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That’s a great point @Charlie ! Here is a news article about the type of promotion you are suggesting:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/11/26/dutch-government-invests-extra-e345m-to-get-even-more-people-on-bicycles/Let’s make sure our politicians hear these suggestions and that their constituents care about cycling as a method of active transport.
Hey now, @2wheeler, your preference may be obvious from your username, but we don’t support “wheelist” comments on this forum 😉 Unicyclists are people, too!
Thanks for sharing your opinions – we really do pay attention to the feedback from our members when we develop a Bike Calgary position on this. We also try to take into account our overall strategy, input from collaborating groups such as Vision Zero and Walk Calgary (and others), and consider how our position would be viewed by the City and other road users.
Ultimately, we’ve decided that the old infrastructure (sidewalks and roads) didn’t provide space for bikes and speeds they travel. The City listened to our statements that people wanted to ride, and there should be safe places for them. Now that there are other shapes of vehicles that would like a safe and legal space in the City’s transportation infrastructure, we think there should be safe and legal spaces for them, too.
We recognize your concerns around path width (i.e. inline skaters) and have raised this with the City. We’ll have to see how the specific wording of the bylaw accommodates this concern. In regards to motorized vehicles, the separation is getting tricky, since there are so many vehicles with small electric motors. Again, this isn’t as much an issue of how they are propelled – more about speeds.
And if the cycle tracks get too busy, well I guess the City will just have to build more!
Thanks again for your input. Please continue to respectfully offer your opinions to help keep us informed!
Sincerely,
Gary Millard
President, Bike CalgaryHey @Fuzz, great suggestions. We will raise this idea with Bike Calgary’s Infrastructure task group, and look into the correct City department. I agree, it’s not obvious which department would handle this. we have a few contacts at the City and will look into this.
Thanks,
Gary
President, Bike CalgaryThanks for sharing those photos @kerryv. It’s great to see employers supporting healthy choices for their employees!
With a beautiful facility like that, you might want to nominate your employer for a YYC Bike Award! We have a category for Best Business, based on how they support cycling for their customers and/or employees. That sort of parking and wash installation might put them in the running to win!
Thanks for the feedback. We tried to streamline the site and reduce some old content. It’s great to hear what sort of information people are looking for. We will be sure to add some of that information back (unfortunately a little too late for you to select your clothing and gear for this morning’s chilly ride!).
Please feel free to continue to offer your feedback.
Cheers!
Could it be true? Has the City finally figured out cycling closures and pathway notices?!?
The Bow River northside pathway around Crowchild will have nightly closures for a few days – starting January 15th, from 10pm to 5am (I’m so happy they have realized that a major cycling route should have just nightly closures, not for weeks at a time!).
And the signs! Electronic lighted text with just the basics – two screens of brief info that can be read at cycling speeds, and posted in two locations in either direction!
Kudos to the City’s Parks Department for putting up the best closure signage I have seen to date in Calgary! Keep it up, City!
Thanks @2wheeler and @mm721 for sharing your stories of cycling infrastructure misunderstandings. Bike Calgary has some connections in the City and these sorts of anecdotes are helpful to inform the City as to where some public education may be required. We can also try to include this sort of information when we are interviewed by media (several newspapers and radio or TV stations contact us for interviews when there is relevant cycling topics arising). Please do continue to raise these matters in our forums!
And I have also been enjoying the warm dry commuting weather. The XC skiing hasn’t been so good this year, but I’ve been happy with the cycling!
Thanks for all the pathway updates! I’m happy to see the City is clearing out those detour early in the winter – hopefully we will experience clear riding through those areas.
In regards to the dirt section west of Crowchild, on the north side river pathway, it appears when they repaired that section they bumped the cycle path south to meet with the pedestrian path, further west of where it used to. I suspect this was done to eliminate that perennial puddle (and/or ice patch) that formed. If so, it looks like someone is thinking ahead!
I rode the Bow northside pathway this morning – they ran the plow over it but there was still lots of rutted ice from the previous week. There were a few sketchy spots with the ruts, so take it easy through there until it gets cleared (or melted).
The intersection of 3rd Ave & 8th St SW was rebuilt a few years ago, and the signage changed. You are correct – it used to have a stop sign for bikes, but it was upgraded to allow free flow east-west (westbound cars can only turn without the stop sign, as they cannot proceed further west). You’ll notice that the stop signs on 8th Street do not include a “4-way” notification. This means they are stop signs on an intersection with free flow traffic in another direction.
Many motorists on 3rd Ave don’t understand that they need to treat this like any other free flow intersection, and yield to cyclists coming eastbound through the intersection. I’ve had a few motorists get upset because they did not understand the rules in that intersection.
This is one of the confusing parts of the proposed transportation bylaw changes – they talk about changing the current requirement to stop when going from a pathway to a roadway to a yield, but there are places where you don’t have to stop or yield. I’m not sure how they are going to deal with this situation, but I think it will be important to do do.
Thanks for your concern @RichieRich! Mr.ZZZZ..456 has been blocked, and the annoying posts deleted. WordPress seems to do a pretty good job of capturing most of this sort of spam, but that stuff got through. I’m trying to keep an eye on the site, but if you see problematic posts in the future, don’t hesitate to send an email to admin@bikecalgary.org and we will get someone on it right away. Cheers!
Hey @xcrider, I’ve activated the Buy and Sell forum (it had been created, but wasn’t showing up). You should be able to post on it now. Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for going with the steady front white light – I find a lot of the new powerful lights can be troublesome on flash. I don’t mind flashing turtle lights or similar low intensity lights, but the really bright ones can be blinding on flash mode.
I haven’t found blinking tail lights to be too much of a problem, but I agree that as they get brighter, they are less comfortable to ride behind. I appreciate that you think about the riders around you as you consider what to do with you lights. Let’s hope that kind of consideration spreads!
And now don’t forget to make sure you’ve got charged lights/batteries for the ride home, since that sunset is now about 5pm.
The detour on the north side of the river pathway is better now that they have opened the pathway from the ped bridge to 14 St NW. It’s pretty straightforward once you know the route, or can follow other cyclists (and there are plenty every morning, still). That said, it’s a shame the best thing to do is follow someone else, and not have enough signage to really know where to go on your own.
And stay warm and upright – it looks like we are going to be entering early winter again this week.
