What's stopping teenage girls from riding bikes?
Campaigns to get women cycling seem to focus on how to look good over other concerns. Is this really all girls care about?Posted by Sarah Phillips
Teenage girls don't ride bikes. Or so says the Darlington Media Group, who have set about trying to rectify the problem with a campaign to get young women cycling.
Several years ago, the National Children's Bureau published research that revealed that on average, boys cycle 138 miles a year and girls only 24 miles. This still rings true. Christie Rae, 16, from Newcastle told me: "I do have a bike, but I don't really use it. Only sometimes in the summer when my friends and I cycle round to see each other. I don't know many girls that do, actually."
Darlington's project began with the production of a documentary called Beauty and the Bike, chronicling a trip made by a group of teenage girls to Bremen in Germany, where they met their cycling-loving peers and found out about the joys of the open road. It all sounds slightly twee, but addresses the important issue that girls tend to get to a certain age and it's no longer the done thing to get about by bike.
I have every admiration for such attempt to get women enjoying the numerous benefits of cycling, but what is frustrating is the focus on appearance that is often so integral to said schemes. Aside from the title, BATB, which incidentally has been used for a similar scheme in the past, Darlington's site makes it clear they are keen to address the important issue of remaining fashionable while cycling. But as I recall, it was an overprotective mother that stopped me from spending too much time around the bike sheds in my teenage years, rather than any personal concerns over the way I looked.
Another offender is the site Bike Belles, run by the otherwise excellent charity Sustrans, which encourages women of all ages to take up cycling. One helpful section dedicated to beauty tips provides such gems as: "Use waterproof mascara when it's raining on your bike, and take a powder compact for a quick refresher on arrival." Admittedly, I write as someone who occasionally arrives at the office sporting a minor oil slick on my face, but I sincerely doubt that women are so image conscious that this is what is stopping them. As many a female cyclist will confirm, it is more hassle than it's worth looking attractive while travelling by bike.
Aside from fashion tips, the beauty bikers and belles both voice concerns over the lack of decent cycle lanes and safety issues that make our roads a wholly unappealing prospect. Those two are serious issues that would put inexperienced riders off, and are much more worthy of a campaign to get people, regardless of gender, on their bikes.
Labels: commuting, fashion, Guardian, helmets, infrastructure, safety, UK, women
Is "bikephopia" a spelling mistake? Or is it a strange mish-mash word meaning a city where it is fear-inducing to bike in? Sort of a bicycle negative of utopia...
From The Toronto Star:
How to conquer bikephopia
A new study suggests women fear cycling in infrastrucutre-poor cities like Toronto. I'm trying to get over it
My bike is going to kill me. That was all I could think about as I rolled the thing out of my apartment and made those initial awkward pedal pushes in my first ride around downtown Toronto.
But gliding along Queen St., with no angry cars honking or getting too close to my wheels, I figured I might actually get home alive. If I could just remember the road rules.
Hand signal directional changes. Turn left on left lanes only, or get off the bike and cross the intersection like a pedestrian. If you're changing lanes near streetcar tracks, approach them at a sharp angle so your tires don't get caught in them. And for God's sake, don't pass cars on their right-hand side at stoplights.
You know the saying that you never forget how to ride a bike? Apparently I had. Or was too scared to remember. Either way, I'm not the only one. Studies from Australia and the U.S. identify me with a demographic researchers insist is key to promoting urban cycling: women.
Jan Garrard, senior public health lecturer at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, calls us an "indicator species." Women are more likely than men to avoid cycling because they see it as dangerous. The extent to which women hop on their two-wheelers, or fail to do so, is a good indication of how developed a city's cycling infrastructure is – how safe it is for biking, how accessible and extensive its bike lanes are.
Women in North America largely don't ride bikes. In areas where they do, such as Europe, there are more cyclists on the road overall.
John Pucher, a professor of planning and public policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has studied this trend for over 12 years. He found that in Denmark, where 18 per cent of all commutes are by bike, women make up 45 per cent of cyclists on the road. In the Netherlands, where women cyclists are in a slight majority at 55 per cent, cycling takes up nearly a third of all commuting trips.
We Canadians, however, aren't doing so well at a 30 per cent bike share for women, and maybe a 2 per cent commute share for bikes. (The trend is similar in the U.S and Australia.) In Toronto, just 1.7 per cent of the population rode to work in 2006 – just 35 per cent of them female. But we're not the worst city, laughs Pucher. "In Dallas, Texas, 95 per cent of bicyclists are men. Which is disgusting!"
Garrard, meanwhile, explores the psychology behind the numbers – why most women refrain from riding in the first place. She surveyed Melbourne's cycling population by asking what situations kept them from the road.
"For just about every constraint we included in our item list," she says, "women were more likely to say it was a constraint. And these things included traffic conditions, weather, lack of time."
Sounds familiar to me. Though I'd have added fear of my face in the pavement.
A larger number of women also indicated they preferred off-road routes, or paths separate from cars. Last month, Scientific American reported on a Portland, Ore. study that coincides with this, having tracked Portland cycling commutes by GPS. When given the choice, women were more likely to take longer routes to a destination if it meant using a car-separate path.
Which is something cycling advocates in Toronto would argue we don't have enough of. Most are intended for recreational use – not a lot of help if you're trying to get to work, which is largely why I wanted to cycle in the first place.
Pucher points out that the idea isn't to paint the non-cycling majority of women as timid creatures, and that other bike minorities, children and seniors, are also important in gauging a city's bikeability.
"I'm pretty risk-averse myself," he says. "I think anyone who is concerned with safety is going to want some kind of facilities that address those concerns."
There are bike shops in Toronto that try to, by offering women-only programs that teach bicycle repair and construction and traffic laws.
Sherri Byer, co-ordinator at the Community Bicycling Network on Queen St. W., finds she still gets condescended to in unfamiliar cycling shops, even though she's been fixing bikes for eight years.
"I think that's why Wenches with Wrenches is so popular," Byer says of CBN's four-week program, which aims to provide women with a non-competitive learning space. "I kept thinking the market for it would dry up for it, but it's not."
I figured the Sunday sessions for women and transgendered people at Bike Pirates, a cycling co-op on Bloor and Lansdowne, was a good place to start. If I did the work they would supply me with the help, space and tools to build a bike of my own.
And as Lisa McLean, a Sunday volunteer, points out, there's a certain confidence that comes from knowing how your bike works.
That may not stop me from slamming into the open door of a parked car, I think to myself as McLean shows me how to install ball bearings into a stem. But at least I can fix my bike afterwards.
Besides, I can't imagine any of the women working at Bike Pirates fitting into the description of risk-averse or road-shy. With any luck (and a lot more riding), hopefully I will eventually count myself among them.
Labels: commuting, infrastructure, safety, Toronto, Toronto Star, women
Sure, we're world-famous for our post and ring bike racks... but where else is there to park your bicycle in Toronto? Turns out, you've got plenty of options...
At BMO Field there are arches:
In Parkdale you get glasses:
There's the moving bike rack:
And if you're lucky, your friend will save you a spot:
All photos via Flickr, click on a photo for photographer credit.
Labels: bike racks, infrastructure, post and ring, Toronto
Toronto Riding Far Behind
Mithula Loganathan
Covering 3,600 kilometers, the Tour de France 2010 will be set in 20 stages over a span of 22 days. Drawing in teams from over ten countries world-wide, this bike race exemplifies our strong global bike culture. The British Columbia Bike Race, an epic, seven-day route from Vancouver to Whistler highlights the well-developed bike trails found throughout our westernmost province. While Ottawa lacks an intense race of any sort, Canada’s fourth largest city is home to 822 kilometers of bike lanes. Toronto, Canada’s largest city, can barely count for 250 kilometers (Only 76 of which are not shared with motor vehicles). Though our city prides itself on becoming a world class cycling city, evidence proves otherwise.
Struggling to maneuver through the chaos on Toronto streets, the lack of cyclist-only lanes forces our Toronto bicyclers to share streets with cars, buses, streetcars and trucks. The Toronto Cyclists Union continually strives to change this, as these local cyclists struggle for safety, legitimacy and accessibility of cycling in Toronto.
With over 800 union members and nearly 2000 members on Facebook, both active cyclists and concerned Torontonians are voicing their concerns with safety for bikers.
Competing with big-shot motors not only causes hassle, but the numbers of bicycle-related incidents have steadily increased. As of last year, 1,068 accidents were reported to the Toronto police. The Toronto Transportation Department reported more than 110 cyclist-involved collisions that at occurred major intersections. The death of Toronto native, Darcy Allen Sheppard drew the much needed attention to our city’s bike lane conditions. The 33-year old cyclist was killed on August 31 this year, when a car struck the courier on his way home. Sheppard was the father of three.
In hopes of decreasing these severities, the city of Toronto has partnered with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Trucking Association to create the “Don’t Squeeze” campaign. The DS campaign targets educating cyclists and truck drivers, stressing the importance of driving with ample space behind, in front of and on both sides of one’s vehicle. “Can-Bike” courses have also been made available through Parks, Forestry and Recreation to help Toronto bicyclers understand safety issues.
Adrian Heaps, Toronto city councilor and bike-committee chair argues Toronto bike culture would flourish with the addition and creation of new cycling trails, paths and roads, blaming the number of bike related collision on the lack of facilities.
“You don’t buy a car if there’s no roads. You don’t ride a bike if there’s no infrastructure for it. And we don’t have anywhere near enough” Heaps reasons.
92 kilometers of bike lanes are to be added in 2010, but the city’s goal of doubling the distance of bike routes by 2011 seems hopeful. While bike activists continue to fight for safety and accessibility, the city has taken to educating cyclists in hopes of preventing future accidents. Tour de France may be out of Toronto’s league but hopefully, the current situation can be improved- for the sake of the cyclists, their safety and our city’s reputation.
LINK
Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure, Ottawa, Toronto
From The Sudbury Star:
Photo of a bike rack in Sudbury via FlickrLocal cyclist a champion for new bike paths
Years ago in Toronto, Nathalie Gara-Boivin took the kind of spill that might force anyone to hang up their bike for good.
She was 17 and biking along the road when she went to turn into a local plaza. Taking the turn, she hit a difference in pavement heights and her bike skidded out from underneath her. In a split second, she landed hard and broken her jaw. She couldn't speak for three months. Then her jaw had to be re-broken because it wasn't done correctly the first time.
So Gara-Boivin totally gets it when people tell her they are scared to cycle. But as chair of the Sudbury Bicycle Advisory Committee, she isn't letting fear and a near complete lack of cycling infrastructure stop her from promoting more cycling in Sudbury.
Her main focus now is to ensure the Bell Park Path is constructed properly as part of reconstruction of the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre. It would be a rare victory on the infrastructure side for a committee that has seen pathways disappear.
Cyclists ride past almost on cue during a recent interview with Gara-Boivin as she explains how the current makeshift pathway needs upgrading and extending through the park.
"This is a main connector. Right now it's a makeshift path. It's hazardous. The city needs to allocate dollars. I think people need to be more vocal. If they're scared to ride their bikes they need to voice their opinion that we need to see more done," she says.
The path is the BAC's proposal as part of reconstruction of the amphitheatre. The path would run from the Sudbury Canoe Club, behind the hospital where the road needs reconstruction, and finally past the amphitheatre.
The path would likely pass where the washrooms are located so cyclists can commute while events are ongoing. Then it would be brought along to connect with the path on Paris Street. That path will link shortly with the Rainbow Routes Ramsey Lake Path, where construction is humming along, almost at frightening speed.
Oh, the potential, oh, the possibilities.
Yes, but cycling in Sudbury is like a fast food snack cake of creamy icing that looks tasty at first then leaves you feeling sick at the end. Lord, why did I eat that?
On one end of the spectrum is Sudbury's proud cycling history. Three Sudburians made Canadian Olympic teams in 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Eric Wohlberg rode on three Olympic teams and won gold at Pan American and Commonwealth Games. There's Delki Dozzi cycling track. Imagine trying to build that today.
On the other end is the lack of cycling infrastructure. It's especially troubling to BAC members who see what's going on in (insert any city here). How come bike paths in Sudbury disappear?
Gara-Boivin knows the shortfall on infrastructure has been a challenge.
"I don't know why. We need someone dedicated at the city, whether that's in the transportation division, who is looking at bike infrastructure, bike lanes, bike racks. We don't even have an inventory of where current bike racks are."
Gara-Boivin worked once as a co-op student in Ottawa's transportation division where several staff were dedicated exclusively to Ottawa's bike infrastructure. Sudbury also lacks a cycling master plan, she adds.
Gara-Boivin takes heart with some of the BAC's success stories, primarily on the education front. She remains a strong advocate for the proper wearing of bike helmets.
The BAC has achieved a rack-and- roll program where cyclists can put their bikes on racks at the front of city transit buses. There's the annual Ramsey Lake cycle tour. BAC members have supported bike rides with different community groups. They're working on furthering the Share-the-Road program and developing a cycling map.
Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure, share the road, Sudbury
Photo via Flickr1 in 5 teens at risk for heart disease: studyOne in five adolescents aged 14 to 15 now has high blood pressure or high cholesterol or both and that could be putting them on the fast track to heart disease, new research shows.“This study is further evidence of an accelerating decline in the heart health of Canada's teens,” said Brian McCrindle, a cardiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
“Children just shouldn't have these problems.”
...
Dr. McCrindle said the initiative has provided valuable data as well as a good learning opportunity for the students.
“But education is never enough. It does not, in itself, lead to behaviour change,” he said.
Rather, students and their parents need to have the ability to put what they learn into action and that requires community programs that make sports accessible, changes in the city layouts so biking is safe and easy, and policy changes such as reducing salt in processed foods.
Labels: bike lanes, heart disease, infrastructure, teens, Toronto
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Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure, Toronto
From NewsDurhamRegion.com:New pedestrian bridges on Bayly and Church span Duffins CreekBy Reka SzekelyAJAX -- A new bridge and paved pathway means it's about to get easier for pedestrians and cyclists to travel along a busy stretch of Bayly Street in Ajax.
Workers installed the bridge over the Duffins Creek on the south side of Bayly, west of Westney Road, late last week and they also created a paved pathway leading from the bridge to Church Street where another bridge, also spanning Duffins Creek, will be installed within the next two weeks.
The new pathways and bridges mean interruptions to the Duffins Creek Trail and the Trans-Canada Trail system in Ajax will be eliminated.
"You'll be able to stay on the trail system without going on the road all the way up," said Reg Lawrance, a member of Ajax's trails committee.
Before the bridge, residents could take the Duffins South Trail from the waterfront at Rotary Park north past Lions Park until Bayly Street. They would then have to proceed along Bayly to Church, either cycling on the road or walking on a dirt path. On Church, residents also had to use the road to cross the creek near Hwy. 401 before connecting to the Duffins North Trail which starts near Mill Street and winds almost to Rossland Road.
Mr. Lawrance said the bridge and pathway will be particularly helpful on busy Bayly.
"That was pretty scary along there, that's for sure; that's a big, big improvement," he said. "A lot of people use it for transport, you've probably seen them walking along there."
Fara Namjoy, project manager of the installation for Rankine Construction, said the Bayly bridge has a 54-metre span and is three metres wide. It was brought in two pieces to the site where large cranes lowered them into place.
"It's a huge operation today," said Mr. Namjoy on Friday. "These are some of the biggest cranes available in Ontario."
The Church Street bridge will span the Duffins Creek on the east side of Church just south of Hwy. 401. It will be a seasonal bridge with a 35-metre span.
"It will be lifted during the winter to prevent ice jamming," said Mr. Namjoy.
A plan to address the potential for ice jams was a requirement of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. A portion of Church near the bridge will also include a new pathway.
Rankine was awarded a $1.2 million contract in July to complete the projects.
For more information on Ajax's trails system, visit townofajax.com.
Labels: Ajax, bridge, infrastructure
Labels: CBC, Igor, infrastructure, video
From CTV.ca:
Montreal
Cycling is just one of many reasons to visit Montreal, though the city is getting props for its forward-pedalling ways.
The city has more than 500 kilometres worth of bike paths and was recently ranked by ForbesTraveller.com as one of "North America's most bike-friendly cities." And visitors can now rent bicycles for only $5 per day, while they wheel around the city's downtown core.
But according to one cycling expert, Montreal has been making its downtown biking better for some time and has been making path improvements to some of its suburbs.
"From what I know, I think Montreal is in a pretty good position in terms of recent developments, especially in the downtown area," said Jean-Francois Pronovost, executive director of the Velo Quebec Association, when speaking to CTV.ca by telephone from Montreal.
Pronovost points to the addition of a year-round bike lane along Maisonneuve Boulevard that opened up about two years ago. It allows cyclists to travel a bidirectional lane that is separated from other road traffic as they make their way through the downtown area.
Looking forward, Pronovost said Montreal needs to continue to cultivate its cycling culture with more designated bike lanes and paths. Then, he said, it becomes a question of sitting back and watching the bicycles hit the city streets.
According to statistics from Montreal police, 663 cyclists received minor injuries in traffic and road collisions last year. An additional 33 cyclists suffered serious injuries and two others died on Montreal roads in 2008.
Toronto
With nearly a million Toronto residents claiming to be at least part-time cyclists, Canada's largest city has taken strides to make cycling better.
There are more bike lanes than in the past, Toronto has opened the first of several planned public bicycle stations and Mayor David Miller has said it is the city's goal to see Torontonians making twice as many bicycling trips as they do today.
And the city's efforts have been noticed.
"Toronto has done a lot to try to become a lot more bicycle-friendly," Greg Mathieu, the head of the Canadian Cycling Association, said in a phone interview earlier this week.
But the system is far from perfect. Toronto bike lanes often empty into very busy streets and there is a perception that cyclists and motorists are at odds with one another.
"It's always the battle, it would seem," Mathieu said.
So far, Toronto police have responded to more than 600 collisions involving cyclists since the start of the year, compared to 34,600 involving cars.
Ottawa
Bicycles are a common site in Canada's capital city, during the warmer months of the year.
You can see them gliding along the lengthy Capital Pathway network, which has more than 180 kilometres worth of paved bike lanes that wind along the city's public parks, museums, rivers and other attractions.
But Ottawa still isn't perfect.
The bike paths can't get you everywhere you want to go and city bike lanes are not available on all major streets, says Michael Powell, a cyclist who contributes to the Cycling in Ottawa blog.
And while Ottawans generally enjoy a relatively good relationship with other vehicles on city roads, Powell said that there are places where the infrastructure is lacking.
"Once you get up to the suburbs, it's a little more scattershot," Powell said in a recent phone interview.
But he admits that the city has a good long-term plan in place for city cycling.
According to the City of Ottawa, 262 cyclists were injured in collisions last year, out of a total of 4,115 people who were injured in traffic collision within city limits.
Vancouver
Residents of British Columbia's largest city make an estimated 60,000 trips by bicycle each day, meaning that cycling safety is a priority issue in Vancouver.
The city says it has doubled its bicycle network over the past decade and Vancouver has identified cycling as its fastest-growing form of transportation.
The newest development in Vancouver's cycling scene is the addition of a walled-off cycling lane on the Burrard Street Bridge -- a packed downtown passage that sees as many as 8,000 to 9,000 cyclists, pedestrians and drivers cross it each hour during peak times.
In May, Vancouver's city council voted to convert one lane of the bridge solely for bicycle use over an indeterminate trial period. The goal was to see if the bridge could be made safer for pedestrians while keeping traffic flowing.
The project was the brainchild of Mayor Gregor Robertson, a life-long cyclist who had long held misgivings about the busy bridge.
"I've been riding this bridge all of my life, and that's the first time I've really felt safe crossing it on my bike," he told CTV British Columbia after trying the bike lane for the first time in July.
So far, the project appears to have been a success.
Earlier this week, Robertson issued a pres release saying that 25 per cent more cyclists were making use of the Burrard Bridge than before the bike lane became operational.
Labels: bike lanes, Canada, commuting, CTV, Cycling, infrastructure, News, Toronto
I've stopped reading the comments from readers on almost all news articles on the topic of cycling in Toronto.
A police officer on his bike chased down and fined the first-year U of T student yesterday on St. George St. after he ran a red light on his bicycle. The visibly upset student, who wouldn't give his name, said he was from China and didn't know the rules.
Cycling organizations should also speak out more against their "radical" members, Burrows added."We know that 99.9% of drivers will stop at a red light. We don't know that with cyclists," he said.
I ask again, why do some cyclists in Toronto break the rules of the road?
1) Safety
How can running a red light increase safety? How does not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign increase anyone's safety?
It is unfair and unreasonable to assume that just because I'm on a bicycle, I have some sort of twisted death wish. If I really wanted to die in Toronto, I'd get in a car. When approaching a red light I know there's going to be a stream of cars piling up behind me. Some of the drivers are going to try and push to get in front of me at the light, the rest are going to push me in the intersection as I'm trying to build speed again. This is why you see so many cyclists in crosswalks, when you're being tailed by monstrous steel machines, you're going to move to where you know they aren't going to go.
Why then, would I run a red light? If the way is clear, running the red gets me through an intersection without impatient drivers riding my ass or trying to squeeze me out of the lane. Once through the intersection, I can now establish my line, so the drivers coming up quickly behind me can react and pass me safely.
Same goes for stop signs. I proceed safely without coming to a full stop and I preserve some momentum and get to continue on in a predictable fashion. And that's what motorists want, isn't it? Predictability.
2) Lack of enforcement
Even Toronto Police Services admits to this. They are lack on enforcing the rules of the road when it comes to cyclists. And, we can all see why. Cyclists very, very, very rarely kill people. Cyclists, even with our growing numbers, are still a minority. And what's more dangerous? The guy in his car eating a breakfast sandwich and speeding along a side street, or a cyclist, going less than 20 km/h, who doesn't fully stop at a stop sign? It's not like either of these are rare occurrences on our roads.
3) Laziness
Even though it takes far more physical energy to operate a bicycle vs. a car, cyclists can be and are often lazy. We want to get where we're going as fast as possible.
Motorists, doesn't that sound familiar? Isn't that why we have drive-thru banks and coffee shops? Isn't that why there are HOV lanes on highways? Isn't that why your car can go 160 km/h when you legally should never reach speeds greater than 100 km/h, and much lower in our city?
We go the wrong way on streets because it is simply easier than trying to get into a turning lane, then wait for oncoming traffic while watching behind us for anyone who doesn't see us and then get honked at because we turn too slow. We go the wrong way because our destination is on the side of the street we're on and we don't want to deal with street car tracks. The reasons are numerous, even if they aren't in the name of safety and following the rules.
So, the next time you see a cyclist breaking the rules, ask yourself why they are behaving in this manner. There is always a reason for a cyclists behaviour. Cyclists aren't always making the right choices, and we do need to address not only the problem action, but also the reason behind why this action was made.
What do you think of the rules of the road and why cyclists break them in Toronto? Discuss this in the Biking Toronto Forum
Photo by ammiiirrr posted to Flickr
Labels: bike lanes, Highway Traffic Act, infrastructure, Police, rules of the road, safety, Toronto
It's been about 4 years since I first moved to Toronto.
I came here with a car and the intention of furthering my career and learn to survive in the big city. Over the past four years I've established a career, lost a car along the way and learned that survival on the streets of Toronto is achieved in more ways than one.
I really can't say I miss my car. Even when it's raining or snowing or when I have to buy a lot of groceries, I can honestly say I don't miss my old green menace one bit (green as in the colour and not as in some environmentally beneficial quality of my old car, so I guess it was a "green menace" in a few ways).
However, my car (and my time as a motorist) has left me with a few personal habits that I'm trying to kick. When I set out on my bicycle, I have to remind myself that I no longer have to travel like a motorist. I'm no longer confined to the routes that cars and trucks must follow. It's difficult at first, but freeing myself from my "motorist habits" is one of the most liberating aspects of becoming a bicycle commuter or, more simply, a cyclist.
There are some habits I can't give up. Like stopping for red lights, signaling my intentions and not driving the wrong way down one-way streets. Those are good habits that I developed behind the wheel. And I still follow these today.
However, finding the most direct and fastest route to my destination is a habit I'm trying to break. Whether I take the main arterial roads or if I choose to discover a few quiet side streets and paths through parks, the time difference is often negligible.
Toronto's lack of safe and consistent cycling infrastructure provides the opportunity to be more creative with your route. In cities like Amsterdam, cycling infrastructure is so prominent it makes more sense to take the main routes. Side streets in Amsterdam are cobblestone-paved, car-parked, child-playing areas that simply don't offer the opportunities to escape main street mayhem like the park trails and side streets of Toronto.
For example, to get from Davisville to Parkdale I could follow the subway and street car lines. Taking Yonge south to King, and then King west to Parkdale is an option. There's a lot of traffic and a lot of obstacles along the way, but it is direct and a route that the motorist in me would take.
On my bike it's a whole other story. I can cut through the quiet streets of Summerhill, bypassing the traffic throttling barriers to keep motorists from cutting through this area on their way from Yonge to Avenue road (or vice-versa). I can follow the bike lanes down Bedford or wind my way through the quiet streets in the Annex. Further south I can get from Dundas to Queen Street through Trinity Bellwoods Park.
Sure, I've taken a few wrong turns, but these never end in disaster. A wrong turn on a bicycle becomes a chance for discovery. New routes are always possible by bicycle, and rarely will they be blocked by rush hour traffic.
In Toronto, surviving the city streets on a bicycle means developing the habit of seeing possible connections between our side streets and park trails and the places we want to go.
Have you made a few "short cut" discoveries in your travels through Toronto? You can share them in the Biking Toronto Forum.
Photo via the_lake_effect's Flickr
Labels: bike lanes, commuting, infrastructure, safety, Toronto
Recently, a cyclist in Brisbane put together a fun cartoon to compare the time, effort and money spent on commuting by bicycle versus bus.
After recording times he discovers there is little difference in the time taken cycling versus taking the bus. He saves more than $600.00 a year on bus fare. And he gains the fitness of cycling 2,100 km.
Now, without the cartoon (which makes his version far more readable) I want to compare my own commute in this way.
Here's the details of my commute:
I live at Yonge and Davisville in Toronto.
I work just south of Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan.
That's a distance of 23.3 km (according to Google maps tracing my bike route)
To get to work by TTC I have to take the subway from Davisville station to Finch station, transfer to the Steeles bus, and then transfer again to the Jane bus.
I can do this by spending $47 per week on a GTA pass, or by forking over $9 a day should I choose not to buy the pass and pay as I go.
Since I have yet to bike to work in the winter, I'll take 20 summer weeks as my example.
My average bus commute is typically 1 hour and 30 mins each way. I commute to work 4 days a week.
That's 12 hours on transit each week. 240 hours over 20 weeks spent sitting on a bus or train. And, should I buy a GTA pass, this will cost me $940.00
240 hours and $940.00!
Since I started biking in to work I tend to average 1 hour and 10 mins each way. But, by the time I get home I need a shower. So, tack on another 10 mins showering and another 10 minutes changing at work (morning and afternoon combined) and my bus and bicycle commute times balance out.
However, my bicycle cost me just under $600. So, right off the bat I'm saving $340 this year alone. And by cycling 23.3 km, each way, I gain the physical fitness benefits of cycling 3,728 km over 20 weeks.
So far so good. But, let's look at this a little further. My transit route by bus and train is relatively safe. The TTC isn't known for losing passengers on a regular basis, so I can assume that aside from not getting any physical activity, my health will remain as is while taking the bus (the odd cold aside).
On my bicycle, it is a whole other game. My route takes me along major arterial routes for the majority of my trip. These routes have posted speed limits of 60 and 70 km/h. On long stretches between stop lights it is not uncommon for motorists to greatly exceed these postings. There are no bike lanes and there is barely enough room in the existing lanes to fit a mid-sized car and my bicycle safely. So, when the pickup trucks, cube vans, dump trucks, garbage trucks and transports try to share a lane with me, well my life flashes before my eyes.
My safety is greatly reduced by taking my bicycle. So, is the trade off worth it? My safety on the bus without any health benefits or the health benefits gained by placing myself in countless dangerous situations a day?
I keep riding, so I'm certainly not turned off by the dangers. That story could change any day though, but I'm hoping it won't.
Share your own bicycle and bus commuting stories in the Biking Toronto Forum.
Bicycle v Bus in Brisbane via Copenhagenize
Photo from flickr user gbalogh
Labels: commuting, infrastructure, safety, Toronto
As with most of my trips to new bike lanes in Toronto, I approached the new Simcoe Street underpass on a day when no one was around.
Prior to completion, an article in the National Post from October, 2008, makes no mention of cyclists or bike lanes. But really, who is thinking about cycling at the beginning of winter? The article addresses the ability of condo residents to walk to work or quickly access trains using the underpass and, as councillor Adam Vaughan stated:
“The biggest impediment to get people down to the waterfront is ... the [lack of] north-south connections, especially ones that are pedestrian-friendly,” Mr. Vaughan said. “It gives that possibility of accidentally ending up at the waterfront.”Now that construction is finished, the addition of bike lanes here provide another option aside from driving, walking or taking transit through this area.
On a Saturday just before noon I spent about 20 minutes at this underpass. In that time I counted 3 cyclists, 2 tour buses and 1 pickup truck. Of course, this underpass was built to allow the residents of condos in the area to walk faster (or drive) to work above Front street. However, the added bonus of helping people access the waterfront seems to have gone unnoticed in the first few days that this section has been open.
Heading south, the bike lane starts on the south side of Front Street and ends at Bremner Boulevard. Under the bridge the lane runs along a retaining wall and in the middle of 4 lanes for motorists there is a median.
Personally, I do not like cycling under (or over) bridges in Toronto. Heading downhill at underpasses results in drivers speeding and the transition from light to dark can often make visibility a huge issue. Bike lanes here do address that problem and help position motorists prior to going under the bridge, but is it enough?
The retaining wall here makes me worry. Why protect pedestrians and the support beams and not cyclists? Why not place the retaining wall so that it separates cyclists and pedestrians from motorists? In the mornings motorists traveling along here may be familiar with the area. But, with the Air Canada Centre, Harbourfront and the Rogers Centre attracting motorists unfamiliar with the area, the potential for collisions between motorists and cyclists certainly must increase.
The bike lanes on the Simcoe Street underpass are a start, but will they ever continue and create a safe passage from the condos and waterfront to downtown?
I'd like to hear from commuters in the area? Is this bike lane a safe addition? Talk about the Simcoe Street underpass in the Biking Toronto ForumLabels: bike lanes, commuting, infrastructure, safety, Toronto
There's a new mixed-use path down along the waterfront.
Only, it doesn't go along the water. Ontario Place has claimed that stretch of land for parking.
Replacing a cumbersome diversion through a parking lot and past line ups of tourists, the Martin Goodman Trail now runs parallel to Lake Shore Boulevard and since it's opening on July 31, 2009, has already brought about a concern for safety.
Over the long weekend I took a trip down the new path to see what all the fuss was about. Cycling west from Harbourfront along Queen's Quay was jammed with cars, transit and bikes, reaching the Martin Goodman trail feels like a serene stretch of calm in comparison.
After looping around the Inukshuk at the beginning of the extension, I meet with the first of 3 crossings. Lake Shore Boulevard is quiet late in the afternoon today, the only traffic here is heading home and not turning in to Ontario Place. So, I don't get to see the mayhem of motorists turning left and taking out cyclists. Although I can certainly see how this could happen.
In the photo above you can see the bicycle signal, the pedestrian signal and two separate paths across the intersection for each. The gates placed just before where the path meets the road do a decent job of slowing bicycle traffic and alerting users to the coming hazard of an intersection.Of course, this doesn't make for a continuous commute, but for the weekend warrior it's a way of herding the crowds that will accumulate here on red lights.
The signals change quickly, and I believe wait times are less than 30 seconds from what I can tell.
Once across the intersection I am greeted by this sign:
"AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY" Really? That's the best you could do? This sounds so intimidating. Is my bicycle authorized? What are the other authorized vehicles? I thought this was a mixed-use path, not a passage for vehicles of any sort.
Under the assumption that I have full authorization, I continue along the path. I encounter mostly joggers, rollerbladers and cyclists. The roadies won't like the slow pace here and I expect to see a lot of "scorchers" burning around everyone. But there is a good amount of space and I don't feel I have to ride in the grass to avoid getting run over by faster users.
And just look at how everyone is getting along. On a quiet day no one seems upset after crossing at the parking lot entrances.
While not perfect, the crossings are built to acknowledge safety concerns by slowing traffic along the path. Unfortunately, I neglect to see any notice to drivers to yield to cyclists and foot traffic. Although, in Toronto, motorists have the right of way (and they make that claim with force) so it is reasonable to expect problems along this route at much busier times.As a final thought, I did encounter a strange event. As I was crossing at the second intersection two motorcycle police made a wide u-turn on Lake Shore and turned into the CNE grounds. Another cyclist spotted this as well, and as he approached the intersection he hopped off of his bike and walked it through the green light eying the biker cops the whole time.
Obviously this cyclist wants to follow the rules, only he doesn't know what they are. Why he didn't follow the lead of every other cyclist and ride through the green light is beyond me. Hopefully another friendly cyclist will inform him to stay calm, carry on through the intersection next time.
Oh, and once I was beyond the "crossings of death" I am back along the waterfront where you get to see strange things like this:
Discuss the Martin Goodman Trail in the Biking Toronto Forum here.Labels: commuting, infrastructure, Martin Goodman Trail, safety, Toronto
I remember back to when I was preparing to take my G-1 driver's test. I stayed up really late the night before my exam studying the Ontario Driver's Handbook. I treated this little book the same as one of my science or history texts. I looked for the possibility of trick questions and memorized the seemingly countless street signs while also trying to remember all of the rules.
After taking the short eye test and learning how tall I was I realized that the studying I had done was more than a little excessive. The rules of the road and the signs that dictate them are meant to be intuitive. You should be able to recognize the meaning of a sign with a little additional information and for the most part many people seem to be able to do just that.
While biking around Toronto over the past few years it is a pleasure to see more and more cycling-related signs and painted symbols along our city streets. But, are they enough?
The photo at the top of this page is a "sharrow" painted on Wellesley just west of Yonge and leads to a bike lane that is just beyond a delivery drop-off area.
I personally like sharrows and I believe they should be on most roads in the city. Sharrows inform cyclists that they are on a road with shared traffic. There are no exclusions to the rules and no segregation, to get along you have to go with the flow and you have to follow the rules. The chevrons point the way and even seem to demand that you notice them.
But, unlike many of the cycling-related signs on Toronto streets, sharrows are for both cyclists and motorists.
For motorists, sharrows ask that you give room to cyclists, that you must be aware of their presence and tell you to share the space you're driving in.
While I appreciate bike lanes, and certainly want to see more of them in the city, I don't feel they present a consistent message to the motorists and cyclists on Toronto's streets. A bike lane can be perceived as something separate, something that has been "taken" from motorists and something many drivers feel they need to take back (or so it seems if you've been following the bike lane development along Annette and Dupont).
I find myself getting a little too comfortable in bike lanes, assuming that since I'm in my dedicated cycling space I'll be safe from "door prizes" and unsignaled right turns. This false sense of security doesn't promote safe cycling as much as I believe sharrows can.
On a recent trip to Vancouver Island I noticed that in many areas there is this focus on shared space. I often came across this sign:
It's a simple sign. The graphic is clear, and the added instruction below leaves no room for misinterpretation.What are your thoughts on sharrows and bike lanes? Join the discussion in the Biking Toronto Forum.
Labels: bike lanes, commuting, infrastructure, safety, Toronto
Currently, amid the abundance of one-way streets in Toronto there are just two contra-flow bike lanes. Contra-flow bike lanes allow cyclists to go against the grain of car traffic, something I'm certain many people including myself would like to see more of in the downtown core.
One of these lanes is in Riverdale and runs along Strathcona Avenue helping to lead cyclists eastbound from Withrow Park before ending at Jones Avenue. The second lane, one I took a quick ride along on a quiet afternoon, runs north from Harbord Street up to Bloor Street West along Montrose Avenue just east of Bickford Park.
When you reach Harbord on Montrose, ready to head north, you're greeted with the signs pictured below:
Visible ahead of you are the bike lane, a sign alerting you to the bike lane (with handy arrow pointing it out), and the "Bicycles Excepted" notice below the "Do Not Enter" symbol.
After cycling north from College Street on either Crawford or Beatrice (or the wrong way along that stretch of Montrose) a bike lane here allows the converging traffic on Montrose to continue heading north towards Christie Pits Park. Without this bike lane you could turn left to get to Crawford or turn right where you're faced with another southbound one-way at Grace Street.
The one-way streets here are to keep motorists from taking short cuts north through residential streets. Yet, as we all know, cyclists don't pose near as many threats as rushing drivers and we don't take up quite as much space. I'm not sure if Montrose once allowed north and southbound traffic although with Grace also running one-way southbound it's easy to believe it did as one-way streets typically alternate off of major streets. And now motorists get to park and cyclists get to ride, that's compromise in action.
However, should you be cycling west along Harbord (something that many, many cyclists do) then you encounter this group of signs at Montrose:
Those two large "No Right Turn" symbols are certainly not welcoming. Now, you'd probably ride right on past Montrose unless you either already know that this bike lane exists or you're following The Bikeway Network Route System signs (that's the itty bitty blue 29 with an even smaller arrow pointing the way).
So, now that we know that we can legally act like "bike salmon" let's take a spin up Montrose.
The street is rather quaint and tree-lined. Our bike lane has a good, thick, yellow line to keep cars out. In my experience there's almost nothing better at keeping cars out than a yellow line. White lines, they seem to beg to be crossed over, but yellow, you don't mess with yellow.
But wait, there's more signs:
Isn't this nice? Thank you, sign, for reminding me that I am in fact in a dedicated bike lane. Of course, I wouldn't have forgotten so soon, but someone else might.
Looking over my shoulder I notice something missing from the west side of the street. Plenty of cars are over there, as to be expected. There's a few signs displaying the parking rules but there isn't a single sign saying, "Hey, if you see a cyclist coming towards you on the left, it's OK, they are in a bike lane, carry on." It is this problem that I notice more each day as I ride through Toronto. It seems as though there are signs for cyclists and there are signs for motorists. As a bike rider, I'm expected to obey both of these signs. Motorists, it seems, simply aren't included in the full conversation.
All this worrying about signs and I'm already at the end of the road. I look down, and there's this:
Bicycle actuated signals are popping up left and right in Toronto, so I was pleasantly surprised to find one here. I come to a rest over the dots (or what is left of them) and within about 30 seconds the traffic light ahead changed to green and off I went, turning left on Bloor Street:
As Toronto continues to add bicycle lanes and other infrastructure, more contra-flow lanes can create a safe routes allowing cyclists to avoid the many hazards you will find on much busier arteries. Something I'd also like to see is that the added signs and lanes also work to get motorists in on the conversation. A few "Share the Road" signs here and there could help improve the safety of cyclists giving motorists constant reminders that we're there, even if we're not making near as much noise or taking up so much space.
Labels: bike lanes, infrastructure