Dupont Narrowed: a Cyclist and Driver's First Impressions
On Monday, at about 4pm, I was driving northbound on Keele Street from the High Park area, and made a right onto Annette Street. To my amazement, the lane that was previously there was no longer there. I was driving in a bike lane. Quickly, I got into the car lane. The only car lane. Just last week there were two.
I hadn't heard much about the Dupont St. and Annette St. Bike Lane Plan since last spring, so its late arrival this week came as a bit of a surprise. As I drove toward Dupont St., I thought about how cool it was that a bike lane was introduced. Freshly painted, and really wide, it's a great victory for cycling in the city, right? Right. I'm going to love the freedom and safety it comes with when I bike on it.
But as someone who both cycles and drives on Dupont and Annette (often enough to be quite familiar with the area's traffic issues), I'm not particularly happy about how this was implemented and the effects it has had on congestion. It's gotten really bad for motorists, and seems to have been done without much consideration for Toronto's mighty ruler - the car.
While I'm all for bike lanes, I'm not all for a bike lane on Annette and Dupont - at least not how they've been implemented on the stretch of Dupont & Annette between Keele and Lansdowne (I haven't yet tested the stretch on Annette between Keele and Jane to the west).
What the city has done:
- eliminated a full car lane in each direction
- added a super-wide curbside bike lane in each direction
- added some dedicated curbside car parking areas (that the bike lanes pass on the left)
- whatever road was left over sits unused in the middle, bounded by yellow strips
What the effect has been:
- increased vehicular traffic congestion at all times of the day, and well into the evening
- major increases in vehicular congestion during peak time (because what used to be a four lane road during peak times is now a two lane road during peak times).
They also didn't do much to cover up or de-emphasize the old road markings, making the road look complicated and not easily understood.
Maybe I need to get used to it. But the benefits I've gained as a cyclist seem to be heavily outweighed by the drawbacks it's caused in my role as motorist. What could have been done differently? I'm not sure. While I didn't go so far as take measurements, I do think it may have been possible to keep the roadway at three lanes, anyhow. Or they could have done away with curbside parking altogether to allow for four lanes and greatly improved flow.
Comments (59)
I ride and drive this stretch on a daily basis. No doubt the idea is a good one, but the implementation is (at least currently) horrendous. The former markings have meant that the bike lane has been ignored by hundreds of people parking their cars, most likely due to the fact that it's completely confusing. With such cars blocking/filling the bike lane cyclists have to dart in and out of the car lane, thus losing the whole point of increased rider safety. I'm all for a little slower drive if it demonstrates this city is taking bicycle transit seriously, but this whole thing looks quite half-assed.
I got caught driving my car across this stretch the other day and it was frustarting to say the least. What I am most concerned about is what it does to the Shops that make up the Streetscape. You cannot park and go inside to shop. These days the shopping plazas with the Big Box Stores are the beneficieries of the Bike Lanes.
I also both drive and cycle. I'm all for more bike lanes but, again, this city seems to have made a mess of things. I don't understand why they needed to put the wide 'no man's land' in the middle. Does anyone have an idea on this?
"You cannot park and go inside to shop. These days the shopping plazas with the Big Box Stores are the beneficieries of the Bike Lanes."
If the sidewalks were widened, the opposite has been shown to be true. Pedestrians spend much more money in an area than drivers.
Think about it, you find yourself a parking space on the road, put some money in the machine and the race begins. There will be no leisurely stroll for you. You have a time limit that you have to stick to or face the consequences. If you really wanted a leisurely (and high spending) afternoon, you'd park your car in a nearby lot. On street parking seems to be devoted to people who need to make quick (and cheap) errands.
Actually Richard, there's good evidence that removing parking in favour of bike lanes is good for business. Shoppers who arrive by bike both spend more and shop more frequently, not to mention there is a much higher upper limit on the number of cyclists who can shop on a strip as compared to motorists.
For a detailed study, check out http://www.cleanairpartnership.org/pdf/bike-lanes-parking.pdf
Encouraging a shift in transportation mode from autombile to bicycle or public transit seems intuitively better for small businesses to me; trips are more local, people buy less in one go. Cars make the most sense for long distances and large loads; otherwise, they are just ludicrously inefficient.
Wouldn't it better to review the Dupont / Annete bike lanes when they finish installing them?
Of course it's a bit of a mess now. Old lines are still on the road, there are still signs to be installed, etc. Come back in a couple of weeks and the whole situation should be a little less confusing, especially once people get used to the new layout.
"Wouldn't it better to review the Dupont / Annete bike lanes when they finish installing them?"
I agree. The same situation happened with Wellesley St E&W. They ended up removing the lines 2 weeks after and then it was another month until proper signage came. It was a full 3-4 months until the sharrows were added between intersections.
Give it time, the city is like that retarded guy at your work in high school, he'll get the job done, just give him plenty of time.
It strikes me that the very fact that it can take 3-4 months to complete such basic constructions is actually a good reason to review the project here and now. Not only is this what people will most likely have to deal with for a good chunk of summer, I've found that many are quick to change their driving/riding routes once obstacles are encountered (meaning quick completion should be a priority of the city).
When signage and road markings are complete, it won't change the effect it's had on congestion.
So let me get this straight Jerrold, you're bitching about the drive from High Park to Dupont & Annette. Why would you drive so short a distance in the first place? Really pathetic. I only wish I was a 10 min walk about from the subway.
Yesterday while waiting at Dupont & Symington, a car flies and takes out a light post, itfalls and the concrete crumbles all over the place. Police, tows, ambulance and fire were all on scene, and gues what? Traffic absolutely stalled. Since there was only 1 lane on each side, no one went anywhere. And I think the car that crashed did so cuz they tried to avoid a cyclist and the bike lane.
@piero
Holy assumptions, Batman. I drove by the new bike lanes on my way from Georgetown, ON to Dupont and Ossington in Toronto, passing thorough the High Park area via the Gardiner/Lakeshore. Would you ride your bike to a job site 65km away? Me neither.
I love bikes
I drive and bike..that's how it is. I carry cargo, kids, life is complicated. Dont tell me to put the kids on bike, pls. we dont always go home..as I said, life is complicated, I'm trying to see both sides.
the area is now gridlocked at peak times
fact
again I LOVE BIKES
but I cannot glamorize these lanes.
Its a strange spot, train tracks and all
car route options are limited
I'm all for turning it into a bike villiage, I LOVE the road full of bikes
but it ignores the fact there ARE cars on the road, a lot of them. The bus route takes me double the time now as well.
Reminds me of the intolerance of the 80s
peas brothas!
i drove one day and bussed one day (tuesday) in case anyone is real prickly about my comment :P
I just want to point out that the busiest shopping areas of the city are mostly four lane with parking. Queen St, Bloor, Yonge and Eglinton, etc. etc . I'm not sure where this study came up with regards to people walking of biking spend more money, it doesn't pass the smell test with me.
Regardless I believe the point was that perhaps the benefit of an extra bike lane does not outweigh the cons to two less driving lanes. I think this is a very legitimate and rational argument that deserves debate and does not necessarily have to turn into a debate with big box stores or Jane Jacobs please.
It's a total mess right now, and I don't really get how it's going to get cleaned up. The traffic was already bad and now it's much much worse. So bike lanes are great, and I bike to work, but the thing I don't understand is what road cars and now supposed to use to go east. Bloor is not a good option, and St. Clair is worse. While I think bike lanes are great, and I bike to work myself, it looks for now like the planners have dropped the ball on this one.
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perhaps the city should promote biking on minor arterial roads and leaving the big ones for the cars (ackn: that sort of screws local business)
How many of the people on Queen, Bloor, Yonge or Eglinton took cars to get there and parked on the side of the street vs. how many took the TTC/walked/rode bikes? I'd put a large sum on far more people getting to major shopping areas in anything but cars seeing as how street parking is a nightmare.
Squeezing stop and go traffic down to one lane has created a congested nightmare of smog. I'll take another bike route, thank you.
We're getting a group together, heading down there with a bunch of black and white concrete paint and "fixing" this sh*t in about a weeks time. Who knows, perhaps one or two of us will get arrested and elevate this idiotic implementation on the news.
I quote "On Monday, at about 4pm, I was driving northbound on Keele Street FROM the High Park area, and made a right onto Annette Street." No offense, you're post was specific enough and you made no mention of Georgetown commute. You're annoyed by the last Km of a 65km journey that made up less than 10% of the total trip time and less than 10% of the total return trip time. Yes it's frustrating but I think the convenience of your trip for a job outside of Toronto has little bearing on local business and those adults and kids that work / shop / educate / play locally. Those that choose to live in the burbs and work downtown and pay lower taxes and deal with lower housing costs, bohoo to them if they're a bit inconvenienced in the single occupant car!! No sympathy whatsoever.
This stretch? I don't think you're the type to be stopping here for shopping even if there was a massive green p. You sound like someone who was in transit to another destination.
Thanks for the comment that adds totally nothing to any discussion, stop the nit-picking from the post, i get some people just go on blog posts to pick a fight/argument, but your turning someone's post about something they noticed and your trying to invalidate it because he was working out of the city at the time he noticed it. Stop wasting peoples time and attention reading a post that has no value.
Piero,
I'm waiting for the "you guys are all idiots" post, please don't let me wait in vain. Your last post didn't have enough generalizations or pre-judgments in it work on that too. Don't let me down.
I think in general Canadian's are spoiled when it comes to car usage and also limited by infrastructure (damn Harper). We have big cars, urban sprawl and low density, no real good daycare system, slow and sparse trains, etc. Take any european or Asian country and they make do with a lot less. They've adjusted their lifestyles while all we do in this country is complain about the choices we've made to get to where we are. At least the city is thinking long term here with urban renewal, bike lanes, transit city, union station refit, etc. We're all being impacted in the short term for longer term, macro gains and we're all just going to have to deal with it and adjust as necessary. Time and patience however are short in this day and age.
David, I'm waiting for you to actually make a contribution. You've made a half post that ends mid sentence/thought and discounted a scientific study with your own hearsay about how certain streets with parking are the busiest shopping areas. Those streets are also the most well connected subway hubs and highly densely populated areas. To say that economical success depends solely on cars or bikes or pedestrians is ridiculous. The problem isn't that simple. However, complaining about a single street of thousands of streets in Toronto because you or someone in passing to somewhere many 10's of kms away does not get any sympathy from me, especially when no alternatives are offered except NIMBY.
Very true. I've counted each and every parking spot in my neighbourhood and a single double streetcar holds just as many people. Boggles my mind the businesses didn't lobby council for better north-south transit connections to increase traffic and convenience yet lobbied the city for a handful of extra parking spots. 5 spots / 200+ businesses is insignificant. It's hard to convince a business owner of that. We're a society that's grown up with the car and that's what we know.
Piero,
Big Cars: The top selling vehicles in Canada are all compacts.
Low Density: We are a massive country and if you look at population density rates we do very well for a country this size
"Take any european or asian country": You find me one person from any country are say that they are much better than Canada and I'll be very surprised, you think Europeans are happy with their governmental decisions? Europeans just expect bureaucracy headaches and political games
Urban Renewal: Let me know how bike lanes create urban renewal. No one biked on Dupont until these lanes were opened?
Transit City: Massively political, so many problems with that I'm not sure where to begin.
Union Station: This refurbishment has more to do with making it prettier, friendlier, cleaner, than encouraging public transit.
Long Term vs. Short Term: Installing a bike lane is the most short term action possible, there is nothing cheaper, than wiping out some road lines and painting on some new ones, nothing, no environmental study, nothing.
I'm not sure how you manage to bring up daycare with regards to infrastructure, but you did. Also, read my words above very carefully, don't add words to mine, quote directly, no paraphrasing or presuming you know what I am saying. Just because someone says that "good evidence" shows something, does not mean that is a "scientific study". Your words show an incredible lack of thoughtfulness or clarity. I honestly believe that you are not grasping he crux of this discussion and are making this a car vs. public transit argument, which it isn't. It's a city roads plannng discussion.
I love your misinformation. From wheels.ca:
When the final sales numbers are tallied up at the end of this year, the compact Honda Civic will have knocked the venerable Ford F-150 from its perch as Canada's best-selling new vehicle – a title the full-size pickup has held for the past five years.
Ford F-150 was the TOP seller for 5 years!! And we buy many more larger sized sedans whereas Europeans and Asians tend to buy smaller and narrower hatchbacks.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-vs-europe-top-10-selling-vehicles-in.html
http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/Top_ten_article.aspx?cp-documentid=2620300
Your numbers are including all business vehicles, not passenger cars. There are fewer types of trucks for businesses to use, so trucks rank higher on the total vehicle sales list, while the passenger car sales more accurately reflects what Canadians are driving. The Ford competes with 2-3 types of trucks, the civic competes with dozens of cars.
Also, vehicles are quite a bit more expensive in European and Asian countries not to mention their roads are much smaller, do you think they prefer a sub-compact? Can you please stop derailing the initial point of this post, regarding a decrease in lanes, causing traffic to be a problem. Could you not just stop and think for a minute that some of those people in that traffic, are most likely driving a compact car and have to be driving a car for their situation.
Piero,
You do realize that one of your links is in reference to American car sales right? We are in Canada. There's a difference.
I may be missing something here, but there is still SOME parking, and the photos above show absolutely no signs of increased congestion. If traffic does increase, people will just find new routes. Granted, the pics likely weren't taken during rush hour, but I'm not seeing much of a reason to complain...
Then Jen, you obviously haven't driven along that stretch any time between 400PM and 700PM. It is an absolute nightmare.
How the F are you supposed to get East / West in this city? There are literally zero routes between the Gardner and Lawrence. So if you're mid-town, say Yonge and Bloor, you either have to head south to the Gardner (good luck) or north to Lawrence to find a suitable route, or sit and stew in 45mins worth of traffic on Bloor or St. Clair or now Dupont! WTF? The car is a fact of life, people! People need to get around this city. We can't just all hold hands and sing kumbaya and wish really (really) hard for the car to go away. Absolutely unacceptable. The sooner Miller goes, the better.
C.
PS. And before you flamers get started, I ride my bike to work 2-3 times a week (doesn't mean i don't also need to get around in this city), so back off.
"photos above show absolutely no signs of increased congestion."
I agree, the photo above is like a model home er model bike lane, a dream! I have never seen the road that clear, sadly I use this road almost daily by car, bus and bike. rarely walk it because the distance is quite long. and who mentioned local businesses?, maybe you should walk that strip some time, its not exactly a stop and shop shopping hub you probably don't hang there at night. namasayin? Dupont has been an industrial throughway in the city for decades, I have seen the traffic increase in this area only after 5 years. a condo here and there, next thing you know DUPONT AND DUFFERIN to DUNDAS WEST is a traffic battleground I fight daily. The madness of the dunwest hairpin left turn, and now the impossible merge at the foot of the 'electric'city lofts..hahah imagine 300 more commuters coming from thier condo once that is built. Madness! Its not about getting used to it or road signs..its pure congestion, we have regressed. I LOVE BIKES did I mention that?
this is more of a facade and I agree with the early posters, not well planned and the fastest easiest way to make it look like the city had taken some action.
Oh did I mention, I LOVE BIKES and wish there were MORE BIKES but we cannot simply ignore that there ARE cars on the road..really, Ill try and snap a photo of the street today.
reading these posts, I can really tell who is arguing hypothetically about the idea, and who actually has to use this mess of a road. only one person has brought up smog..yes, cars are all in a neat little line, bikes whiz by. Its not about who wins, we all have to get around (see above with cargo, kids, work gear etc, life is complicated, not so linear) and this is not a good solution.
I wonder if the road stayed at 2 lanes and bikes could legally use the right lane, cars could go around them..i mean, its a slow street to begin with, i think its more dangerous now simply due to the fact that its HOT and people are stewing in cars rather than driving (im not exaggerating when I said gridlock earlier..its a real mess) and more likely to make bad judgments when driving in rushhour. I think this could have been planned differently.
sorry, its early and im in rant mode. all your posts are great cept where you're attacking each other. XO
---"It's gotten really bad for motorists, and seems to have been done without much consideration for Toronto's mighty ruler - the car."
WAIT UNTIL JARVIS GETS MESSED UP.
Miller must resign now!
---"It's gotten really bad for motorists, and seems to have been done without much consideration for Toronto's mighty ruler - the car."
WAIT UNTIL THE MESS UP JARVIS. IT WILL BE WORSE!
Miller must resign now. He can't run the city.
"and who mentioned local businesses?, maybe you should walk that strip some time, its not exactly a stop and shop shopping hub you probably don't hang there at night. namasayin? Dupont has been an industrial throughway in the city for decades"
Have you taken a closer look at this 1km section of Dupont where the bike lanes are being installed? It's mainly a commercial/retail strip with restaurants, bars, shops, a library, bank, church, etc... Some residential too. There's no real "industry" left along here, unless you count the former Viceroy factory (now a storage building), and a couple of small commercial buildings around Campbell Ave.
I walk or bike through here very often, shop along this strip, and yes...even hang out at night once in a while.
I ride my bike everywhere in this city now. I used to drive a car. A HUGE car (1991 Mercury Grand Marquis).
I always hear the drivers complain that there is no room for them, yet having a parking lane, and a driving lane, counts as two lanes. (You want to park in one, not my problem...) So your lanes have been taken from 2-3. If the parking lane does not count as a lane, how come bikes are expected to ride beside them half the time? Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Jerrold... look at the mess you created by being pragmatic!
This city is seriously picking some odd streets to add bike lanes to. I'm 100% for them, without a doubt, as I use them too, but that stretch of Dupont was already a mess with congestion. I already avoid it whenever I'm driving in that area, so there's no way I'd go near it again.
I'm guessing all that this has done is push more people onto Dundas West, thereby creating even more congestion there. Poor implementation again.
I suspect it won't be long before residents on Lappin, Humberside, Wallace, St. Johns, Glenlake, etc. start to complain about a spike in rush hour vehicular traffic on what used to be their tiny, quiet, side streets.
I've lived in Toronto without a car for 17 years. I use public transit, my bike and my feet to get around, quite ably. The car does not have to be a fact of life. I am really tired of the whiny sense of entitlement espoused by motorists in Toronto and all across North America. Instead of being put out by those of us who choose to not pollute, not congest, not wear down the roads, not bleed the Earth further of its dwindling resources, how about saying "Hey, cyclists, thanks! We appreciate you! Here, why don't you share some space on this here road with me?"
PS Cyclists: please stay the EFF off the EFFING sidewalks!!!
PS I realize that a majority of commenters here are pro-bicycle, and that many people here would just like to see an east-west artery to enable a smoother flow of traffic.
I guess I'm just not all that sympathetic. I'm one of those people that thinks the price of gas should be elevated. People won't change their lifestyles if the status quo continues to be subsidized and encouraged. Maybe if people get sick and tired of waiting in traffic they'll get rid of their cars, start to carpool, move closer to their place of business so they can walk or cycle commute, etc.
There's no point in trying to coddle the drivers. The selfish ones don't realize that with Toronto's booming population and with the impending doom of climate chaos, they're trying to pit their privilege against the greater good. Make it hard to drive in Toronto. Put lots more money in transit and cycling.
It's not like it's a war against people. It's a war against a huge hunk of metal that kills. Kill the beast, kill it good.
The city has already scoured all the side routes for good cycling routes but there are very few. Annette is, in fact, a minor arterial and an alternative to biking on Dundas (although not a very good one). Then to cross the tracks there is only one choice: Dupont. So car drivers, leave your cars at home. Compost them, turn them into playgrounds, because it's only going to get harder from here on in.
Can we please stop this ridiculous name calling like "Selfish", it is so naive. I have two children, I have to get groceries, take them to their classes, in winter. I need a car, I also need a car to drive into work. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FUNCTION IN THE CITY WITHOUT THE USE OF A CAR. WE ALL CAN'T HAVE JOBS MINUTES AWAY FROM OUR EMPLOYMENT. That is so silly to think that its possible. We also can't all move downtown. Cars are not subsidized, the cost of doing business in the city right now without vehicles would be so out of reach without them. We are all not students or young single people living in the downtown core, please can anyone with that point of view stop being so self-centric in their thinking.
David B., what's wrong with the TTC? Can you not ride on it with your children? Transit can take people to jobs further afield, especially with GO trains.
Car driving IS subsidized. My property tax dollars pay for road maintenance on the Gardiner which I can't use, road maintenance on city streets which I do not cause damage to by a lighter weight, policing and ambulance dollars - and how much % of their budget is related to traffic and traffic collisions?
Not to mention there are hundreds of people dying in Toronto every year from the air pollution caused by motor vehicles - the city health dept. estimates 400 fewer deaths if driving was reduced by just 20%.
20% is not a lot.. I'm not saying that all driving can be eliminated but if everyone gave a bit more thought about the best way to get from A to B then the roads would be a lot less congested when you had to drive on them.
again.. this starurday evening, 4 of us are repainting the lines - well, as far as 8 buckets of paint will take us - which i'm projecting is not far at all... :(
First off the subsidization remark: When you buy anything that was not made in or from anything in the city, you are benefiting from our road system. If you don't realize how much money goes from the gas tax into our government, or how many jobs are created by car manufacturers, dealerships, repair shops, gas stations, the ability to buy and sell products not in your immediate area than I can't make my point. We all fight against the big box stores for the mom and pop businesses and then through all this hate at the car. I rarely use the health care system in Canada, in fact my health card ran out years ago, I still have to renew it, but some people need our health care system on a daily basis, is the young kid with leukemia draining our system and should I say that he is costing me money? I hope no one shares that opinion, it is the little part of our government where we have said that the cost is a general benefit to the greater whole of our society. Same with road, I don't hate cyclists, and I hate hearing comments the are anti-bike, but I also can't stand these naive notions with how the city would be theses incredible place without cars. Also, if you think that its reasonable or easy to plan your life around the go train and public buses with two little children, than you have no idea with regards to the complications that brings with it. When you have a little kid that just fell asleep and a kid screaming because he has to go to the bathroom, it doesn't make it that easy to take the bus.
The space on the existing roads is already drastically, dramatically, completely disproportionally skewed in favour of the car. It's time to reclaim some of it. Car drivers will complain, it's inevitable, but I have no great sympathy for them. Not because I hate them as people or anything like that. But because they have a sense of entitlement that's bigger than the state of Texas. It's kind of natural: people hate to lose what they used to have, even if it wasn't fair for them to have it in the first place. But it doesn't mean we should just preserve status quo.
No one suggests eliminating all use of cars, but it's certainly quite possible to reduce it considerably. And yes, even if you have two kids. Maybe especially if you have two kids: introduce them to sustainable transportation when they're young, and they'll grow up to be cyclists and transit riders. Yep, it's possible: my parents did it somehow, after all.
There is a huge arrogance and presumption in what you are saying. As a car driver, I don't have any sense of "entitlement", please stop generalizing all drivers, as I think for the most part no one here is generalizing cyclists. The road was made for cars, and when the city, years ago, planned that road they thought for the traffic of the area it will need to be two lanes. I don't see how a road being four lanes isn't "fair", that's absurd, the lanes, there are curbs, there are sidewalks all designed for the citizens of Toronto. Also, the bus you are riding on Dupont uses diesel, a non-renewable resource. And my guess is you still have no clue as to the complications of having a busy job, and a family and the additional amount of planning and stress taking public transit all of the time takes.
I am so surprised with the amount of piousness that comes with transit users that look down on car drivers as self-centered and self-centric, I'm sure you have some friends that drive cars, but "their different" and everyone else is the asshole.
It's a shame they couldn't figure out what to do with that patch of lane in the middle. There are definitely some rough edges to that implementation.
That being said, the reallocation of road space away from cars is being driven by two immovable constraints: 1) There isn't any more room to build roads. There just isn't. If you want to try and build the Spadina Expressway again, good luck. Move to Los Angeles and see how well road expansion works. 2) Oil and energy in general is going to get a lot more expensive very soon (http://aspocanada.ca/). It will take time for society to adjust, so we had better get started now. Change will take time - people will get shorter commutes, development will happen closer to transit lines, and so on.
That aussie dude who flew through town a couple years back and proclaimed himself the "king of street reclaiming" (set up a throne in the middle of Kensington market to do so) explained it best: there are hunters and there are farmers, and humans are descended from both of these stocks. The hunter passes through and values speed and the open road above all. The farmer wants to till, fence and protect the land. The cyclist and the pedestrian are the farmers in this scenario. We recognize the value of stability and slowness, and resent the interloper who will treat our "garden" as if it's a highway. The driver is the hunter. The driver wants to get to his prey, whether it's a piece of steak from the supermarket or more metaphorically, his job at the end of a long commute. But the hunter gets home, and all of a sudden he's a farmer again: protecting his own garden. What's needed is some empathy from the hunters of this world, and this is true on Jarvis too: remember when you get home you don't want someone trashing your garden with his personal rolling furnace either.
Wow, what foolish words of generalization. And everyone that smokes doesn't value their own life, and people that have sex are sluts, c'mon lets keep the prejudice going here. Yea, every driver is a hunter and a cyclist is a farmer. How many farmers ride around their fields on bikes? Are there any bikes that are deemed agricultural bikes? What!!!! They drive trucks!!! The nerve.
I'm just hoping that there will eventually be fewer cyclists dying or getting hurt on the streets. Our style of bike lanes aren't even close to perfect; we're still in a pretty prime "door prize" zone. However, anything is better than nothing. Let's try to protect those who choose to have a smaller footprint, instead of punishing them by forcing them to dodge the inconsiderate drivers (no, not all of you are inconsiderate, sheesh). Many more people have said they would ride their bikes to work if it were safer- let's make it that way. Share the space a little bit.
Also, I know that it's a one lane road as well, but there is another street between Bloor and St. Clair that no one has made mention of (and it's often dead as a doornail, traffic wise)- Davenport!
I've ridden the Dundas West /Dupont route almost daily for years and while happily switched down to Annette to use the bike lanes there (and LOVE the lane under the bridge at Dupont), the lanes along Dupont are, in my opinion, a disaster. Bumper to bumper idling traffic is bad for everyone - drivers, the enviroment, and my lungs as a cyclist riding beside them. Traffic used to flow beautifully along there but no longer and I completely sympathise with the drivers. Particularly in afternoon rush hour when westbound traffic is backed up yet the curb lane is empty (no parking allowed). If there's a petition to reverse the installation of these lanes beyond the Dupont underpass, i'll sign it. Coming from a dedicated cyclist - that says alot.
As much as I am for dedicated bike lanes, the Dupont lane is a very poor implementation. It causes massive traffic delays in rush hour, and a large portion of roadway is left unutilized. I doubt a few cyclists who use it daily compensate for all the exhaust from the idling car traffic.
The argument that people on bikes shop more is laughable. Let's see, you need to find a place to lock your bike, make sure it's safely locked, and dirty your hands with the grease and dust on the lock and bike frame. You have to take off the panniers if you are carrying other stuff, or risk them being stolen. You have to shop in a bike helmet. And how are you going to carry the purchases home? How much can you fit into a basket or panniers anyway?
Just an FYI, I live in the area and commute downtown by car. Yes, I know I could bike, and I tried, but I work in a professional office setting and cannot be arriving at work in a sweaty T-shirt. My employer does not offer change facilities. Public transit is an option, but it takes about 10-15 minutes longer in the morning, and I cannot run errands or go to the suburbs if I'm using the TTC (I need to travel on a short notice.)
Schmoe, my old boss in Mississauga used to bike to work everyday even on bitterly cold winter days. He'd just change in the washrooms. He avoided being totally sweaty and disgusting by keeping his head shaved. He was an IT manager.
I drove this stretch of road last week, and what I hate most about it is you're sitting in traffic for the ugliest part of the street (while it's still Dupont), and then once you hit Annette and you wouldn't mind idling away enjoying all the trees and green stuff and nice houses around you... you CAN'T!! That's exactly when traffic flows nicely. Thankfully the city has the traffic lights on Annette timed so that you hit a red light on every one of them, or else I'd get to spend even less time on the nice section.
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