Canadian Politics Today

Beyond Ottawa => Provincial and Local Politics => Topic started by: Michael Hardner on July 31, 2018, 06:50:34 am

Title: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Michael Hardner on July 31, 2018, 06:50:34 am
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bike-lane-poll-toronto-1.4766745

Quote
More than 80 per cent of Toronto residents support building protected bike lanes, a new poll finds.


I like 'em.  I don't like bike people being close to my van, and on those occasional evenings when this middle aged guy goes out for a short putter, I like having the barrier.  Toronto is junior to Montreal, though.  ON our way out east we stopped for a visit and they have lanes everywhere.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: SirJohn on August 06, 2018, 09:19:29 am
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bike-lane-poll-toronto-1.4766745

I like 'em.  I don't like bike people being close to my van, and on those occasional evenings when this middle aged guy goes out for a short putter, I like having the barrier.  Toronto is junior to Montreal, though.  ON our way out east we stopped for a visit and they have lanes everywhere.

Bike lanes are the product of self-indulgence among the upper middle class, and environmental ideological activism by progressives. They make no earthly sense in our environment, and are mostly unused. They narrow roads, choking traffic, the cost of which is enormous, and so, ultimately, produce more pollution by creating traffic jams than their few users can possibly save by abandoning their cars.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: ?Impact on August 06, 2018, 07:17:41 pm
Bike lanes are the product of self-indulgence among the upper middle class, and environmental ideological activism by progressives. They make no earthly sense in our environment, and are mostly unused. They narrow roads, choking traffic, the cost of which is enormous, and so, ultimately, produce more pollution by creating traffic jams than their few users can possibly save by abandoning their cars.

Yawn, get off your duff and bike and you will see how well they are used.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: guest18 on August 06, 2018, 08:19:36 pm
I like them when I'm riding my bike (which is my primary mode of transportation) because it makes it much more difficult for guys like argus to squeeze me off the road.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: SirJohn on August 06, 2018, 08:26:17 pm
Yawn, get off your duff and bike and you will see how well they are used.

You think I can't see mile after mile of empty bike lanes everywhere I drive?
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Queefer Sutherland on August 06, 2018, 09:31:38 pm
Bike lanes are the product of self-indulgence among the upper middle class, and environmental ideological activism by progressives. They make no earthly sense in our environment, and are mostly unused. They narrow roads, choking traffic, the cost of which is enormous, and so, ultimately, produce more pollution by creating traffic jams than their few users can possibly save by abandoning their cars.

Downtown Toronto like many busy downtowns I imagine you can get to work/school in rush hour quicker or just as fast as by car/bus.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Omni on August 06, 2018, 09:36:45 pm
Downtown Toronto like many busy downtowns I imagine you can get to work/school in rush hour quicker or just as fast as by car/bus.

In my little capitol city the bike lanes are full at the times of day when people are heading to work/school. Maybe argus only drives at night.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: ?Impact on August 06, 2018, 09:52:41 pm
Downtown Toronto like many busy downtowns I imagine you can get to work/school in rush hour quicker or just as fast as by car/bus.

When I was working in downtown Toronto in the mid 80's (living at Eglington/Dufferin), I could get to work in about the same time if I drove, biked, or took the subway. I expect today, driving would be several times slower.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Michael Hardner on August 06, 2018, 09:53:22 pm
Downtown Toronto like many busy downtowns I imagine you can get to work/school in rush hour quicker or just as fast as by car/bus.

It's faster on bike during rush hours and the bike lanes are completely full of bikes in the summer and even on warmer off season days.  The TTC can't carry people and many parts of the city are poorly served.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Squidward von Squidderson on August 07, 2018, 12:37:57 am
Sir john thinks any place with a winter doesn’t use bike lanes...   Sir John clearly has never been to Northern Europe where every city and small town is riddled with bike lanes. 

Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: SirJohn on August 07, 2018, 11:31:43 am
Downtown Toronto like many busy downtowns I imagine you can get to work/school in rush hour quicker or just as fast as by car/bus.

IF you're downtown or near it, maybe, and IF its a nice day out, not raining or snowing or 40 degrees with the humidity.

And the traffic in downtown Toronto is bad by design. It's called road diets, made to make driving slow and unpleasant so people take public transit instead.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: SirJohn on August 07, 2018, 11:41:46 am
Sir john thinks any place with a winter doesn’t use bike lanes...   Sir John clearly has never been to Northern Europe where every city and small town is riddled with bike lanes.

And bike lanes can work in small towns and small cities. Canadian cities are generally spread out a lot wider than their European counterparts and have a lot more snow.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Omni on August 07, 2018, 11:44:06 am
IF you're downtown or near it, maybe, and IF its a nice day out, not raining or snowing or 40 degrees with the humidity.

And the traffic in downtown Toronto is bad by design. It's called road diets, made to make driving slow and unpleasant so people take public transit instead.

"Road Diets" how dare that city of Toronto design roads that reduce accidents, reduce pollution, and make areas of the city more livable.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: Goddess on August 07, 2018, 11:45:19 am
And bike lanes can work in small towns and small cities. Canadian cities are generally spread out a lot wider than their European counterparts and have a lot more snow.

There's a big kerfuffle in Edmonton right now, too, over bike lanes.

The city wants to put in more, but the ones we have now are not getting used enough to justify the traffic snarls and tie-ups. 

It seems an extravagance to me - we don't have the weather to be able to use them more than 3 months out of the year, and the rest of the 9 months of the year, they just cause traffic problems and are a waste of valuable space.

I would feel completely different about them if I lived in a city with weather that supported bike lanes.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: SirJohn on August 07, 2018, 11:48:57 am
"Road Diets" how dare that city of Toronto design roads that reduce accidents, reduce pollution, and make areas of the city more livable.

Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s vs Toronto today. Which was more livable?
NOBODY calls it "New York run by the Swiss" any more.
Title: Re: 80% of Toronto supports building protected bike lanes
Post by: guest18 on August 07, 2018, 12:09:08 pm
It seems an extravagance to me - we don't have the weather to be able to use them more than 3 months out of the year, and the rest of the 9 months of the year, they just cause traffic problems and are a waste of valuable space.

I use my bike as my main form of transportation from early April to the first big snow in November every year---typically eight months a year.
In Winnipeg, the separated bike lanes can be easily removed in the winter to facilitate snow clearing, but some of them are in place year-round because there are a lot of crazy winter cyclists and they remain well used.