The Bloor Viaduct is getting some fresh paint this week. On Tuesday night, city work crews laid out the first hint of what’s to come, painting thin guide marks for the full lane markings to follow. As Dan Egan detailed at our public meeting on Wednesday, the project will considerably widen the existing bike lanes along the entire length of the Viaduct and add new treatments to address the conflict zones at the DVP on-ramps identified in our 2008 Bloor Viaduct Safety Report. The new lanes are not only wider, but will also feature a small buffer zone to put even more space between cars and bikes.
We’ll have more information about the new configuration on the Viaduct once the painting is complete, but we thought you’d like a sneak peek into the work in progress on Thursday night. The whole repainting project is scheduled to be completed by next week.
The work crew sets up on Danforth for an evening of re-striping the lanes.
The new bike lanes will be much wider than the old ones, with the extra space gained by shaving a little off each of the mixed-use lanes.
When you ride the new luxury bike lanes on the Viaduct, you can thank Chris and Rob for doing the work. Thanks, Chris and Rob! And thanks too to everyone else at the City who are helping to make crossing the Don Valley safer for all cyclists.
What we’ve done so far
Ward 29 Bikes had a busy and successful 2009. Our volunteers engaged with the local community by holding two public meetings, participating in numerous community events, helping with the work of other groups, and raising the profile of cycling in our neighbourhood and across the city. Here is a summary of some of the activities that we undertook in our first full year of advocacy:
Continue reading 'Ward 29 Bikes 2009 Year (and a bit!) in review'»
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Bloor Viaduct, Case Ootes, cycling, Diefenbaker Public School, events, Peter Tabuns, safety, Taste of the Danforth, TCAC, Withrow Park Farmers' Market, year in review
Luke Siragusa and the rest of the Ward 29 Bikes team recently produced a professional-quality report (PDF) highlighting the safety issues faced by cyclists on the Bloor Viaduct. Conflict zones with cars exist at both ends of the Viaduct in both directions of travel, making this extremely popular cycling route less safe than it should be.
Luke’s report details the shortcomings of the Viaduct’s cycling infrastructure and offers simple, inexpensive solutions that can be applied in other conflict zones across the city.
It’s a shame that Toronto has let such dangerous conditions persist for so long when many of the fixes that Luke proposes come from the city’s very own bike lane guidelines and standards. Nevertheless, we have real opportunities here to raise awareness among cyclists, show City Hall what’s possible when citizens are engaged, and to improve a conflict zone between cyclists and motorists. Even pedestrians would benefit from improvements at both the east and west ends of the Viaduct.
Luke will deliver a brief presentation about his report to the Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee meeting shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Monday January 19, 2009 in Committee Room 2 in City Hall. We hope to see the report’s recommendations adopted this year.
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