" was on the car. Thankfully Council voted to restore it to what I have was always thought was a brilliant design with the reversing lane based on rush hour traffic flow.

It would also be interesting to see how busy the bike lanes are in the winter vs the summer traffic.

And the reversing centre lane is also an interesting part of Toronto's charachter.

 

[groggy]

And the majority of the City Council who voted to scrap the lanes 28 to 9.

It drives me nuts that cyclists think there should be bike lanes on every street regardless of what happens to traffic. I suppose if you only ride then I can see where you're coming from but as someone who does both, I feel there has to be compromise. I mean honestly, it's so short sighted. There's a huge amount of surface transit in this city between buses and street cars that the more you impede traffic by eliminating traffic lanes the slower you make the commute for everyone. Cars aren't going away.

I bet the majority of the people who are upset they're eliminating the Jarvis bike lanes don't even use them. If you do, tell me where you ride to/from on a daily basis and I bet I can find you an alternative route that's just as fast.



That was "David Miller's" was on the car. Thankfully Council voted to restore it to what I have was always thought was a brilliant design with the reversing lane based on rush hour traffic flow.

I drive and bike in this city.
My preference is biking, because its faster, cheaper and I feel better afterwards.

Bikes are not going away either, its best we find ways to get all vehicles working together and safely. Removing any biking lanes is counterproductive, Toronto is falling behind most of the world in bike lanes and this is generally a good biking city. Most cities are becoming more progressive and allowing more transportation, certainly allowing more bike traffic should reduce auto traffic at the same time. If I'm not on my bike I'm just adding one more car to traffic, and I know quite a few others in the same boat.

If you live downtown its the best mode of transportation. And its not slowing cars down, more cars are slowing cars down as are the declining infrastructure through lack of management and planning at the city level. Its not bikes.

 

[GameBoy27]

It would also be interesting to see how busy the bike lanes are in the winter vs the summer traffic.

And the reversing center lane is also an interesting part of Toronto's character.

Winter vs. summer? I rarely saw anyone using the Jarvis bike lanes in the summer, never mind the winter.

I drive and bike in this city.
My preference is biking, because its faster, cheaper and I feel better afterwards.

Bikes are not going away either, its best we find ways to get all vehicles working together and safely. Removing any biking lanes is counterproductive, Toronto is falling behind most of the world in bike lanes and this is generally a good biking city. Most cities are becoming more progressive and allowing more transportation, certainly allowing more bike traffic should reduce auto traffic at the same time. If I'm not on my bike I'm just adding one more car to traffic, and I know quite a few others in the same boat.

If you live downtown its the best mode of transportation. And its not slowing cars down, more cars are slowing cars down as are the declining infrastructure through lack of management and planning at the city level. Its not bikes.

I agree with you but there's not a large percentage of people who can make cycling their primary mode of transportation. There's many factors that simply don't make it possible, weather, climate, distance etc. I mean how many people want to show up to work sweating like a pig after a 30 minute ride with a humidex of 40C, let alone head out when it's snowing and -10C? I mean great if you can do it but it's not for the masses.

 

[Polaris]

What we need are bike lanes on university, yonge, and bay as well as Richmond and Adelaide.

In my view, there are three downtown north south bicycle routes that are very good.

Sherbourne which connects to the lake shore bike paths and allows you to go north through Rosedale up to Mount Pleasant cemetery, which would be a short distance to Eglington. I would think that starting at the southern tip of Sherbourne, you can make it to Eglinton avenue using the Sherbourne bike lane, through Rosedale and be at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Eglington in about 40 minutes. That's excellent. Just imagine trying to get to Mount Pleasant and Eglington going up Jarvis then Mount Pleasant.

The St. George Beverly bike lane basically starts at Dupont. There is a bike path there north of this one near Davenport that allows you to continue north, but I can't do it, too steep a hill. You would need a lot of strength and endurance. Going south from St.George and Dupont, you will reach Beverley and Queen. From there try to make your way to Simoce street which has the bike lane going south to Queen's Quay.

The residential streets running north south besides Bathurst, that is your bike lane. Sounds not very convincing, but if you go ride it, you will agree. That's why there will never be a Bathurst bike lane, just use the side streets, safer and nice to ride on.

Those three routes, allow any cyclist to transit by all of the downtown Toronto in a north south direction, from the lake edge to close to St. Clair.

Bay Street would make an interesting bike lane. There is already enough room from Bay/Davenport all the way to Queen in the right lane, they got a sign so I doubt you need to re-paint the road. South of Queen, there is no room left. Even the sidewalks on Bay is narrow down there.

The downtown core is not a great place for bicycles, there just is not enough room. The area south of Queen to Front, bound by University and Yonge, no room for bicycles at all.

Outside of that area, it is quite good IMHO.

I think that is the bigger question. Should that area, Queen to Front between University and Yonge be made bicycle friendly?

 

[Polaris]

Jarvis Street is much better to bike along than Sherbourne because the blocks are longer, as are the distances between stop lights, and there are fewer driveways. So it made more sense to have a bike lane on Jarvis than Sherbourne.

Riding a bicycle in a dedicated bike lane in the City of Toronto, is a privilege and not a right.

Bicycle don't have rights.

 

[TeasePlease]

Cyclists would get a lot more respect from motorists if they showed more respect for the rules of the road.

 

[MattRoxx]

Good post Polaris. I don't think the central core even needs bike lanes because car traffic is generally slow, and there are so many intersections with lights. It's not a great place for cycling or for driving, really. Fortunately I live east of downtown and there is a great network of bike/running trails away from cars - Lower Don, Taylor Creek Park and my favourite early morning ride or run: blasting south in the Moore Park Ravine.

Riding a bicycle in a dedicated bike lane in the City of Toronto, is a privilege and not a right.

Bicycle don't have rights.

Bicycles don't have rights but the people riding them do so I'm not sure what your point is.

 

[red]

Rob Ford applauds Jarvis bike lane removal

As both a cyclist and a driver, I think this is the right thing to do. They never should have been added in the first place. Also nice to see the separated bike lane on Sherbourne.



http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/12/rob-ford-applauds-jarvis-bike-lane-removal

Can't wait for the Ford haters to chime in on this one. lol

ding dong the witch is dead
rub your eyes get out of bed
the wicked witch is dead

 

[doggee_01]

now if only someone could get rid of the streetcar on st clair!!!!!

 

[oldjones]

now if only someone could get rid of the streetcar on st clair!!!!!

Thanks for giving us evidence that there is no War on Cars. You've made it obvious it's self-defence.

 

[GameBoy27]

now if only someone could get rid of the streetcar on st clair!!!!!

I know, I used to like cycling along St. Clair before they built the streetcar right-of-way. Now the lanes are so narrow I avoid it altogether.

 

[larry]

I know, I used to like cycling along St. Clair before they built the streetcar right-of-way. Now the lanes are so narrow I avoid it altogether.

i agree. st clair has been ruined for cars and bikes alike. in law, all bikes can use the regular lanes. downtown, they are as f\st as traffic. elsewhere, they are slow moving traffic. no changes required. just education. perhaps the police could try riding in plain-clothes and impress upon car drivers that bikes have the right to the lane. they're not breaking a law. aggressive drivers need to back off. that's free.

 

[good to go]

What we need is licenses and insurance for cyclists. You want to ride on the street you need to pay up just like everyone else.