Attached: 1 video
I was cleaning out some old video files and I came across this gem from Associate Professor Brian Doucet at the UofW School of Planning (bmdoucet on the bad site).
This was taken in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada the city where I went to University.
It boggles my mind that Canadian traffic engineering can be so broken that something like this gets built.
How did nobody along the path to getting this created say, "why are we building it like this when you'd have to be fucking insane to cycle here?"
If your city only allows travel to some areas by using these roads, adding a bike lane might be the least bad option with available funds. Some people don’t have any other way to get around, so if this is a safety improvement for cyclists using this road, it could be worth it.
Obviously, a complete road redesign would be better but sometimes it’s not an option politically or financially.
That said, of course citizens should be fighting for better than this. This is awful and unacceptable. I’m just explaining why it might get built.
I would argue this is in no way a safety improvement. Many cyclists are at risk of being hit as cars prepare to turn. Many drivers will not check side mirrors for cyclists before entering the turning lane.
I’m not sure honestly. People often bike on sidewalks in situations like this but from what I’ve read this is actually more dangerous because drivers don’t look there. At least in the middle of the road you should be somewhat visible.
I’m not sure that applies here (Google Maps link to where the picture was taken). The issue is vehicles changing lanes to get on to the expressway. They’re often speeding up and just drift across the bike lane which makes this a really dangerous conflict point.
If I had to cross this overpass on bike, I think it might actually be safer to get on the sidewalk and cross the 2 driveways, then cross the on-ramp at ~90°.
If your city only allows travel to some areas by using these roads, adding a bike lane might be the least bad option with available funds. Some people don’t have any other way to get around, so if this is a safety improvement for cyclists using this road, it could be worth it.
Obviously, a complete road redesign would be better but sometimes it’s not an option politically or financially.
That said, of course citizens should be fighting for better than this. This is awful and unacceptable. I’m just explaining why it might get built.
I would argue this is in no way a safety improvement. Many cyclists are at risk of being hit as cars prepare to turn. Many drivers will not check side mirrors for cyclists before entering the turning lane.
I’m not sure honestly. People often bike on sidewalks in situations like this but from what I’ve read this is actually more dangerous because drivers don’t look there. At least in the middle of the road you should be somewhat visible.
I’m not sure that applies here (Google Maps link to where the picture was taken). The issue is vehicles changing lanes to get on to the expressway. They’re often speeding up and just drift across the bike lane which makes this a really dangerous conflict point.
If I had to cross this overpass on bike, I think it might actually be safer to get on the sidewalk and cross the 2 driveways, then cross the on-ramp at ~90°.