How was your ride today? (week of July 30)

Submitted by DragonBeanie on

I'll start.....because I'm so excited that the north end of the 24th St. ped bridge over Bow Trail is finally paved!  Woo hoo!  Wide and smooth!  No more playing chicken with cyclists going in the opposite direction!  However, the bike lane just disappears before it reaches the curb cut at the base of the pathway up to the bridge.  What's going on there?

Forums: 

Small Detour in Kensington

Submitted by tlyyc on

Looks like they are detouring north and southbound traffic and bikes off of 9a ST N.W. for one block on the east side of Kensington Safeway along the LRT station.  I saw a new detour sign directing bikes and cars between 3rd and 4th Aves.  It detours traffic onto 10th St (which also appears to be under construction with reduced lanes at this time).  I was unable to find any details on the City's Pathway Closures page.  http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Pathways/Pathway-closures.aspx

     

I'll go ride this today and

Submitted by snowandscience on

I'll go ride this today and see how long of a detour this is. I feel this is really excessive and should probably result in a letter to the city... John Mar is aware of it, and he lives nearby. I'm not sure what could be done, but I see this as a major inconvenience for cyclists coming from the SW. Hills plus sidewalk dismount (almost anything that forces a dismount is not a real detour IMO) make this a really poorly planned detour - 1 km total distance. I think this is along critninja's preferred route from SW to the beltline, no? 

Ben

Yes it is

Submitted by themacneils on

Yes it is along critninja's (and mine!) preferred route to the SW from the Beltline.  I agree that the detour is a bit out of the way, but not sure what else they could do regarding crossing Crowchild.  It's more round-about, but I guess I'll take Quarry trail on the way home today.  I'm afraid my whole bike route to work and back is one giant, constantly changing construction site with new detours and surprises everyday.  Hopefully short term pain for long term gain.

Many Options

Submitted by Smokey Crow on

It all depends where people are coming from and going to for this detour. 17th Avenue is the nearest crossing so it does make the most sense for people who are heading from the Beltline to areas north of 17th Avenue (and who like to ride on quieter roads - if you have to dismount for a block it is annoying but can be more comfortable for some). For people south of 17th Avenue I would suggest going through Bankview and crossing at 26 Avenue and Crowchild.

I would not suggest people take the detour directly as the city has laid it out but to plan their routes for what is easiest. I do use that bridge quite often and don't think the hills on the detour are all that bad (Summit Street) as there are worse hills along the bike route in Sunalta.

indeed it is

Submitted by critninja on

Any word on why the Sunalta bridge is closed?

The detour route, although it goes along the sidewalk on 17th over Crowchild is ok, but not perfect.  I ride through there twice a day generally and the only time it can be a problem is when militant walkers are there too.

I do hope that the Sunalta Bridge is being replaced - the current one is dangerous, difficult to ride, and has horrible sight lines.  Replacing it with one that has more gentle slopes on either end, better sight lines, and wider would be a huge improvement for folks who need to go east<->west  in that area to connect to communtites west of there.

Has Ald. John Mar mentioned anything?

 

Hear Hear

Submitted by themacneils on

Yes and yes to the bridge and those awful ramps being replaced.  As an aside, those must not be very fun during the freeze-melt cycles of late winter/early-spring or a chinook eh?  Yeah, they have no picture of map of what they are trying to accomplish in the park but I tried to cross there on the way home yesterday, and ended up having to climb up a big pile of dirt and down the other side with my bike while the grader/bulldozer and dump truck waited for me

Keep in mind that this is a

Submitted by Richard Z on

Keep in mind that this is a detour map: how to get to the other side if you find yourself at the closed bridge.  If you want an alternate route that avoids the bridge and the detour, you'll have to plan ahead.

Detour Signs

Submitted by Smokey Crow on

Hopefully they put detour signs (I notice they normally don't - or they do sporadically) so people who haven't seen the map know what to do.

Rode last night

Submitted by snowandscience on

It's definitely a less-than ideal detour. Plan a new route, rather than getting to the detour by the city. It's painfully uphill (even on my road bike) for the short, flat distance that would otherwise be covered by the bridge. The detour signs are well marked, fortunately. Big orange signs that are visible from a long ways away. The sidewalk on 17 Ave SW is narrow across the bridge, and there is a concrete barrier on the road across the bridge, so road travel isn't even an option going EB. The detour took about 7 minutes. For drivers' comparison, this would be equivalent to closing the 17 Ave Bridge across Crowchild and detouring all traffic to 26th Ave SW via Richmond Road and back down on 25 St. Might help put things in context for non-cyclists? 

Fortunately, it looks like the whole park has been ripped up to make some new/better pathway approaching the bridge. This will be short term pain for long term gain. 

As an item for long term discussion - this bridge situation could be an argument from the cycling community for fewer in-city freeways (skeletal roads) when planning the new Metis trail. There would be no major detour necessary if Crowchild could be crossed like any other major street. These are major barriers to pedestrian/cyclist connectivity in the city, and are a detriment to the transportation system as a whole if the bridges across these freeways need to be closed. Also cause segregated neighborhoods etc. 

No detour signs Westbound

Submitted by Smokey Crow on

I just rode it today (westbound along Sunderland Avenue - the dedicated bike route) and didn't see any detour signs. Not until I reached the bridge (and was even able to cross it to find a big hunk of dirt on the other side) did I see a notice and a map. It is a shame because to follow the detour you have to go back up the hill on Summit Street to follow the detour.

There were detour signs last

Submitted by snowandscience on

There were detour signs last night when I rode it WB - none until the off-street access to the bridge, but that seems to be how the city operates... I wasn't disgruntled by the signage. It's not the best they could do, but it didn't suck. Maybe a sign got knocked/taken down today? Storm last night was pretty crazy... 

Scary Encounter with a car

Submitted by gyrospanner on

Last night, I was taking a short cut through Montgomery from 16th Avenue to Bowness Road (near Notables) - I was heading northeast, probably about 35 km/hr and there was a car in front of me heading southwest, and she turned to her right.


IN ORDER TO EXECUTE A U-TURN!


I justabout shat myself as I watched that car coming over towards me!  I locked up my brakes, and thankfully so did she, but she was right in the middle of the intersection and I did have enough room to go by. 


The adrenaline buzz lasted about 20 minutes.


 


That was a first for me.  I hope it was the last, as well.


 

I Know! I Know!

Submitted by gyrospanner on

I've written before how


1) most of us tend to ride in a state of "paranoid fear," watching other riders / vehicles and trying to anticipate what they are doing, and figuring out "escape routes," should they do something unanticipated,


and


2) it seems to always be the one nanosecond that you let your guard down that something will happen.


 


Well, that was true for me in that incident, I was off 16th safely, going through a quiet residential street, the car was not gonna be an issue, as it was turning .....


 


AAAARGH!


 


 

Buzz Buzz

Submitted by chaingunsofdoom on

Stung by something (wasp since there was no stinger?) this morning on my sternum, right at collar height. Still hurting now 5 hours later. Was almost stung twice last night, but got lucky that it was in my collar but flew away.

If it was a wasp count on it

Submitted by Julie Gregg on

If it was a wasp count on it hurting for a few days and the red swollen area to be apparent for about a week!!! Maybe try some Benedryl or similar product if it is really bothering you. Otherwise I guess just "suck it up" :)

Rode some Bike Lanes

Submitted by bclark on

Haven't been down 5th Ave NW or up 19th Street NW last night so I headed that way on my way to check out the new bike lanes on 40th Ave NW, as posted at http://bikecalgary.org/node/3578.

I have to say, having those 5th Ave lanes (at least westbound) is much nicer than what I remember from riding there years ago without the lanes, especially at 14th Street.  I don't know how far west of 19th they go but at 19th I headed north.  That was fine.  I've heard some complaints about how cyclists are forced up onto the sidewalk pathway, northbound on the hill, and I'm not sure why that configuration was chosen (perhaps to physically separate cyclists from motorists?) but it seemed to be okay as I wasn't climbing fast and the ramps made for easy transitions.

From the new lanes on 40th Ave NW, I headed north on 37th Street, up the new pathway and onto Northland Drive.  There's no bike lanes there yet but the through was pretty easy.  The biggest challenge was knowing when to proceed from across on the bridge as there's no lights (pedestrian or otherwise) for northbound traffic at this point.

Oh, and BTW, I got stung by a wasp last week too...right behind my left knee.  Ouch.

The lanes on 5th Ave end at

Submitted by amf673 on

The lanes on 5th Ave end at 19 St. After that it is door zone sharrows. The 5 Ave lanes are nice but they are isolated ... from 14 to 19th. Would be nice to have something to connect to 10th!

With the steepness of 19 St the off road path is OK. I think the concern was over speed differentials. The problem there, again, is that once you get to the top of the hill, there is nothing. I sometimes ride that way and more or less need to take a lane all the way to 21, 24 or Confed park, wherever I am going.

I like the 19th street hill

Submitted by Charbucks on

I think the lane off the road makes a lot of sense for that hill, and it's not difficult to get on or off the path. It's not very well marked, but you're supposed to get off the sidewalk/bike path and transition to the (nice and wide) road at 10 ave, where the hill stops being quite so steep.

I also take the lane up to 24th, and then cross over and turn left to go to the University. Since I'm going against rush hour, I've never really had any problems on this road, and most drivers just change into the left hand lane to pass me.

Now, if only they would fix the potholes... 

I like 19th st

Submitted by snowandscience on

19th could easily have a bike lane installed from the hill to the Confed park trails without disrupting traffic at all. No reason for it to be a 4 lane residential road... I always take the lane and it's never busy. Big potential for this area. 

Prefer 17a

Submitted by DD on

17a hits the middle ground between Sumac and 19 St.  Fairly even grade over the distance. If you go up 15 St. NW you do a bit of up and down getting over to 19th St. I find 18A doesn't have as even a grade as 17a and there is more traffic around Bethany. 

Tuesday

Submitted by amf673 on

On Tuesday I had to make a quick run to the MRU campus to sign some papers. I was in a rush so I thought, what the hell, I'll drive. It cost $6 to park then someone put a parking lot right where Bow Trail meets Crowchild Trail. It took me 50 minutes to get home by car and my usual ride is 35 minutes.

Boooooooooo...

Submitted by asiawalker on

Isn't that disappointing?!?! I finally timed my commute home yesterday and it was five minutes shorter than when I drive (and that includes that nasty SAIT hill....). Ridiculous! Why would I ever drive?! I find myself asking this question when I have a lazy day and take the car ;)

Increased activity in the Osprey nest @ Crowchild and Memorial

Submitted by seacloud on

The last few weeks it seems there's been increased activity at the osprey nest. I'm assuming this means there are eggs or chicks in the nest, but it's hard to tell from the ground, during the commute. I keep hoping to see a young one perched on the edge of the nest. In general, I've been enjoying the commutes in the nice weather, even if I get a bit sweaty on the homeward trip.

On a different note, if you're commuting when there are many recreational pathway users (typically on a sunny afternoon), please slow down for small children. Even though you've given them lots of room, it's highly stressful to them and/or their parents when you fly past them at 30+ km/h. I experienced the pathway from the recreational perspective on Monday afternoon and found there were too many riders who want to treat a 5 year old on a bike with 16" wheels the same way they treat a commuting adult at 6:00am. My 5 y.o. knows how to ride on the pathway and follow the rules but can't hold a line as well as I can. Give us all a break by slowing down before passing please. This experience was a good reminder to me too, that I should give less confident users space, but also be less 'surprising' with overtaking speed. Hear endeth the PSA! :-)

more on-street bikeways

Submitted by mikewarren on

Your recreational PSA is also a good argument for more on-street bikeways, which would take the strain off the pathways *especially* by moving the most-experienced and likely fastest riders off them.

Ospreys

Submitted by bike-run on

I think there are two chicks, and I think they may be flying already.

A month or so ago I saw two chicks' heads just visible over the side of the nest, and last week I was running by on the pathway and saw/heard one bird flying around whistling, with two others circling overhead, which I'm guessing might be one chick with parents supervising, with another just visible sitting in the nest.

 

Yup, I think there are 2

Submitted by DragonBeanie on

Yup, I think there are 2 chicks too.  Saw the whole family perching on the nest this morning: 2 proud parents and 2 little ones!  I don't remember ever seeing more than 1 baby at a time since the nest was moved there, so they must be doing well!

3rd-ed!

Submitted by critninja on

I have also had similar experiences in the past (son is 9 now) and must admit those experiences were extremely disappointing.

As "bclark" has mentioned in the past, we cyclists are our own worst enemies.

Boat time

Submitted by chaingunsofdoom on

Saw something new today. 9 AM. Underneath Ivor Strong bridge (deep SE Deerfoot Trail @ Douglasdale). There's a huge pickup and a boat trailer... launching a 15ft fishing boat. 3 guys going to fish. No road there. No idea how they got there.

 

Called 311 and waited on hold for 10 mins. They had no clue, but said it did not seem to be a bylaw violation. They said if it was in Fish Creek, then I would probably call them up.

 

I was thinking it would be a police thing, but I didn't call to ask. I'm pretty sure you can't just offroad wherever you want in city-limits. And now I know why the bike path is so muddy there sometimes. Guys must be launching from there frequently.

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