The City's Transportation Solutions department is holding an open house on proposed bike route infrastructure in that area. The event is on Monday November 23rd at the Strathcona Community Centre. Full details are in the notice (PDF).
What do you think? Do we need more cycling infrastructure in the suburbs, or in the center of the city, i.e. downtown? Where should the City be concentrating its efforts?
Forums:
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Folks in the area should go.
Submitted by BCDon on
Not an area I've ever been in. My largest question is whether they are going to do something that links into other bike pathways or is this just a "ride a loop" sort of deal. From my commuting desires I'm always looking for adding infrastructure that links into existing infrastructure and perhaps fills in the missing gap where there wasn't enough planning in the past.
But, the answer to the questions in your second paragraph are "Yes". We need cycling infrastructure in the suburbs. People should be able to cycle to get groceries, attend school or hit up the pub. And yes, infrastructure needs to be increased downtown to facilitate easier cycling downtown (although I'm rarely there). I'd add a third requirement though and that is "feeder systems". There should be routes that allow people to get around. If I want to go downtown from where I live, I can take a long arduous MUP or I can cycle roadways. Shouldn't have to take the roadways to keep my commute down. For example, Elbow drive should have a bike lane on it (after all, it is already down to 40KPH). Then perhaps 4th street all the way down to Eau Clair should be bike laned. Sorry for hijacking your thread.
i'll be there
Submitted by critninja on
i live just across sarcee trail from this area and have frequented it plenty in the past.
i will be looking for access improvements to the new ctrain station at scirocco drive, access improvements to the strathcona/69st intersection and improvements to the pathway that leads down to sarcee/bow tr intersection.
we'll see.
anyone else planning on attending?
regarding your question about where infrastructure should go first? well, my personal feeling is that the downtown/core area is desparately in need of facilities but i also understand that the 'burbs need stuff too. nicole had mentioned at the AGM that the city will "take advantage" of opportunities as they arise (like 11 st se bike lanes), so maybe thats what is going on here. who knows.
when i see an adult on a bicycle, i do not despair for the future of the human race.
- h.g. wells
http://critninja.blogspot.com
I recieved the pamphlet in
Submitted by ggdub on
I recieved the pamphlet in the mail the other night and tentatively it looks like they will be adding on-street lanes to strathcona dr and I looks like they are supposed to continue to 69th.
I believe, they are also upgrading the sirocco drive access, although that wasn't entirely clear on the pamphlet.
Strathcona bike routes
Submitted by ride on
I attended this open house, along with critninja and ggdub. A cynic might say that the City didn't really want any cyclist input because they held the open house at the highest point in the city! It was a bit of a struggle to get up there on my fixed-gear bike.... but a very nice ride back down!
There was no one in attendance from the Transportation Solutions group (the people that plan bike routes). Instead, there were reps from the Planning department. This may be a good thing, as it may mean that inclusion of bike routes is now a standard line item in new community transportation plans.
I asked myself why do we need bike routes in Strathcona, since the roads are wide and the traffic is low, and in addition there are no trucks to deal with. But after seeing the plans, I think that bike routes are being included as a bit of a traffic calming measure. I was astounded to see that average observed speeds for motor vehicles on some of the routes were in excess of 60 km/h (even near the school and park). This pretty much proves the assertion that many motorists are law-breakers and have little concern for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. And as if to underline that point, as critninja and I left the meeting, a motorist blew by us at 80 km/h or more! (in a 50 km/h zone).
Most of the bike traffic leaving Strathcona wants to cross the intersection at Bow Trail on the diagonal, in order to access the Edworthy bike path or Spruce Cliff Drive. We suggested in the session feedback that it would be beneficial to provide a bike-route line painted diagonally across the intersection with a separate traffic light for bikes only; this would coincide with the left-turn signal for cars on Bow Trail and would legitimize what's already happening there. This is an innovative idea, so don't hold your breath waiting for it to be implemented. But it's a logical extension of ideas like "NO left turns (bicycles excepted)".
'ride' at 'bikecalgary.org'
Bicycles aren't obstructing traffic, they're part of traffic
details?
Submitted by mikewarren on
Do you have more details as to where the bike routes will go? I use some of that area frequently to get out of town into Springbank (specifically the bit of path from Edworthy up the hill to Coach Hill etc).
mike at mike dash warren dot com
basically...
Submitted by critninja on
...the city is adding a painted bike lane around the entire strathcona loop - including a painted lane out to 69 st sw. there will also be the usual bumpouts, etc.
the community is totally behind having more bikes using the roads and are very supportive of slowing cars down.
i also asked mat mcdonald from the city to consider the new c-train station that will be built on 17th at scirocco? and make sure there is a good link to it (and points east-west).
when i see an adult on a bicycle, i do not despair for the future of the human race.
- h.g. wells
http://critninja.blogspot.com
twisty
Submitted by mikewarren on
Is part of the problem with speeding due to the stupid "maze of twisty roads, all alike" mentality of new-ish subdivisions? Not to excuse speeding through school zones, but I find driving in some of the newer neighbourhoods extremely frustrating and I'm sure that doesn't get better if you repeat on a daily basis.
Maybe grids aren't such a bad idea after all; diffuse the traffic over more roads rather than one loop road.
mike at mike dash warren dot com
Twisted - Yes
Submitted by Jaykay65 on
I agree.
Looking at my community, Harvest Hills, traffic is typically in excess of 50KMH. The many turns and bends in the roads, "invite" drivers to find the apex of some of the corners and "set-up" for the next. Not very many drivers do this, but usually once a day you hear the roar of an engine and the squeal of tires as someone is speeding and racing as if it was Silverstone. With all the vehicles parked along the main road, this is going to get someone killed.
When I ride toward downtown or back from downtown and ride through Crescent Heights, Tuxedo, etc. with the grid system, traffic is moving much slower. I think it has something to do with the narrowness of the roads and the "old style" intersections with very little set-back. I imagine, that some local residents do experience speeders daily flying down 2nd ST NW or NE or other long roads. My experience though has been that these are very safe roads and I would rather ride there than through my subdivision.
studies show
Submitted by NW_Tri_and_Bike on
residents of grid communities walk more and are in better health on average. I read this in a few places recently and the site name escapes me
http://ridecalgary.blogspot.com/
the loop
Submitted by ggdub on
I agree with Ride's take on it is. The bike lanes (along with other traffic calming measures) are a tool to narrow the road and hopefully, force people to slow down.
Strathcona drive is now what you could call a classic example of how not to design a community. Its a wide feeder road that just attracts speeding (I'm likely guilty from time to time). As a road to live on, it must suck. There's no way you can allow your kids to play anywhere but inside or in your backyard because the cars just zip buy and due to the hilly nature of the road, its hard to see what's coming.
Even though it appears the bike lanes will be implemented for the above reason, there are numerous cyclists who ride through the community to/from work, who will benefit from them, so all in all I'm pretty happy (I live in the community so I'm pretty biased).
Maybe it will even encourage parents to allow their kids to bike to school as opposed to driving them a few blocks, which judging by the school zones in the morning, happens way too often.