tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18281118068273946102024-03-19T01:07:16.774-04:00WaterloonsOpinions about issues affecting Waterloo RegionErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827962943106611451noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-4555310162451110662017-08-28T20:00:00.000-04:002017-08-29T11:07:49.128-04:00Division and finger-pointing between drivers and cyclistsRecently, radio talk show host <a href="http://www.570news.com/audio/the-mike-farwell-show/">Mike Farwell</a> penned a column on cycling, or rather cyclists, that has a lot of people all a-twitter. Farwell's main thrust was that cyclists need to behave better on the road, and take responsibility for each other's behaviour. And this has rubbed a lot of people with two-wheeled experience the wrong way.<br />
<br />
Myself included.<br />
<br />
But let's start with what was good about Farwell's column. He hit a number of solid points I agree with:<br />
<ul>
<li>Lower speed limits would reduce accident severity,</li>
<li>We should support better active transportation infrastructure,</li>
<li>There are people who are biking like idiots.</li>
</ul>
Yes, there are people biking like idiots. I agree! But after this point is where, for me, Farwell's line of reasoning takes a dangerous blind turn.<br />
<br />
Later in the column, he rattled off a list of incidents where someone on two wheels did something stupid and unnecessarily risky. And these people are making him see cyclists in a less courteous light, calling for cyclists to take ownership of these yahoos, and implying that cyclists' place on the road was morally at stake.<br />
<br />
But who are these cyclists, anyway?<br />
<br />
<h3>
We're all just people trying to get where we're going.</h3>
<br />
Am I a cyclist? I drove to work today, so probably no. But I've spent years biking to work and around town multiple times a week, so probably yes. But I have a neck injury and don't know when I'll be able to get on my bike again, so, have I stopped being a cyclist? It's an identity crisis in the making!<br />
<br />
I was walking Spur Line Trail the other day, and I was passed by several people on bikes. Are they the cyclists Farwell expects to police each other? How about this <a href="https://twitter.com/cd_klein/status/901187412692541445">older couple who were clearly out experimenting with two wheels</a> and marvelling at how lovely the trail was: how many more pedals until they're held culpable for the actions of others? Do they get membership cards in the mail, or possibly by bike courier?<br />
<br />
That's the problem here. When it comes down to this, there is no such thing as a cyclist, except when you're talking about someone on a bike <i>right now.</i> The same thing goes for drivers. The rest of the time, we are just <u>people</u>. The term "cyclist" and "driver" are convenient, but sometimes we tend to mistake what is a <u>temporary state</u> for a permanent, exclusive identity, and I believe Mike Farwell is guilty of just that.<br />
<br />
Because if that isn't the case, then I <u>am</u> a cyclist, I <u>am</u> a driver, and I <u>am</u> a pedestrian (an impressive feat since I'm sitting in a desk chair at the moment!) But I don't understand why <i>as a cyclist</i> I should be held responsible for <i>all cyclists</i>, when we clearly don't put a similar burden of responsibility on car users or walkers. The idea that as a driver, I would be responsible for every idjit behind the wheel, is laughable. Also impractical, given how many people in cars seem willing to communicate with just their middle finger. So what makes it OK to impose this moral burden on me for my predilection to pedal?<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, this column is strongly insinuating that my right to respect on the road, while on two wheels, depends on my policing others. That is... chilling.<br />
<br />
<h3>
No matter what happens, the person on the bike loses.</h3>
<br />
When I'm on a bike, I'm already dealing with an uncomfortable power imbalance. If I screw up near a vehicle, the likely result is my death or injury. If someone in a vehicle screws up near me, the likely result is still <i>my</i> death or injury. Even minor accidents I might experience while driving could leave me with a broken collarbone, or broken neck, if they happen when I'm on a bicycle.<br />
<br />
As a motorcycle enthusiast, I would have thought Mike Farwell might understand the condition of being a vulnerable road user. Still, while riding a motorcycle Mike does enjoy the ability to keep up with the speed of motorized traffic. (In my experience, motorcycle riders certainly show no problem <i>keeping up</i> with the speed of traffic!)<br />
<br />
But it takes a strong stomach to claim your place on the road while being passed by vehicle after vehicle. Every once in a while, someone is having a bad day and I get to experience that incautious, incourteous close pass, the kind where my life hangs in the balance of a few inches. After an incident like this a couple of years ago, I got to talk to just such a driver.<br />
<br />
He had passed me so close that I still don't know how his mirror didn't clip my handlebars. But he was also so close to home (which made his inability to wait 20 seconds for a safe pass even more galling) that I came upon him at his driveway. And he had absolutely zero willingness to accept any fault, and I guess he felt the need to put me in my place: the conversation ended in a threat that made me go to the police and had me nervously looking over my shoulder for months afterward.<br />
<br />
The law says that I can ride my bike on the road, and I seek to do so
as safely as possible. As the police officer explained to me with a
cop's world-weary pragmatism, there are people out there who just don't
believe I should be in their way and I need to watch out.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Tribalism and finger pointing</h3>
<br />
While cycling, I accept responsibility for my own safety, and I strive to use the
road in a safe and predictable manner. After all, I already have <i>plenty</i> of incentive to do so. But that does not exclusively identify me as a cyclist.<br />
<br />
I have worked hard, even within this blog, to avoid the "cyclist vs. driver vs. pedestrian" tribalism, and not always successfully. What I keep reminding myself is we are<i> just people trying to get around</i>. Sometimes, some of us bike.<br />
<br />
The ugly truth is that there are really nasty, careless, thoughtless people on the road. The ones on two wheels, Farwell would have me reach out and police. As for the ones behind the wheel, well, my track record dealing with them is not so good. <i>Neither</i> group will listen to me if I confront them, and some of them might attack me for calling them out, so once again, I only stand to lose. But that's not all.<br />
<br />
Farwell's column promotes the idea that there is a cycling "tribe" who needs to earn their place on the road from the driving "tribe"-- and you had better bet that his audience is listening. In doing this, he gives a few hot-headed and irresponsible people more license to treat me with disdain and reckless endangerment, by providing a justification their antisocial behaviour. I would have preferred that he used his platform to remind everyone that sharing the road starts with you, not the other guy.<br />
<br />
I can't ask Farwell to take responsibility for these dangerous drivers any more than he should ask me to take responsibility for reckless cyclists.<br />
<br />
But as a media personality, whose words have reach and influence people, I can ask Mike Farwell to take responsibility for his message.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Postscript: There's more I could have touched on here, such as sharrows and the evidence that shows them being worse than nothing, or the fact that we could use more education for riding bikes, or the fact that the thing that would have the most effect is just what cycling advocates keep asking for, better infrastructure. Perhaps a second blog post?</i><br />
<br />
<i>There's also the ugliness I saw on Twitter, that I chose not to take part in. Mike Farwell certainly didn't deserve the treatment he got at the hands of some respondents. I would have expected better of people, but once again I saw evidence of a "community" being held responsible for the actions of a few.</i><br />
<br />
<i>The more we reinforce the idea that we are separate camps or tribes, the more this kind of ugliness will surface. I am sorry Farwell got to see the worst side of these "cyclists", but I'll be even sorrier to see the worst side of any "drivers" who take Farwell's message to heart.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-40636939303944701212017-02-02T11:39:00.001-05:002017-02-02T11:41:36.424-05:00Getting priorities right in UptownThe latest iteration of plans for reconstructing King Street in Uptown into a walking and cycling friendly place are <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/contentresources/resources/living/CTZ_UptownKingSt_Presentation_2017-01-31reduced.pdf">up for your perusal and feedback</a>. Take a look and provide your comments soon!<br />
<br />
There's a lot to like here. King as a two-lane street allows for improvements across the board:<br />
<ul>
<li>Safer lane widths and lower traffic speeds</li>
<li>More room for pedestrians, shorter crossing distances</li>
<li>Protected bike lanes providing destination access to all levels of cyclists.</li>
</ul>
There's other great features in here too: some <a href="http://www.protectedintersection.com/">protected intersection</a> features at Erb and at Bridgeport, and positioning of bus pads and parking on the street side of the bike lanes, which limits dooring and blocking potential.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe7JUKNVPfp8KPFd1JD5E_RLgNIfVhkAznLNq4LKvWWJigKqRxlYnqGHrwRBfb8EWboLdzm_SSRyCF1_Ifrp_NtAR6SnqZI09FWxcueHFlX9GqqCY95ntCqf_HmsZca_77AhiCIbm/s1600/uptown1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe7JUKNVPfp8KPFd1JD5E_RLgNIfVhkAznLNq4LKvWWJigKqRxlYnqGHrwRBfb8EWboLdzm_SSRyCF1_Ifrp_NtAR6SnqZI09FWxcueHFlX9GqqCY95ntCqf_HmsZca_77AhiCIbm/s320/uptown1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1dR2MzLd8qy1MOhlc6z2UvyVqzELyYHoOq_ImuCZu3z9uoAmLLkwovgjpt7z2QaC5iED5SRHjPJO1tS7WBLobOcl6OG2hjiV4qjmHOKi7HD222pMOsAnpC2FdD_Y41mNwdFlAFYD/s1600/uptown2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1dR2MzLd8qy1MOhlc6z2UvyVqzELyYHoOq_ImuCZu3z9uoAmLLkwovgjpt7z2QaC5iED5SRHjPJO1tS7WBLobOcl6OG2hjiV4qjmHOKi7HD222pMOsAnpC2FdD_Y41mNwdFlAFYD/s320/uptown2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's encouraging to see this plan, particularly as evidence mounts of the <a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/biking-walking-soar-collisions-plummet-along-oaklands-protected-bike-lanes">positive safety impacts and economic benefits</a> that come from humanizing our downtown spaces.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsIcW1gCcdrbCAcPPcCxFy6-Vt-MAb9eReuBvaHx4VPHsZPlwFmbeAzI98v6Jv4_AXN3jXEzlSpz_zTtY3N71iF4BuLq-9fXYVrgc4zHx9ln4k9aZRQBEN1CPKILer2Z9PCp1rio_/s1600/telegraph+bike+lanes+600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsIcW1gCcdrbCAcPPcCxFy6-Vt-MAb9eReuBvaHx4VPHsZPlwFmbeAzI98v6Jv4_AXN3jXEzlSpz_zTtY3N71iF4BuLq-9fXYVrgc4zHx9ln4k9aZRQBEN1CPKILer2Z9PCp1rio_/s320/telegraph+bike+lanes+600.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking up. Cycling up. Business up. Collisions down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Still, there are some valid criticisms and concerns. I spoke with one well-spoken gentleman, and he aired a number of complaints:<br />
<ul>
<li>Truck unloading for businesses is less convenient</li>
<li>Corners are tighter (again affecting trucks)</li>
</ul>
His word for this plan was "myopic". He claimed that King needed to be an arterial road in order to maintain heavy truck access for these businesses to function, and he talked at length about a situation in Cambridge where a semi got stuck in a bad turn and couldn't reverse due to backed up traffic.<br />
<br />
It's not that he doesn't have a point. But he was trying to paint these points as deal killers or catastrophes, and they are not. They are simply inconveniences that are worth bearing for the benefits we'll gain. Here's why.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Arterial roads are for through traffic, our downtowns are destinations</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
King was built as a four-lane arterial, which (along with Bridgeport and Erb) has resulted in a tremendous amount of through traffic passing through Uptown. Some business owners have seen this as their lifeblood, but through traffic doesn't tend to stop.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBt_v-thyV6iSYgN2HNVpP_uX8wkKqfNLYo-vlLRv8g966MNNbUQENyQSHD_nEEEalr8qX3_Q4ZtuxIzCIX99NjoBqMeHAtB9URjEFihURAq423INuYX2pAh4AGld1ZJsccxTOGhb/s1600/uptown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBt_v-thyV6iSYgN2HNVpP_uX8wkKqfNLYo-vlLRv8g966MNNbUQENyQSHD_nEEEalr8qX3_Q4ZtuxIzCIX99NjoBqMeHAtB9URjEFihURAq423INuYX2pAh4AGld1ZJsccxTOGhb/s320/uptown.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crushing the pedestrian realm to move cars faster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Instead, the traffic volumes make Uptown an unsafe location for people on foot or bike. I'm recalling the <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2615233-pedestrian-struck-killed-in-uptown-waterloo/">death of a student</a> in the heart of Uptown in 2012, but there have been numerous other fatalities along King St. <i>(<b>edit: </b>including, tragically, <a href="http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/mobile/cyclist-dies-following-crash-king-street-closed-at-conestoga-mall-1.3267698">one today</a>.)</i> In these cases, blame gets apportioned to one party or the other but the cause of death is the same: <u>speed</u>.<br />
<br />
Speed comes from wide roadways, and wide roadways come from this myth that we need to route cross-town traffic through our dense cores at the expense of all other road users.<br />
<br />
Which makes these places more dangerous, less pleasant places to be, which in turn hampers their economic potential.<br />
<br />
King street is a city street. Its job isn't through traffic, it's <u>destination traffic</u>. Drive it if you want to go to Uptown. If you're travelling a long way by car, then use Weber, or Westmount, or the expressway.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Loading and unloading can still happen, it just might take a little more thought.</h3>
<h4>
</h4>
Firstly, most of Uptown's King St. businesses have rear access. Laneways and rear parking exist for everything between William and Erb.<br />
<br />
There's some additional lane width built into the street (3.8m per lane, which is more generous than the regional standard of 3.35m, which is still wider than the existing lanes which are too narrow for buses to occupy safely, hence the current practice of "straddling.")<br />
<br />
That room should allow for most traffic to filter around the occasional unloading vehicle.<br />
<br />
But if not, there are other steps that can be taken. Early or late deliveries can take advantage of available on-street parking. And smaller delivery vehicles can be used. Does Tim Hortons need to be serviced by a semitrailer? If downtown Toronto Tims can get their supplies, so can Uptown Waterloo's.<br />
<br />
These are inconveniences, but if Uptown becomes a more attractive destination for people to visit, then businesses will find ways to overcome obstacles to better serve a growing customer base.<br />
<br />
<h3>
We can't keep up with traffic demand, but we can build an accessible city</h3>
<br />
There are a lot of new homes being built along the central corridor, and with the arrival of LRT, Uptown Waterloo is well positioned to serve the needs of these residents arriving on foot, transit, or bicycle.<br />
<br />
And those residents will need to be able to rely on those modes of travel. We're learning that sprawl and car dependence results in a massively expensive and unsolvable traffic problem: you just can't build enough road and parking to satisfy demand without inducing even more, and the very act of trying will kill any human-friendly space as well as our municipal budget.<br />
<br />
So instead, intensification needs to support walkability, and good transit and cycling options provide excellent access for people to the destinations they seek.<br />
<br />
The Uptown plan shows how to do just this. An improved, safer pedestrian realm. Regional transit improvements enabling frictionless travel along the corridor and improved cross-town travel. Bike lanes to allow for "a little too far to walk" trips in speed and comfort.<br />
<br />
It's the kind of city I want to live in, and I hope you see the value of it too. If that value appears to introduce some automotive inconveniences, it's only because we're used to planners trying to make driving easier at the cost of absolutely everything else in our lives: walkability, our safety, cost, and even our health.<br />
<br />
This plan is what getting priorities right looks like.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHzyEx_YJdx93iERPGTIheMv7FCFGabu8nypo4s4BMAmZ6sCeQbgd_LfIlTvjHSkdf8mDlVb_yklidGP3XE-ga9h16K1Ym0SC2hd8QooiaNBYG5jiq5zLaxcBRWcU77ewAweVCaap/s1600/New-York-City-bike-lanes-Wikimedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHzyEx_YJdx93iERPGTIheMv7FCFGabu8nypo4s4BMAmZ6sCeQbgd_LfIlTvjHSkdf8mDlVb_yklidGP3XE-ga9h16K1Ym0SC2hd8QooiaNBYG5jiq5zLaxcBRWcU77ewAweVCaap/s320/New-York-City-bike-lanes-Wikimedia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"When you build for people and places, you get people and places."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-79582426900532973762016-12-21T10:11:00.000-05:002016-12-21T10:11:46.044-05:00Thoughts on advisory committeesSince 2013, I have sat on the region's Active Transportation Advisory Committee, including two years as its chair. A close friend of mine has worked as chair on Kitchener's Cycling and Trails advisory committee, and as he departs I have learned that two other energetic, committed people will be joining that one. They have ideas and they want to bring change.<br />
<br />
And I wonder if they will make the difference they want to make, or if the committee will simply absorb and neutralize them like some kind of immune system disabling a foreign invader. Likely, it will be somewhere in between. Exactly where depends on their commitment and energy, but not only on that.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Advisory</h3>
<br />
Citizens' advisory committees are curious beasts. The key word is "advisory". They are a place where knowledgeable and engaged citizens can work with staff on all sorts of things under the committee's remit, but they have no actual power. Their role is to provide advice and feedback to council and staff.<br />
<br />
Despite this, I believe an advisory committee can influence the policies that a municipal government sets, but it needs to have more than just passionate and engaged members. A healthy committee needs strong staff support.<br />
<br />
In my time as chair, I had the pleasure of working with a particular staffer, James, who has since gone on to bigger and better things on the west coast. A lot of what we accomplished during that time was the direct result of all the work he did behind the scenes to ensure our committee had an agenda each meeting, that traffic engineers and consultants were meeting with us on road design, walkability and cycling issues, and that our recommendations and feedback were at least getting heard.<br />
<br />
Through James I gained insight of the structure and culture of staff working within the regional government. I saw how an organization could, if it wanted, completely stifle or starve an activist committee. If you don't have staff support, and if your direct staff contacts don't have the support of their management to break down internal barriers, not much is going to happen.<br />
<br />
This is not to say this has been a major problem with the region. Generally speaking, we have strong staff support, and responsiveness has been there. Having engaged and passionate council members (hi Jane, Geoff!) on our committee certainly has helped, too. But like tapping on a wall, you learn to hear the difference in tone when you're actually getting through the other side, and when your message is absorbed and deadened.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Time, Time, Time</h3>
<br />
I've also seen how the general makeup and culture of a committee can have a big effect on what it achieves. Over my time as chair, with James' support, I tried to lead a more proactive priority setting exercise and to establish subcommittees to give us the bandwidth we needed to delve more deeply with staff into complex topics. We made some headway, but eventually that effort stalled.<br />
<br />
I've pointed out a number of times over the years opportunities for committee members to engage outside of our regular monthly meeting by striking a subcommittee on an issue. Only once has a subcommittee really taken off and produced results, and that was because its membership was really committed to it. That should come as no surprise.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, I learned that you can lead a horse to water, but if the horse doesn't have the time to come meet with staff during working hours a couple of times a month, then that's life I guess.<br />
<br />
As a consequence, ATAC remains mostly reactive in providing feedback on what comes to it, only occasionally bringing its own agenda items to the table. So what it achieves depends almost entirely on the staff setting the agenda, working to line things up for us. And the committee's advisory feedback is limited to what people can provide within the narrow window of a 90 minute meeting.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Stockholm Syndrome</h3>
<br />
Another, more insidious aspect of an advisory committee: the ways it can reduce you to an ineffective apologist if you're not careful.<br />
<br />
Certainly, you should learn and appreciate the constraints that staff work under. You might befriend some of them, and become sympathetic. You're on the inside now. Now, when you openly criticize policy or action, there are real people behind it and you worry about it feeling like an attack.<br />
<br />
This is a good thing in measured doses: there are real human beings working hard in government, even if we prefer to complain about government as a giant faceless machine churning out big buckets of stupid. But if you want to move the needle, you are probably making somebody's job more difficult for a while. Don't let that possibility stop you. Sometimes, that somebody actually wants you to make waves.<br />
<br />
People generally join advisory committees because they want to make a difference. To do so means retaining your agency and not simply going with the flow. You shouldn't burn bridges, but you need to push and keep pushing. Find a place where you can become a "respected pain in the ass"-- appreciated for your candour and directness but also fairness.<br />
<br />
But ultimately you're pushing against inertia. If you aren't doggedly persistent, that effort will be wasted.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Fresh Blood</h3>
<br />
Because of all of this, turnover is extremely important for a committee. ATAC and other committees have a term limit that enforces turnover, and getting new members is exciting. Unfortunately, getting good new members is quite difficult! It seems like it's hard to interest people in this kind of involvement.<br />
<br />
New committee members have an advantage: they come in not knowing what's impossible. Which means they may not self-limit as much. I think a vital committee is going to find itself always slightly uncomfortable because it's confronting issues and pushing for results (even as it has no actual power), and new members can really help.<br />
<br />
At the same time, new committee members can fall into traps. Joining any group, we seek to understand it and find our place in it before trying to change it. Wait too long, and the group's culture will change you before you can have an effect on it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Make the most of it</h3>
<br />
A committee has its terms of reference which define its mandate and role. Learn them. There may be more in there than the committee is doing right now.<br />
<br />
But what a committee can actually do, and how, is really up to its members. Don't just accept the status quo. Show leadership and people may follow you. Shift the needle.<br />
<br />
Even if it feels futile, change can still happen over time. I've sometimes felt my committee to be too passive for my tastes, but looking back over the last few years I don't regret my involvement. We have moved the needle. But we can always do more.<br />
<br />
I've written this with certain new members of different committees in mind: don't be tentative, make your presence felt, but also have patience and don't let frustration get to you: play the long game.<br />
<br />
But to be honest, I'm also writing it to remind myself going into 2017 to keep my mind open to what's possible, and not accept the status quo myself. Like I said: we can always do more.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-4277673823755561812016-07-20T10:13:00.001-04:002016-07-20T10:13:14.819-04:00The Green Belt needs to include Waterloo Region<p dir="ltr">The fine folks at <a href="http://smartgrowthwaterloo.ca/">Smart Growth Waterloo</a> have pointed out a huge opportunity to help strengthen Waterloo Region's countryside line: a provincial review of the Green Belt in the GTHA is underway. Read more about that <a href="http://smartgrowthwaterloo.ca/2016/07/18/help-support-greenbelt-expansion-in-waterloo-region/">here</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So now is the time to be heard! <a href="http://contact.smartgrowthwaterloo.ca/greenbelt/">Let our local leaders know</a> how important this is.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The following is what I provided (minus some unfortunate typos thanks to writing on mobile):</p>
<p dir="ltr">Here in Waterloo region, we've seen the positive impact of an urban boundary: provincial goals for infill and intensification are being met and exceeded here better than anywhere else in Ontario.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But we've also seen mounting pressure by private developers against this boundary. Growth limits were challenged by private interest at the OMB and took years to settle. As WR continues to grow, the city line will see more and more pressure from developers who look at our farmland and water recharge areas as opportunities for profit rather than assets to protect for future generations.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That's why WR needs to be part of the Green Belt. As connections to the GTHA improve, WR will become a defacto part of a larger Toronto megacity, and we will need to protect our rural land with the force of provincial legislation rather than municipal bylaw that can be overturned by an unelected OMB.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Please help secure Waterloo region's future as a dynamic, progressive and sustainable place. Extend Green Belt protection to our rural land.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Thank you.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-37065754624758792502016-05-30T11:30:00.000-04:002016-05-30T12:09:55.706-04:00Strava and a curious tale of WW2 bombersThe city of Waterloo published an apparently innocent tweet that stopped me in my tracks.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
You can help us out by using <a href="https://twitter.com/Strava">@Strava</a> when you run + bike. It helps our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/activeWaterloo?src=hash">#activeWaterloo</a> infrastructure planning 👍🚴🏃</div>
— City of Waterloo (@citywaterloo) <a href="https://twitter.com/citywaterloo/status/735983882420424710">May 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<br />
Now, this is a really interesting move on Waterloo's part, but it left me feeling concerned. I'd like to talk about why, in the hopes that it helps Waterloo and other places avoid falling into a common trap.<br />
<br />
First, though, credit where credit is due: the city of Waterloo has been doing some excellent stuff over the last few years, by connecting and improving its trails, continuing to extend bike lanes, and supporting a new uptown streetscape with protected bike infrastructure (which will be joined by more trails along Caroline and Erb as part of a regional reconstruction). There are signs of progress in finally making the Lexington overpass bike-friendly. It's really encouraging and I'd like to see other cities (like Kitchener) take a closer look at their initiatives.<br />
<br />
Also positive: Waterloo has also taken an interest in <b>data</b>. Loop counters are now installed on several trails across town, counting travelers on foot and on bike year round. Waterloo wants feedback on its improvements, and wants to let real data help them drive decisions. Maybe they can also show that data live at some point!<br />
<br />
Now, it seems Waterloo has taken up with <a href="http://strava.com/">Strava</a> to use Strava's health and fitness tracking data to show where people are jogging and biking, using their <a href="http://metro.strava.com/">Metro</a> planning service, which looks like an attempt by Strava to monetize their user's data. <i>(<b>Update:</b> I've been informed that Waterloo isn't using Metro, just looking at the publicly available information on Strava.)</i><br />
<br />
If this is the case, Waterloo had best tread very carefully and realize what they are getting, and what they are not.<br />
<br />
There's no arguing Strava's <a href="http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#14/-80.56399/43.46557/orange/both">cycling heat map</a> is a beautiful thing. Who doesn't like seeing where Strava users are biking? How couldn't this help us make decisions on cycling infrastructure?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#14/-80.53588/43.46806/orange/both" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1U4rC7kq_IvqNjmzTiIFyF2ZlEJFyZD_OQSFHa6_W8pcJTgZtnivRX7qgGFTY9JSuoCjbqUojRHnjia4yqTR4ipIqMbmcpQIguFH4X87tB9nd8LgEsLZ5mWZ37LytrYlV58LAX_8/s400/strava.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#14/-80.53588/43.46806/orange/both">It's so beautiful.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Have you spotted the problem yet? You should ask who are Strava's users, and what are they doing. Are they actually representative of the people you're trying to encourage to use a bicycle?<br />
<br />
<h4>
A cautionary tale</h4>
<br />
Here's a lesson from history as to why knowing where your data comes from is so important.<br />
<br />
During World War II, Allied bombers would fly out over Europe to bomb targets and sometimes they would be shot down. The odds of crews surviving the many missions of their "tour" was depressingly low, because mission after mission, the chance of being the victim of guns or flak catches up with many.<br />
<br />
In an effort to increase the survivability of their bombers, military leaders and engineers decided they needed to add armour to their bombers. They couldn't add much-- armour is heavy, and bombers need to fly. So, where would it help the most?<br />
<br />
They came up with a clever idea: look at all of the surviving bombers and where they were shot up. Where they were being hit most, it was argued, was where the aircraft should be strengthened.<br />
<br />
Statistician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Wald">Abraham Wald</a> turned this argument on its head. You're only looking at the bombers that came back, he said. They don't need more armour where they've been hit. They need armour where <i>they haven't been hit.</i> It turns out this was around the pilots and in the tail.<br />
<br />
All the bombers that had been hit around the pilots and in the tail hadn't returned, so nobody had good data on them. But bringing those bombers and their crew home was the goal. And until Wald pointed this out, nobody realized the mistake they were making.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQ6DrJoOhA5gVHeeC-JZ3Bgi6ouVRFGxxTqc_0nLHTAIV0V2U-TcZx80MTao8HZ53NxnyVzmHGC5GobJhCvOFVpn3ZGt8kL7m9Fv3OylbeaZh6D5V4CjcdO0oc9w-5PZ3oK-JPauW/s1600/plane_damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQ6DrJoOhA5gVHeeC-JZ3Bgi6ouVRFGxxTqc_0nLHTAIV0V2U-TcZx80MTao8HZ53NxnyVzmHGC5GobJhCvOFVpn3ZGt8kL7m9Fv3OylbeaZh6D5V4CjcdO0oc9w-5PZ3oK-JPauW/s320/plane_damage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The black areas mark hits on the surviving bombers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
This is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias">Survivorship Bias</a> and it happens all over the place.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Survivorship Bias and Self-selection Bias </h4>
<br />
It's not the only kind of statistical bias that Waterloo needs to worry about here, but it's a big one. <b>People who don't bike but could, don't use Strava.</b> The only people Strava can collect data on are those who have managed to make themselves able to tolerate riding on our streets and roads. Everyone who can't has been filtered out. <br />
<br />
There's more.<br />
<br />
Strava calls itself a "social network for athletes". Its cycling userbase has a lot of athletic cyclists who use Strava to compare their performance to others. In other words, Strava's data is heavily weighted towards the enthusiastic, confident and athletic cyclists who look for places they can ride fast for long distances, and who are more willing to ride in traffic.<br />
<br />
This presents a second source of bias: <b>People choose whether to use Strava. </b>This is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-selection_bias">Self-selection Bias</a>. The people who ride bikes, who choose to use Strava, may not relfect all people riding in general.<br />
<br />
(Look ma, I'm finally putting my math degree to good use!)<br />
<br />
So what does this mean for Waterloo, which like many cities, wants to grow cycling? The question here is, are the people who they want to attract to cycling similar to Strava users? Do these users' choices about where to ride reflect where the hypothetical <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/158497">60% Interested But Concerned</a> want to ride, or the trips they'd make?<br />
<br />
I would say there are <u>very</u> significant differences between these groups. Strava's cyclists are the "survivors" of bicycle-unfriendly city design, that keeps all <u>but</u> the bravest of us off our bikes. They are making very different choices about their cycling than the majority of people who say they would like to ride a bike but don't. The first such choice is that these cyclists are already riding on streets and roads that would make most of us very nervous.<br />
<br />
<b>This is <u>not</u> to say the data is useless.</b> Some of it reflects overall truths: the great success that is the Iron Horse Trail, for instance. But let's take a closer look at these maps. They can lead you into some strange interpretations that don't make sense.<br />
<br />
<h4>
1. Students on bikes are missing</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhG7er9aTYyCRUu0XxcgbASCr1lY-A7C73HcVYFRqk3DCHtUAl-ORJD9iRWA47AUOGEtXwriURC9VyrDdUWpTq1RwHkkRo4LrVZloG6Zh0Ok1vFpKgPh6SlefAtJigMQqhvWCOClb/s1600/strava2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhG7er9aTYyCRUu0XxcgbASCr1lY-A7C73HcVYFRqk3DCHtUAl-ORJD9iRWA47AUOGEtXwriURC9VyrDdUWpTq1RwHkkRo4LrVZloG6Zh0Ok1vFpKgPh6SlefAtJigMQqhvWCOClb/s400/strava2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University of Waterloo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Around UW, there is heavy bike traffic on the Laurel trail, and on Ring Road, and on University, Columbia and Westmount. There are virtually no traces within Ring Road.<br />
<br />
This is <u>highly</u> surprising. The interior UW campus has many bike racks littered with bikes. Why aren't paths to these points showing? Could it be that students on bikes aren't using Strava? If so, what does that say about how Strava data represent their travel patterns <i>off</i> UW campus?<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
This is a sign that Strava is completely silent on a major bike-using demographic. Yikes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>2. It takes a lot of nerve to cross 85 on University Avenue</b></h4>
<b> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaQPQcGvy3JhPJ7HZuKLgb843CtlZzKGCqsyBNSKZAlSBxxv1IDu0g3DADBFjqT9J0niXZrldC7D3BcIiBt1893aJJVp32scazMksyTOAQWETJvPZ0X_tEWnaNpfZ_qkh42L_cXZl/s1600/strava3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaQPQcGvy3JhPJ7HZuKLgb843CtlZzKGCqsyBNSKZAlSBxxv1IDu0g3DADBFjqT9J0niXZrldC7D3BcIiBt1893aJJVp32scazMksyTOAQWETJvPZ0X_tEWnaNpfZ_qkh42L_cXZl/s400/strava3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University between Weber & Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b><br />
<br />
According to Strava, there's little difference in cycling on University Ave. where bike lanes exist (west of Lincoln Road) and where they don't (over the expressway). In fact, it looks like there's plenty of people on bikes going crossing the expressway on University Avenue. My own experience has been that anyone with a choice avoids crossing here, unless they are supremely confident about mixing with high speed traffic merging on and off the highway.<br />
<br />
Someone might look at this and interpret it as a case where bike lanes aren't really having an effect, and that usage by people on bikes is just fine on University Ave. For a certain kind of athlete, that is completely true. When considering the general public, that would be a mistake.<br />
<br />
<h4>
3. Where are the neighbourhood riders?</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyMc_B4BWmeZnjFHJICiSj8y_gTT5KwYoerGIEZv32P5LEdp50asDyiB4KEHc3nZ3OZ_ciRSchcwuPwMOX4eNxKMUclxDWfiJXGHJaBNbSOpBD4Ccc3a7UV4VYMbabZm5pKZK_Xb8/s1600/strava4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyMc_B4BWmeZnjFHJICiSj8y_gTT5KwYoerGIEZv32P5LEdp50asDyiB4KEHc3nZ3OZ_ciRSchcwuPwMOX4eNxKMUclxDWfiJXGHJaBNbSOpBD4Ccc3a7UV4VYMbabZm5pKZK_Xb8/s320/strava4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastbridge neighbourhood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
If you look at this map, you'd be led to believe that virtually everyone is biking on arterial roads. My experience is that there are a lot of casual riders on neighbourhood streets within this area, and younger students who traverse the quieter streets. These are clearly not being captured in Strava's data set.<br />
<br />
What's more, this image doesn't really capture who wants to ride, but can't. The southeast portion of the image is Conestoga Mall, with a supermarket and a transit terminal. Do the lack of traces to here mean that nobody bikes to Conestoga mall? Or just that <i>people who use Strava</i> aren't going shopping or connecting to transit? <i>We can't know. </i>Nor can we determine if the neighbourhood would appreciate a little more bike accessibility at the mall.<br />
<br />
The map says nothing.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Approach with Caution</h4>
<br />
These are just a few examples of where Strava as a planning tool comes up short. As I said before, the data is not without value, but if your goal is to make cycling attractive to the majority of people, then at best this information is incomplete, and at worst it can be deceptive. And it won't always be obvious when that happens, either.<br />
<br />
What Strava shows is where <i>a very particular kind of cyclist </i>rides. It doesn't show where improvements would do the most good for the people who <i>could</i> ride but choose not to, which is where cycling growth will come from. Strava wants to make money with their data, so I don't trust them to be forthcoming about this, nor would I say that their agenda matches those of the cities hiring them.<br />
<br />
The city of Waterloo should be commended for seeking out data to base their decisions on. I trust the they know that Strava is just one tool among many in their toolbox. It can help them visualize how the city looks from two wheels, but they still need to take a step back from these maps and analyze Waterloo's bike network with careful thought and direct observation.<br />
<br />
Let's not lose sight of that.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I guess I should install Strava. If nothing else, I want my own trips to be represented!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-12046579129715343662016-05-25T22:48:00.000-04:002016-05-27T16:15:05.704-04:00A tale of fickle, elusive Transit<b><i>Update 27/5: Good news! GRT is reinstating the Weber/Guelph stop to serve the midtown area and it will be back up by mid-next week. </i></b><i>The Weber/Union stop will remain closed, as it sees additional service from route 8, and was less used than Weber/Guelph. It was also only about 500m away.</i><br />
<br />
<i>There is concern about keeping the 200 on schedule, but it's encouraging to see responsiveness from GRT on this! I guess there was more than one crotchety blogger on the phone with them after all. For those of you who provided feedback about how you were affected, thank you. <br /><br />Maybe I need to change the ending to this fairy tale...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i> </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfQbXS_edq6zj7n1mcdzqw2cKDSsW9rRGfBDJUCSG_4wHpm3Y8V4NhVDWQ2EWEcAKZU1TAP_qdCNkRYlCMNvEAHTrx-8wzrFBtf5dXYUnjTrU0hUG7iwJtKSi1Aov1TIoni7mZfnF/s1600/o_10_lg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfQbXS_edq6zj7n1mcdzqw2cKDSsW9rRGfBDJUCSG_4wHpm3Y8V4NhVDWQ2EWEcAKZU1TAP_qdCNkRYlCMNvEAHTrx-8wzrFBtf5dXYUnjTrU0hUG7iwJtKSi1Aov1TIoni7mZfnF/s1600/o_10_lg.gif" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">nce upon a time</span>, there was a happy central neighbourhood called Mount Hope. In Mount Hope, being very central (directly between two great cities), Transit was present and available, as you might expect. Some residents in the neighbourhood chose to live there because of this, as they could travel the great Central Corridor through the Cities without needing a Car. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But one day, the Great Road Eating Rail Monster came, and Transit ran far away. And the people of Mount Hope were sad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A little later, just as sad people in Mount Hope were trying to figure out how to live without Transit (<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">likely </span>by buying Cars<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> to drive the few roads not <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">being eaten</span></span>), Transit came back again! In a different place, but still reachable to the residents of Mount Hope, and they breathed a great sigh of relief. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unfortunately, it was not to be for long. One day just a few months later, Transit went away again. The Central Corridor buses were to drive by, with strict orders to not stop for the poor people of Mount Hope. In its place, a different bus would come every now and then, once in a while on Saturdays and never at all on Sundays, and it would take people where it went, which was usually not where they wanted to go. And it would take people <i>when</i> it showed up, which was often not when people needed it, because it only came every now and then, only once in a while on Saturdays and never-- <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">it was decreed</span>, never! on Sundays. This was called "Transit", but the people of Mount Hope were not fooled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But they were once again sad-- not to mention, confused-- and they started browsing new car ads on the Internet because who can trust Transit that comes and goes? The Great Road Eating Rail Monster would eventually leave, having birthed a beautiful Train. But that Train would see fewer riders, because the people of Mount Hope were all driving the Cars they had to buy to get around while the Monster raged and Transit had proven too fickle and elusive to rely on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The End.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
... OK, so, not a great fairy tale. Let me explain. Once, Mount Hope had good access to transit, as the fairy tell told.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI8nzjPcgK0ifD2ikN9o0MhWjv-F5INKbVVHLjXVNPE2yqcnlD6_M1THVHbd2nvhpKgWZAIvPZjDp9MJ4KQGj1ViPJM5LWqhKCPGxY9fmDXLM3IuHED01gZW7QFpVHwdf_Wy1u1Ze/s1600/mapbefore.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI8nzjPcgK0ifD2ikN9o0MhWjv-F5INKbVVHLjXVNPE2yqcnlD6_M1THVHbd2nvhpKgWZAIvPZjDp9MJ4KQGj1ViPJM5LWqhKCPGxY9fmDXLM3IuHED01gZW7QFpVHwdf_Wy1u1Ze/s400/mapbefore.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
And then: <br />
<ul>
<li>The <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">4</span></b>, marginally useful at the best of times, was rerouted to cover the cancelled <b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">18</span></b>. </li>
<li>When the <b><span style="color: blue;">200 iXpress</span></b> detoured over to Weber because of ION construction, it didn't stop anywhere in between uptown and downtown, leaving a lot of riders in the lurch. </li>
<li>Simultaneously, route <b><span style="color: blue;">7</span></b> shifted over to Park St., which was great for the Belmont neighbourhood.</li>
<li>Simultaneously, the low-frequency route <span style="color: red;"><b>6</b></span> turned off Wellington at Weber.</li>
<li>The Mount Hope neighbourhood has been left high and dry, with only the very occasional route <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">4</span></b>, which is a milk run bus with limited service (and no Sunday service.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
But then, the 4 needed to be detoured as well! So to infill the 4 on Weber, GRT added stops for 200 iXpress (which runs every <i>10-15 </i>minutes and has good Saturday and Sunday service) at Weber/Union and Weber/Guelph.<br />
<br />
This gave back good transit access to the Mount Hope neighbourhood.<br />
<br />
Now that the 4 is returned to its normal route, the 200 no longer stops at these locations. This is despite the fact it drives right by them, every 10-15 minutes.<br />
<br />
The result is awful:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryLiVfaAaXfOapgpDa-jzoU1K7s2Bp-O2dAv-eBsjvPi_-xaFx8K64peIyCz-ym7EykDPqsPbYnt_byXzhm-xqaHxM775s35AJYSUCurLOHu5Q27aXUl6ppsPcscbXek_wcmxu65d/s1600/mapafter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryLiVfaAaXfOapgpDa-jzoU1K7s2Bp-O2dAv-eBsjvPi_-xaFx8K64peIyCz-ym7EykDPqsPbYnt_byXzhm-xqaHxM775s35AJYSUCurLOHu5Q27aXUl6ppsPcscbXek_wcmxu65d/s400/mapafter.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In fact, 200 iXpress travels for an astounding <i>3.5</i> km without stopping even once. From the north end of Uptown, all the way to King/Victoria. Certainly, Mount Hope isn't the only area affected by this-- Mary/Allen is, as is anyone in the Midtown area relying on the 200 to get them to points south of Fairview.<br />
<br />
But with all these changes put together, the Mount Hope neighbourhood is once again left like an island without transit, unless you count the occasional lonely route 4 bus. And very few people will count this for anything. Frequency matters, and routing matters. GRT has ignored these things when deciding the 200's detour.<br />
<br />
In 2015, GRT saw transit ridership fall for the second year in a row. Even accounting for changes to school student busing, and even with new service being added, GRT ridership still fell.<br />
<br />
The problem with Mount Hope is just part of a larger issue affecting ridership, and that is the chaos and disruption of ION construction. But unlike a lot of the other aspects of this problem, this one can be solved easily and locally. In fact, the solution was already in place. All we have to do is return to it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_oXmkOWITT-ltFrNLXsLpAxyUYxQ7txJ6gJjbRP328YBxuWqPlerNZODJJSTIh_xuaUhh4Bzc9sAOkX7uj8FFipy3rOiwdLN62KUS9K3yv27tosrssjt6fABFTUlPoGw0XHgTw9q/s1600/mapfixed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_oXmkOWITT-ltFrNLXsLpAxyUYxQ7txJ6gJjbRP328YBxuWqPlerNZODJJSTIh_xuaUhh4Bzc9sAOkX7uj8FFipy3rOiwdLN62KUS9K3yv27tosrssjt6fABFTUlPoGw0XHgTw9q/s400/mapfixed.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
All we have to do is reintroduce stops at Weber/Guelph and Weber/Union for 200 iXpress.<br />
<br />
GRT, are you listening? <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-1540662628004103532015-10-29T08:15:00.000-04:002015-10-30T09:52:29.608-04:00Bikelash arrives in Waterloo Region<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjPzblXe6yIfH02AkFWcWiGAMuE9zikalYb3jlvMjyATcOkS5ysYRaukB0D12OY2aKLlMNEhB4TcDJivJ1eefFt_Gle53FYwSAGfrKYmUZ9g0bOk9PEMcrFYd1JM8g-itaZz0U4KY/s1600/bikelash.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjPzblXe6yIfH02AkFWcWiGAMuE9zikalYb3jlvMjyATcOkS5ysYRaukB0D12OY2aKLlMNEhB4TcDJivJ1eefFt_Gle53FYwSAGfrKYmUZ9g0bOk9PEMcrFYd1JM8g-itaZz0U4KY/s320/bikelash.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There’s a scourge on our roads, folks. Our comfort and safety is being threatened by road users who bend and break the rules, who fail in their duty of care, and who often move in casual disregard for their own safety or that of others.<br />
<br />
Cyclists!<br />
<br />
Oh, and drivers! And also, pedestrians!<br />
<br />
Actually, all of us human beings, regardless of whether we're -ists or -ers or -ians.<br />
<br />
Despite decades of regulation and good intentions, it doesn’t matter whether we’re behind the wheel, behind the handlebars or just simply on foot: we still get it wrong. People speed. People jaywalk. People ride on the sidewalk. And sometimes, people commit mistakes of judgement that have tragic, fatal consequences.<br />
<br />
But lately, the Record’s columnists have taken it upon themselves to single out one group of road users for special attention: those darned cyclists. In doing so, they’re reinforcing the myth that we’re all in our own warring camps: the drivers against the cyclists against the pedestrians. Never shall they mix!<br />
<br />
This myth ignores the reality that the “cyclist” you pass in your car is just a person on a bike, today. Tomorrow, they may be driving down your street as you walk to the bus. You would hope that when they do, they obey the speed limit. Today, they are hoping you give them at least one metre and pass carefully.<br />
<br />
Maybe we should stop saying "cyclist" or "driver" or "pedestrian" and start talking about people getting around in different ways. <br />
<br />
You may have heard about a <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5943147-side-by-side-cycling-for-region-s-roads-/">bylaw review</a> where the region is trying to sort out some of the rules that leave us tied up when we try and get around. It will rationalize rules about the use of rollerblades on trails and how automobiles and light rail will interact, for instance. The region also has a bylaw prohibiting side-by-side cycling which is redundant in the face of the Highway Traffic Act, which has clear rules that slower traffic should turn out to the right to allow passing. Cities like Toronto and Ottawa have long since removed such a rule from the book without problems. (Toronto has a <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=af6e0995bbbc1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD">great guide</a> on when you should, and shouldn't, consider riding beside someone else.) Region staff proposes tidying this up as well.<br />
<br />
But, it's that one proposed rule change has provoked quite a reaction. If ever there was a tempest in a teacup, this is it.<br />
<br />
Record columnist Luisa D’Amato <a href="http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/6060463-d-amato-on-road-or-sidewalk-cyclists-are-the-tail-that-wags-the-dog/">decries this</a> and paints “cyclists” as overprivileged one-percenters who are “wagging the dog”. Peter Shawn Taylor has <a href="http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/5970801-opinion-cycling-two-abreast-isn-t-sharing-the-road-it-s-hogging-it-/">reached all the way around the world</a> to an Australian study years ago that opined side-by-side cycling might create some kind of aggressive cyclist menace, like some kind of “Reefer Madness” awaits us if we don’t keep our society’s bike users in check.<br />
<br />
It’s been a the week since that column was published. Every week, 40 people die on the road in Canada alone, the vast majority because of cars. The idea of bikes stealing away the road and threatening us all whips us into a lather. But dozens of real deaths every week get a shrug and a pass. Accidents happen.<br />
<br />
For all I talk about riding a bike, I don't see myself as a "cyclist". Like many others, I ride my bike on our region’s roads. I also drive my car on those same roads. The difference is that when I ride, some people have already judged me with all the sins and offences of every bad cyclist they have seen, and they have found me guilty. If I'm behind the wheel, I carry no such burden.<br />
<br />
And yet it’s behind the wheel that we, as human beings, are the most dangerous.<br />
<br />
These latest developments are part of a new wave of <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bikelash">bikelash</a> in Waterloo region. (Some would say that's a <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/09/why-bike-lovers-should-be-happy-about-bikelash/380219/">good sign</a>.) After Kitchener traffic calming projects brought bike lanes to a couple of streets in the face of street residents' objections, there's a sense that we're somehow doing too much for "those people". But there are no "those people" involved. There's just all of us, trying to get around.<br />
<br />
And if more of us are able to get around by bike, is that really so bad? We're much, much less likely to accidentally kill someone on the way.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-79059536246440647662015-06-03T23:00:00.002-04:002015-06-04T08:47:38.346-04:00Cycle path for Lexington overpass?Wednesday night, Waterloo city staff presented their proposal for Lexington Road to the public. After three years of silence, we now get to see how we might bridge <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2011/08/for-some-years-i-have-been-saying-that.html">Waterloo's great cycling gulf</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Basics </h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The proposal is an interim plan. Staff are telling us what they can do now, instead of ten years from now. <br />
<br />
As part of resurfacing Lexington Road, the city of Waterloo proposes to create a multi-use trail that turns into a 2-way cycle path over the highway 85 overpass. Because the overpass cannot be structurally modified, the idea is that this cycle path would take up a traffic lane and be protected from traffic by some form of barrier, possibly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_barrier">jersey barriers</a>.<br />
<br />
The proposed multi-use trail will connect Davenport to Holbeach Crescent. That will get people on bike across the expressway, and provide connection through the neighbourhood to the Forwell trails and the rest of the Waterloop.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXx6MxyVBCetjj-Aa7wHe79_mIoIiNUDadiRe_r9RZujMGwRnb8nBDLzQxn0901OmZKl-9f1vwS8Xp_eoZ3IaKDiE0t2NIZisNP-OYnAYtakjqCEfiL7Bfyk51zP4WRjgjA8b_8uux/s1600/IMG_20150603_214524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXx6MxyVBCetjj-Aa7wHe79_mIoIiNUDadiRe_r9RZujMGwRnb8nBDLzQxn0901OmZKl-9f1vwS8Xp_eoZ3IaKDiE0t2NIZisNP-OYnAYtakjqCEfiL7Bfyk51zP4WRjgjA8b_8uux/s400/IMG_20150603_214524.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to embiggify.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
This part of the Lexington corridor would turn into 2 eastbound lanes, and 1 westbound lane. Travelling further west, it opens up to 2 lanes by the time you reach the Dearborn traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. Further west, there are not many changes.<br />
<br />
<br />
Not to be forgotten are a couple of pedestrian refuges which will make crossing Lexington on foot safer, and catching GRT's route 31 bus on the other side of the street less of a terrifying adventure. (Seriously, I've watched the terrifying game of Frogger that these riders play.)<br />
<br />
So, why this plan? What's going on?<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Background</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Like I said, this is an interim plan. In ten to fifteen years, this road could be reconstructed. Before then, the city hopes to have acquired the land they need (especially around Weber) to create a permanent cycling solution while not constricting traffic. That's their goal.<br />
<br />
The bridge has been, and continues to be the worst problem. Anything the city does to it has to be approved by the MTO. Structural changes are extremely unlikely. Even what's proposed here still needs their blessing. The good news is that the MTO is apparently much more willing to consider this kind of plan now than they were four years ago.<br />
<br />
The last time this stretch of road came up, a proposal to reduce lanes to introduce on-street bike lanes further west was rejected and deferred by council. Possibly as a result of that, staff want to maintain 4 road lanes west of Dearborn leading up to Weber.<br />
<br />
What staff have presented fits within their budget. This means they don't need extra money to do this. But is it enough? <br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The verdict</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
What this proposal does is add a vital, safe cycling link across the expressway to connect Eastbridge to the Waterloop. Filling that gap is critical. So that's very good.<br />
<br />
It doesn't complete the Columbia/Lexington east-west corridor. That is a disappointment.<br />
<br />
Despite that, I believe <b>we must support this proposal</b>. Here's why:<br />
<br />
To "do this right" would require the city to fund a new multi-million dollar plan that will take years, maybe a decade. Recognizing that, City staff rescued the idea of an interim plan from the scrapheap.<br />
<br />
They've come up with something that solves the issues that council raised with the previous proposal. They've done it cheaply, and they could have this in front of council for approval this fall, with potential construction in 2016. <b>We need more of this imaginative problem solving.</b> There are so many critical gaps and problem spots in Waterloo region's cycling network that need attention now. But there is only so much money to go around.<br />
<br />
If you punish staff for coming up with pragmatic solutions that can be implemented quickly, we will only see improvements when roads come up for full reconstruction, which means our network will only get random improvements going in haphazardly over the coming <i>decades</i> without regard to need.<br />
<br />
What this proposal does well is <b>connect Eastbridge to the rest of Waterloo in a way that people of all ages can hop on a bike and use</b>. That is the critical need. It also helps us build cycling numbers and that will in turn increase momentum for other incremental improvements.<br />
<br />
And it is a template for future problem-solving. Not every improvement needs to be as polished and completely conceived as Uptown's streetscape. What we need are pilot programs. We need staff and councils willing to engage in low-cost risk taking. <b>We need to fill the gaps in our cycling network now, whatever way we can.</b><br />
<br />
That's why this proposal deserves a thumbs up. It's not the big win some people were hoping for, but it is definitely a win. And small wins over time add up to big gains.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-31726302151447752052015-06-02T12:14:00.000-04:002015-06-02T12:14:05.887-04:00Columbia/Lexington road improvements consultation Wednesday!This is a big one! After a four year wait from the last attempt at addressing Waterloo's great cycling gulf, Lexington Road over the expressway is finally <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/living/columbia-street-environmental-assessment.asp"><b>back on the table</b></a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
There is a public consultation for Columbia St. E and Lexington (from King to Davenport) <b>Wednesday, June 3rd</b> from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Mennonite Brethren Church, 245 Lexington Road.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2OPbZYWtqIFzB_THL47nLzEppMAI569C-RxIOFHG8vkKGpvxjgMqJsWJBUr9oWIuDsawRm0e6MrvMkvJDk7An79687g27EtW81b216LA2TnM00IGkOC1wNBtxTUceCgJqMyj4B0L/s1600/Columbia_Lexington_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2OPbZYWtqIFzB_THL47nLzEppMAI569C-RxIOFHG8vkKGpvxjgMqJsWJBUr9oWIuDsawRm0e6MrvMkvJDk7An79687g27EtW81b216LA2TnM00IGkOC1wNBtxTUceCgJqMyj4B0L/s320/Columbia_Lexington_map.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If you want to ride a bike in the city of Waterloo, <b>please consider attending</b>. If you can't, then make a point to provide feedback when the material from the consultation goes online.<br />
<br />
Let's recap:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The city of Waterloo currently has no bike infrastructure that crosses the expressway. It is <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2011/08/for-some-years-i-have-been-saying-that.html">Waterloo's great cycling gulf</a>.</li>
<ul>
<li>Soon, there will be a multi-use trail underneath the expressway at King St. North, which will provide some access to the Conestoga mall area.</li>
</ul>
<li>Lexington Road is the <b>only</b> crossing in Waterloo without on/off ramps.</li>
<li>Lexington Road is the <b>only </b>crossing in Waterloo that is a city street (not a regional road).</li>
<li>Lexington Road is the <b>quietest, lowest-traffic</b> crossing point in Waterloo. It also appears to be the <b>busiest cycling</b> crossing point of the expressway.</li>
<li>Lexington/Columbia is an as-yet incomplete planned east-west cycling corridor. This study area is the critical missing piece.</li>
</ul>
<br />
In 2011, the city consulted on <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2011/06/cyclists-take-on-lexington-upgrades.html">potential improvements</a> that included on-street bike lanes, and reducing Lexington to 3 lanes between Davenport and Marsland. Despite the fact that the road is overbuilt for the amount of traffic it sees, the proposal drew concerns and unanswered questions from council at the time and the <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2606882-city-puts-brakes-on-lexington-road-diet/">project was deferred</a> in 2012.<br />
<br />
Since then, Davenport's road diet has been completed, and so have the bike lanes along Lexington east of Davenport (with some multi-use trail action coming as well.) Hillside Park and Forwell Creek Park are now part of the "Waterloop" and crossing and connectivity points are being improved.<br />
<br />
What will staff bring forward at the new consultation? I'm not sure, but it will hopefully provide a good cycling connection to the Waterloop, and reduce the speeding problem along Lexington. Could it even fill the very challenging King-Weber gap? We'll see.<br />
<br />
It will need public support! I hope to see you there.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-22723319411657578572015-05-28T19:43:00.001-04:002015-05-28T19:43:52.755-04:00Uptown Streetscape is a thing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
On Monday, I had the great pleasure of speaking to Waterloo City Council on behalf of the region's Active Transportation Advisory Committee. In our last meeting, the committee endorsed the plan presented by the project consultants and city staff to revamp Uptown Waterloo's streetscape with wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes.<br />
<br />
I also had the pleasure of watching that plan passed unanimously.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The plan was the product of multiple consultations and strong public feedback, which I wrote about previously <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2014/05/help-us-reshape-our-uptown.html">here</a> and <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2013/12/waterloo-really-does-bike.html">here</a>. I also helped get the word out about protected bike lanes on twitter, on CBC radio (sadly the clip is no longer available), and in <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2014/05/help-us-reshape-our-uptown.html">blogs</a>. Together with the efforts of a number of passionate individuals, including the inimitable Graham Roe (whose <a href="https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/city-of-waterloo-region-of-waterloo-we-need-segregated-bicycle-lanes-on-king-street-uptown-to-university">petition</a> garnered a thousand signatures) and tireless Mike Boos (who designed the amazing <a href="http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2014/05/21/infographic-why-protected-bike-lanes-in-uptown-waterloo/">infographic</a>) we got Waterloo informed, and engaged. <br />
<br />
The people spoke, and the project team listened. The BIA got on board, and so did the politicians. What a journey! Considering that in 2010 I heard from one streetscape committee member about the very passionate arguments around the table about removing any traffic lanes at all, this points to a real evolution in thinking by many members of our community.<br />
<br />
There are still a few rough edges. While Waterloo has a plan to replace lost parking (the streetscape plan will cost 22 parking spaces, but the LRT construction will affect considerably more), this plan still needs to become a reality and businesses will need to see their customers continue to reach them, whether it's by foot, bike, or car.<br />
<br />
There is also the question of intersection design. Protected bike lanes will interact with these intersections similarly to on-street bike lanes, in that they'll be alongside traffic lanes and clearly visible at intersection approaches.<br />
<br />
But there are other approaches we could take, including this adaptation of Dutch intersection design for Boston's Commonwealth Avenue. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85ILrZ1dj04Rqb3rJiaOrREX-5LJ7RE1GW_iBy5bWYK6ZoOVddXKNoQwpwR0Kny0XFHP80wxSBKEo7v4u_sAqu8F-uygxipvAKB5488hhM1mS2Q13ucltFtPccgTJJ5OWU4VkEorZ/s1600/comm_ave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85ILrZ1dj04Rqb3rJiaOrREX-5LJ7RE1GW_iBy5bWYK6ZoOVddXKNoQwpwR0Kny0XFHP80wxSBKEo7v4u_sAqu8F-uygxipvAKB5488hhM1mS2Q13ucltFtPccgTJJ5OWU4VkEorZ/s320/comm_ave.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Or even better, we could take a step further and implement a "<a href="http://www.protectedintersection.com/">protected intersection</a>".<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/86721046" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>
<br />
Just some thoughts on how to polish this plan to perfection.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-36079921841708070192015-05-27T09:00:00.000-04:002015-05-27T13:50:27.538-04:00The art and science of transit stop placementMan, it's been a while since my last post! I've been busy with the Active Transportation Advisory Committee, still working a little with TriTAG, but mostly taking care of real life. But the march of progress brings new lessons and observations. I have a few things to post about now, but I'll start with what is freshest on my mind.<br />
<br />
And that is: we're seeing new transit routes being created, and we're making some mistakes with transit stop spacing and placement. But there's confusion about why they're mistakes. Mistakes are being made because we're treating the entire region with the same standard, without considering that parts of our region, the cores, have more potential riders and potential destinations. <i><b> </b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Our system will benefit more from more closely spaced stops at strategic locations within these dense urban areas than from assuming one central stop can serve an entire core, or that one standard can serve an entire region.</b></i><br />
<br />
Some background:<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The new 204, and Queen St.</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Regional Council's Planning & Works committee heard from a few delegations on Tuesday about the upcoming GRT improvements. There are concerns about rationalizing existing routes with the introduction of a new iXpress route. But there was also a vocal debate about that new 204 iXpress (travelling along Highland to Queen, through downtown, and out east along Victoria.) In particular, about its stop placement.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsfuKrlxVc3O1HofZxp1eEtA5ch5xB8DTtMCgS19no8PiQiHQtQttoJMe7NevE4HZO5BRlm171azIO3cBWeO188sa_WQWM52qLfLpk4dNxPR6H5HLMzBfnpjXyK0V0tCgntGKuHFX/s1600/CF4yYvXWAAILXwQ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsfuKrlxVc3O1HofZxp1eEtA5ch5xB8DTtMCgS19no8PiQiHQtQttoJMe7NevE4HZO5BRlm171azIO3cBWeO188sa_WQWM52qLfLpk4dNxPR6H5HLMzBfnpjXyK0V0tCgntGKuHFX/s320/CF4yYvXWAAILXwQ.png" width="233" /></a></div>
<br />
A couple of residents of the Bread and Roses coop at Queen and Courtland took issue with the (apparent) stop placement at Queen and Mill, instead of what looked more logical to them, Queen and Courtland, where there are almost a thousand housing units just in the nearby major buildings alone.<br />
<br />
In fact, it got even messier when it was revealed that the "GRT stops" at Queen/Highland and Queen/Mill were actually both 1-way stops, separated by a few hundred metres, a situation which serves nobody well.<br />
<br />
In response, staff and some councillors argued that this area is well served by other routes and by the planned stop at Charles St. terminal. But that misses the point that the 204's potential is being undermined.<br />
<br />
First, let's talk about GRT's defined goals.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Stop coverage</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
GRT stops are defined to have a 450m effective radius, for calculating what parts of the city are covered by transit. ION LRT stops will have a larger effective radius, on the logic that people will walk further for better service. GRT's "iXpress" stops are also intended to have a larger spacing than regular routes, so that the buses can move faster.<br />
<br />
These standards are important because they give GRT and the region an <u>objective</u> measure they can use for planning, and some defense against the reality that quality of service is uneven, and changes will always make some people unhappy. GRT works very hard to make sure routes and stop placements are sensible. Coverage standard is not the only tool in their toolbox, but it's a big one.<br />
<br />
The problem is, it's only a tool, and it won't maximize the benefit or performance of transit. And being bombarded by people complaining about the removal, the moving, or even the placement of a route or a stop, planners are still missing important information amongst the noise.<br />
<br />
The 204 stop placement issue reveals this. An objectively strong argument is made for putting the stop <i>here</i> rather than <i>there.</i> Region staff and councillors seem ready to dig their heels in against this argument.<br />
<br />
What do they need to consider?<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Trip Generation?</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Transit stop placement needs to consider the potential for trip generation. And this analysis is already being done. In the example above, there is clear potential for trip generation at Queen/Courtland, but the location is being discarded because it fails other tests: coverage overlap with the terminal, for one. Route overlap too, which is really coverage again because the coverage question isn't where do you want to go, but can you get to anywhere at all.<br />
<br />
Our downtown cores are big trip generators. Transit is most attractive when it stops close to a potential rider or their destination. <i><b>Adding stops closer together within a downtown makes transit more attractive to a <u>lot</u> of people.</b></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Modal Shift?</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
A delegate made a strong point about the many current car users who live in the immediate vicinity of Queen and Courtland, and how strong transit presence and convenient stop placement in that location will have a big bottom-line effect on the region's efforts to increase the modal share of travel by transit.<br />
<br />
This point is so far unaddressed by Region staff, who largely see the location as sufficiently well served by transit without assessing the quality of that transit versus the trip generation potential of that location.<br />
<br />
Again, to satisfy the coverage goal, it doesn't matter where you can get to, or how frequently, as long as <i>a</i> bus going <i>anywhere</i> shows up nearby <i>at some point</i>. This is the reality for much of the region's suburban areas which are hard to serve with transit. It is a poor defense for a major urban node.<br />
<br />
<i><b>If the region can provide quality, frequent, convenient iXpress transit service to a large number of current drivers and potential riders, the potential for ridership increase may outweigh the incremental impact of an additional stop.</b></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Travel within downtown?</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The potential for transit use within a downtown core, in particular Kitchener's quite substantial downtown, is being completely missed in this discussion. By assuming all transit users will gravitate to a central terminal, GRT is actually making it extremely difficult to cross from one end of our downtown core to the other.<br />
<br />
The effect of this is actually turning downtown edges into transit deserts. There's so much service <i>at</i> the terminal that routes, especially iXpresses, don't need to stop nearby. Except that those living on the outer edge of a dense downtown are presented with a long walk, despite the fact there is much more potential for transit use there than along most of the rest of the route.<br />
<br />
And if you want to get to the other side of downtown, you're out of luck. You could walk to the terminal, assuming you can find a bus that will stop near where you're going. Or you could try a local route that does stop frequently enough, but then pay a layover time penalty at the terminal. Or you could play transfer roulette.<br />
<br />
<i><b>If the region wants to make more of our downtowns accessible by transit users, it needs to stop assuming "one big central point" is all a downtown needs.</b></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
What about ION?</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Despite LRT positioned as rapid transit with wide stop spacing, ION planners have, curiously, placed a higher stop frequency within the city cores of Waterloo and especially downtown Kitchener. Notably, they have added stops that its predecessor, 200 iXpress, does not have.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNi8gZW-vCMYGMrRU6CK1uBFIcvelAaS5T_VuqGTYbCD2exJjBHJqeA6fPGXOzOkYk2vMfwa8OsSNPcwXc_lBHQ7odxL9mdsZpQy_UqqMqbp73crWuQBebYncNUlQlxKQp1KANSqik/s1600/ionroute.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNi8gZW-vCMYGMrRU6CK1uBFIcvelAaS5T_VuqGTYbCD2exJjBHJqeA6fPGXOzOkYk2vMfwa8OsSNPcwXc_lBHQ7odxL9mdsZpQy_UqqMqbp73crWuQBebYncNUlQlxKQp1KANSqik/s640/ionroute.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
In Uptown, a new Allen stop joins the Waterloo Town Square pair. In downtown Kitchener, we have Victoria, Young/Gaukel, Frederick/Benton, and Cedar where only Victoria and the Charles St. terminal exist as stops today. And Victoria was added to the 200 only recently.<br />
<br />
<i><b>ION planners recognized the need to serve downtowns with multiple stops and to target destinations. Regional transit staff need to take a similar approach with iXpress.</b></i><br />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Scaling stop spacing based on density</b></h3>
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
Density provides transit ridership through increased trip generation. Promixity to good transit service also drives ridership.<b> </b>Good transit service is partly driven by route speed, which is negatively affected by the number of stops along the route, so that is a major tradeoff. For most of its history, GRT has actually had too many stops on its routes, slowing down buses, raising costs and making its service less compelling.<br />
<br />
But in attempting to deal with this problem, the region wants to treat all places the same. Stop spacing over 1km apart makes for rapid buses through our suburbia, and is an acceptable tradeoff between service quality and availability. But stop spacing at this scale within an urban core doesn't just affect downtowners, but also the potential suburban users who may head there.<br />
<br />
We need to look at density when placing stops. We can't assume an entire downtown will be served at one central point, because there are so many potential riders who live on the edge of that dense core who transit will fail to attract, and also too many potential riders elsewhere who are destined for parts of downtown that are too far from that central point.<br />
<br />
Every stop slows down a route, obviously. And everyone wants a bus stop on their doorstep, with a rapid trip in between. Clearly you can't add stops everywhere.<br />
<br />
But does it make sense to treat a dense urban cluster of apartment buildings, with multiple seniors' residences and other attractions as a place with the same transit need as a suburban hinterland of single family homes on widing avenues? Can we afford to ignore the ridership potential of parts of our downtown cores presented with poor access to transit that runs right by their front doors?<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Practical Outcome<b>s</b></h3>
<h3>
<b> </b></h3>
iXpress buses represent the bones of our new transit network as they link up with the ION spine. Like ION, they need to provide good cross-town service. Also like ION, they must serve the downtown cores well.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Instead of simplistic coverage goals, we need a metric that will balance overall access to transit with high quality service for the most people and destinations. </b></i><br />
<br />
For iXpress, that may mean switching to a 500m stop spacing standard within the boundaries of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge cores. There's so much to do in these places, so many attractions, and a large and growing number of people. In these places, transit should be <b>compelling and convenient</b>.<br />
<br />
Remember, high density areas are high generators of both trip origins and destinations. Serve them well, and you'll get a lot more riders for your transit service dollar.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Avoid making the worst of a bad situation</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
There's an addendum here, if you're still reading this polemic.<br />
<b> </b><br />
That 204 stop at Mill? The one that turned out to be a single-direction stop with the other 300m away?<b> This is awful. Don't do this.</b><br />
<br />
Splitting stops is sometimes necessary, but always bad. <a href="http://www.humantransit.org/2012/02/one-way-splits-as-symbolic-transit.html">Human Transit talks clearly</a> about how split routes<b> </b>turn potentially useful transit into "symbolic transit", i.e. they look like good lines on a map but they don't serve anyone well. Split stops are just about as bad.<br />
<br />
Consider the situation of St. Mary's hospital. The 204, tragically, does not serve the hospital directly (something I urged planners to consider.) But that's OK, right? There's a 204 stop 400m away at Highland. Unless you're heading the other direction, in which case it's over 700m away. You're better off taking a different bus, or a taxi.<br />
<br />
The same goes for the hapless residents at Queen/Courtland. 350m to the "Mill" stop near the Iron Horse trail is objectively not so bad, but 650m to its companion stop at Highland is pointless: you may as well use Charles Terminal (while it's still there.)<br />
<br />
Nobody wins with a split stop situation like this. Bad enough that it gave the impression of better coverage than was already there, an unfortunate communication gaff. It also gives the impression of useful service to a wide area, where in reality very few in the area will find the route useful. Only people who live <i>between</i> these two one-way stops will find them useful, and there just aren't as many of them. Certainly not as many as you'd find in around a sensible two-way stop location placed at a densely populated intersection.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-17374390132905021262014-11-14T08:30:00.000-05:002014-11-14T12:40:20.108-05:00Removing barriers to cyclingI've found that I've been doing a lot more late-season cycling this year than I have in the past, but only under certain conditions. What shapes my decision making is educational when it comes to understanding what makes cycling appealing to more people year-round.<br />
<br />
The question of year-round cycling, or even full three-season cycling, is one I wonder about a lot, and <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2012/10/loabkw-october-and-winter-coming.html">written about before</a>. Generally speaking, I don't cycle in winter. There are exceptions, including one trip to Vincenzo's on a sunny, sharply cold day (I ended up taking some paper napkins to line the holes in my helmet because I'd got the windchill equivalent of an ice cream headache.) Or the time I biked to uptown during an incredible January thaw and ended up getting my bike's brake and gear lines wet, and therefore frozen solid for the rest of the winter.<br />
<br />
What I've learned is I have two major impediments to winter cycling-- and neither of them are temperature. The biggest single impediment is light (or lack thereof.) The second biggest is biking on snow and ice. Studded tires can go a long way to making small amounts of snow and ice tolerable, but I don't have them because once the time change sets in at the start of November, I'm no longer willing to tolerate cycling home on <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2011/08/for-some-years-i-have-been-saying-that.html">Lexington Road</a> in the dark, so I haven't invested in them.<br />
<br />
So that's where my recent increase in cycling, often in the dark, has been so interesting. It's because I've had multiple trips a week that aren't to work (as most of my cycling travels take me) but to the vicinity of U of W, either for theatre rehearsals, or for curling (at KW Granite.)<br />
<br />
This trip is about half the length of my work commute, and often in the evening. A bike commute makes the trip about 20 minutes on my terms, whereas transit takes 30-40 minutes and with poor frequency in the late evenings or on Sunday, especially when I'm trying to get home. And if the car's available, a trip to campus has to contend with paying for parking.<br />
<br />
I've also found that cycling to work, and then using GRT bus bike racks to get me and my steed to the UW area for evening commitments, to be a viable option.<br />
<br />
So the bike has made a lot of sense, even as the weather gets colder and sunset gets earlier. The trip is simple, and pleasant-- side streets through the Mary-Allen neighbourhood and Uptown, then up through Waterloo Park. There are good bike racks both on campus (though theft is common there) and at the Granite (custom-built bike racks in the outline of curling rocks!) Even at 9:30pm last night, with temperatures around freezing and a chill wind, I'm finding the ride to be pleasant and comfortable.<br />
<br />
The lesson here is that cycling conditions and trip length really affect my willingness to hop on the bike, regardless of the amount of light. A 4km bike ride through Uptown and on trails on a freezing November night is tolerable (even pleasant) but a 9km bike ride knowing I have to survive the Lexington Road expressway crossing is not. The length itself is not such a big deal, but the combination of that major barrier and the <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-nonsensical-protest-around-hillside.html">conditions of Hillside Trail</a> are deal-breakers.<br />
<br />
Of course, this is all quite temporary. It's November, and soon the snows will be here. Even my shorter evening trips will become untenable: the Waterloo Park trail will be a rutted, icy mess in between infrequent clearings, and can't be relied on. It will be the barrier that hangs my bike up for the winter.<br />
<br />
Which brings us back to the same old same old when it comes to encouraging people to bike: we need a comfortable environment to cycle in. But everyone has their own particular "deal-breakers". I will tolerate cycling on Lexington Road until it crosses a perceived-risk threshold when the after-work commute gets too dark. Others view it as a year-round deal-breaker. For trips without that kind of major barrier, some will happily jump on the bike but only while weather is warm. Others might bike year-round except for the lack of winter trail maintenance. A hardy few will tough through anything.<br />
<br />
Each little improvement we make to the cycling network enables a few more trips for a few more people. Just looking at my usual trip corridor, the Hillside Trail paving will be one less barrier to those whose bikes (or backs, or wrists) can't handle the rough loose surface. Finally providing bike infrastructure across the expressway at Lexington would allow an entire neighbourhood to connect to the rest of the city. Examples of this kind of barrier removal opportunity can be found city-wide. They all build on each other.<br />
<br />
And the role of transit in providing support to someone's travels by bike shouldn't be underestimated. Whether it's a flat tire, surprise inclement weather or a change in plans, a bike rack on the front of a GRT bus or within an ION light rail vehicle gives people confidence they'll be able to get through their day without a car, even if the unexpected strikes.<br />
<br />
And this is the way we shift travel mode share. An improvement at a time, a few people at a time, and individually, as we learn what we are capable of, where, and when... without being tethered to an automobile.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-28631002281212071562014-11-10T12:59:00.002-05:002014-11-10T13:03:43.154-05:00The nonsensical protest around Hillside Park<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDAW5dPJbt65-2QhO_ud_G3XDP5_nguwetKo2SDVvRFNT3HkZkGTrJEBr9F0AoD14DR69MEMdPWHDUqvvgBiFKg77b_ntzn5waRBkCqIUSH4h_gNPvgoCXhSHU7tVXxJSsQvOa3DG/s1600/hillside1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDAW5dPJbt65-2QhO_ud_G3XDP5_nguwetKo2SDVvRFNT3HkZkGTrJEBr9F0AoD14DR69MEMdPWHDUqvvgBiFKg77b_ntzn5waRBkCqIUSH4h_gNPvgoCXhSHU7tVXxJSsQvOa3DG/s1600/hillside1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesters against paving Hillside trails, ironically standing on a spot where they've already been paved for a decade. (photo credit: James Jackson)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I recently read about protests against plans to pave the trail surface in Hillside Park, and I am disappointed. While the residents of Ferndale Place raise a legitimate concern about how city staff notified people about upcoming work, the complaints that a few unhappy citizens are bringing forward just don't make sense. <br />
<br />
One complaint is that upgrading the trail surface will ruin this park as a natural gem. As a daily user of the park, I can attest that the park is a beautiful natural oasis, but less than two years ago it was a muddy construction zone filled with heavy earth moving equipment. If the park can survive a sewer replacement, it can withstand a paved trail.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdqx7UHn4q8Dl4SLiPkdD8Q9c8c3ua4SOq_qyvYdbrXCJtXuPPmi5_TShkm98FeWTasVhy2aKbtBbn1cAWwrdXiqTfsWzrFOACF7aCSXyUYz6oDiap5W4O8gDRXrexKfDibNIeNIR/s1600/IMG_20120625_081517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdqx7UHn4q8Dl4SLiPkdD8Q9c8c3ua4SOq_qyvYdbrXCJtXuPPmi5_TShkm98FeWTasVhy2aKbtBbn1cAWwrdXiqTfsWzrFOACF7aCSXyUYz6oDiap5W4O8gDRXrexKfDibNIeNIR/s1600/IMG_20120625_081517.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sewer reconstruction in Hillside Park: where were protesters then?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Furthermore, worries about "environmental damage" completely ignore the current reality. I saw gravel trails washed out by stormwater three times in 2014 alone, and countless times before. After each incident, heavy vehicles truck in tons of new stone and sand to repair dangerous washouts that are sometimes a foot deep. With each new storm, this material is spread into meadows and silts up the creek. A hard trail surface will permanently solve this problem and prevent injuries.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc1oFepWuq0cTyiUV5ir8uBxZOuOCAmDmkv14ZytYhyphenhyphenNrzGmoTrc1QyTXzJFk1wiYSLUJWhn5oeHOM7Q6iMn2JGHzjBJX1W9oc_qPDE3oIYBzp7A7bAQr9YUiLaWBoDmbVwpcRGBY/s1600/CameraZOOM-20140912082219523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc1oFepWuq0cTyiUV5ir8uBxZOuOCAmDmkv14ZytYhyphenhyphenNrzGmoTrc1QyTXzJFk1wiYSLUJWhn5oeHOM7Q6iMn2JGHzjBJX1W9oc_qPDE3oIYBzp7A7bAQr9YUiLaWBoDmbVwpcRGBY/s1600/CameraZOOM-20140912082219523.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Storm runoff gouged this gravel trail down to the foundation layer in 2014.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What is lost in these protesters' message is how Hillside Park's degraded, loose gravel trails make it inaccessible to many in our community. Paving the trails will improve accessibility for all: in wheelchair or mobility scooter, with stroller, as well as on bike or on foot. Virtually every other city park provides paved trails without diminishing the natural environment, including Forwell Creek Park which directly connects to Hillside, so that they are not a barrier to those of us who struggle with mobility challenges.<br />
<br />
The concerns of a few residents who don't want any changes need to be weighed against the needs of everyone. Accessibility must trump aesthetics. Hillside Park is a public space, not a private backyard.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-50172351384755589992014-10-26T12:53:00.000-04:002014-10-26T13:13:34.403-04:00Election thoughts, LRT thoughtsI haven't posted here in a long while, because as the election got rolling, most of my energy went towards <a href="http://tritag.ca/">TriTAG</a>, who I have been working with since 2012. Once again, we have a big LRT fight.<br />
<br />
In the last few months, we've seen the rise of a well-funded anti-LRT crusade led by Jay Aissa. And as a result, it's the same old battles, the same old wounds reopened, and a lot more vitriol and no small amount of misinformation and unfounded arguments.<br />
<br />
TriTAG's efforts this election were meant to be focused on the <a href="http://tritag.ca/election2014/">2014 Election Candidate Survey</a>, which has been very successful so far. That was back in the optimistic early days when we thought the election might be about tackling new issues. As time went on, it became clear that we needed to "<a href="http://tritag.ca/mythbusting">mythbust the election</a>" to deal directly with some of the myths being peddled by the crusaders.<br />
<br />
On the eve of the election, I thought I would say a few words about why I got engaged with the LRT issue years ago, and why it continues to be the most important battle to win.<br />
<br />
In 2011, we faced a choice between two very different solutions for "higher order transit". One was bus-based, and the other was rail-based. Despite the fact that LRT is more expensive, it appears to achieve its goals better: namely, shifting more people to public transit and also shifting development to focus on intensifying the core. It also provides better long term value by providing the capacity we'll need in a couple of decades.<br />
<br />
I agreed that LRT was the better option, and that formed a large basis for my support. I also knew that to be successful, LRT alone isn't enough, but we need an <a href="http://rapidtransit.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/projectinformation/system.asp">entirely redesigned transit network</a> supporting it. The fact that ION is not meant to stand alone and knowing what the central corridor would need to properly support a better bus network also made me favour it. But I also knew something else: that Light Rail would become a symbol for Waterloo Region. A symbol whose importance should not be dismissed.<br />
<br />
We have a big problem in North America. We just don't really believe in transit. The car is king, and we can't really even conceive of how that will ever change. But time moves quickly, and as we've spent the last 60 years sprawling our cities ever outward, we need to spend the next 60 reshaping them to be viable, livable places.<br />
<br />
Much more so than a rapid busway, light rail is a visible sign that we can alter a city's trajectory. It will be on almost every stock photo for the region, for UW, for Uptown and Downtown. It will quickly become an indelible part of our identity, and we will not tolerate anything less than success for it. Which means that LRT will open up the region to ongoing transit improvements. It will shift the attitudes of the entire population. That shift in mindset will also translate into ridership.<br />
<br />
Whereas-- and here's the kicker-- it's unlikely that Bus Rapid Transit would be allowed to succeed.<br />
<br />
Had we chosen BRT in 2011, I would be supporting it today. But it would face an uphill battle. The problem with BRT is its flexibility: a busway is a busway, sure... but too often, BRT systems are <a href="http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19402/planners-water-down-montgomery-brt-in-latest-draft/">often</a> <a href="http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/08/01/geary-brt-plan-watered-down-to-appease-parking-obsessed-merchants/">watered</a> <a href="http://chi.streetsblog.org/2013/06/10/nimbys-fear-ashland-brt-propose-watered-down-express-bus-alternative/">down</a> during the design phase. I have no doubt we'd face pressure here to cut the dedicated busway where it would be needed most. It's possible that the very definition of BRT, as a rapid bus operating on its own right of way, might even be rewritten by politicians unwilling to displace cars at all.<br />
<br />
LRT, on the other hand, is much harder to erode. It stands a better chance of surviving to deliver on its promise.<br />
<br />
I doubt that many of the anti-LRT crusaders are anything but just anti-transit. They'll tolerate what's there now, but if they can kill LRT while talking up BRT as "a much better option", I have no confidence they'll deliver anything like "gold standard" Bus Rapid Transit.<br />
<br />
Helping Waterloo Region make a shift towards better mass transit is why I've been fighting so hard. We're really the first city in Ontario rolling out what transit expert Vukan Vuchic (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqc9lx0FH3w">see his Waterloo speech here</a>) calls "medium capacity transit". LRT can bridge the gap (in terms of capacity, speed, and cost) between buses and subways, and there are half a dozen cities in Ontario that could benefit from it. But Toronto, which needs to get on building multiple LRT lines as the only affordable way to address its transit woes, has really poisoned the discussion with "Subways, subways, subways" and muddying the difference between LRT and mixed-traffic streetcars.<br />
<br />
So it's on us. We can show the cities like London and Hamilton and Mississauga and Scarborough just how LRT can work. We can give form and value to something that some just can't imagine until they see it in action.<br />
<br />
But first we have to finish building it.<br />
<br />
Please vote on Monday. Vote for leaders who will make LRT a reality. A lot is riding on this train.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-67732348831319916232014-05-27T07:17:00.000-04:002014-05-27T11:19:16.642-04:00Help us reshape our Uptown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ROfwpwutNaCCZqEnfFeej4y-ap83wg9_ki6wPu1C5JFWZUINSbWoYxCap-IKkK0CwmGMf0uuogxZgrrl8wBBpIiWvtB4NRW0KZ_mY1p1ZXWuVYes1YeEwCUomqXE7hUJw5LYIakk/s1600/uptown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ROfwpwutNaCCZqEnfFeej4y-ap83wg9_ki6wPu1C5JFWZUINSbWoYxCap-IKkK0CwmGMf0uuogxZgrrl8wBBpIiWvtB4NRW0KZ_mY1p1ZXWuVYes1YeEwCUomqXE7hUJw5LYIakk/s1600/uptown.png" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/city-looks-at-segregated-bike-lanes/">City looks at segregated bike lanes for Uptown</a> </span></i>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4541269-waterloo-councillors-agree-better-infrastructure-needed-for-cyclists/">Waterloo councillors agree better infrastructure needed for cyclists</a></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
It's really quite amazing, isn't it? Enough to leave you thinking that we are on a road to a more human-friendly city, and that public engagement can have a real impact. But we're not there yet.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/living/uptownstreetscapeimprovement.asp">Uptown Streetscape Improvement project</a> originally started as a lighting replacement project but has grown quite a lot since. It was shelved for a few years while we answered the LRT question (and finalized the design). If the project hadn't been put on pause, though, we'd never have contemplated the current proposal for wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes.<br />
<br />
But over the last few years, our collective consciousness seems to have absorbed some lessons from around Waterloo region and beyond. Streets in our city do not need to be designed for maximum car throughput over all other uses anymore. Instead, we need improvements to the pedestrian realm. We need cycling infrastructure that welcomes everyone, and not just a hardy few. Our main street should support these things, and that means big change for King St.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08K9k_qTqqF2kXok5rgUwmv3OCo41p8BEglSs5kdHoSUPwCtzHaYdwK5MvW8WZx6thOfbBQRDx7uqc_7F74-tUR9ZjzyhzNb8ABZubizNp6_2-j0_Q_PAXvQRkyq5uWHAmDRL7S9-/s1600/Bn17bTPCEAAX5bf.png+large.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08K9k_qTqqF2kXok5rgUwmv3OCo41p8BEglSs5kdHoSUPwCtzHaYdwK5MvW8WZx6thOfbBQRDx7uqc_7F74-tUR9ZjzyhzNb8ABZubizNp6_2-j0_Q_PAXvQRkyq5uWHAmDRL7S9-/s1600/Bn17bTPCEAAX5bf.png+large.png" height="125" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The current proposal for Uptown (interpreted by Mike Boos)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some people, in particular a few notable business owners, would prefer to minimize changes. And there is an argument to be made for Uptown: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Uptown is a raging success, so why tinker? It's reasonable to be wary of the effect any change in parking and car access may have on a business's bottom line <br />
<br />
But change comes anyway. By 2017, King Street South will be transformed from a 4 lane arterial to 2 lanes with transitway. And even before the arrival of LRT, our travel pattern is shifting: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/transit-use-in-uptown-waterloo-peaks-in-afternoon-study-1.2427465">trips along King that are by car have dipped below 60%</a>, with transit, walking and cycling making up 41% of the mode share at peak times. <br />
<br />
And this is despite the fact that Uptown <i>is</i> actually broken and needs fixing. Cramped and worn sidewalks. Substandard lanes that are straddled by the many GRT buses that move through, constricting traffic. When free-flowing vehicles meet a dense pedestrian realm, the results are sometimes <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2615431-university-of-waterloo-student-identified-as-victim-of-fatal-colision/">fatal</a>. Plenty of bikes on the bike racks, but precious few on the street as cyclists avoid the lanes and instead opt for side streets or just the sidewalk. And yet, Uptown thrives! It does so despite these flaws, not because of them.<br />
<br />
So let's imagine how much better it could be if King St were welcoming and accessible to <i>all</i> users. <br />
<br />
Two lanes of traffic where four exist now means those lanes can be wide enough for the vehicles that use them, as well as providing enough extra room for emergency vehicles to move up the middle. This, along with a slight reduction in parking spaces (less than 1% of Uptown's parking supply!) provides the room for wide sidewalks for the many pedestrians, with the opportunity for sidewalk seating at cafes. <br />
<br />
In addition, there is room to make a protected bike lane connection along King all the way from University to Erb. This will link Wilfrid Laurier University and the many apartments popping up along King to Uptown, while the LRT project will provide bike lanes (albeit unbuffered) through to downtown Kitchener. The Iron Horse and Laurel trails are nearby, along with the future Spur trail and planned crosstown on-street cycling links. These interconnections provide a useful cycling network within reach of the majority who are <a href="http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/158497">interested but concerned</a> about using the bicycle for short trips.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ikOp5yfkETzxiIh0IsEHsAXxlhvvucSlxiJRUQSXRqcGQrcAqDk4-Uv0Dfgbt99PdpH_VWHVeAnPPl4B14CLG7lgZhjHOHQzcrXeQN_aQ2irAIPW8WKD33ztaMcnAqDb0A0HyObW/s1600/Kinzie_JL_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ikOp5yfkETzxiIh0IsEHsAXxlhvvucSlxiJRUQSXRqcGQrcAqDk4-Uv0Dfgbt99PdpH_VWHVeAnPPl4B14CLG7lgZhjHOHQzcrXeQN_aQ2irAIPW8WKD33ztaMcnAqDb0A0HyObW/s1600/Kinzie_JL_2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Chicago example of how a protected bike lane fits in the urban core.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And for those businesses along King whose owners are concerned about the effect these changes may bring, I would urge them to consider the upside. There are two to three thousand more residents coming soon within 500m of the King St. corridor who will live in buildings with low parking ratios and they will have easy, convenient access to Uptown thanks to these improvements. They'll be a virtually captive market for uptown retailers, in fact.<br />
<br />
Automobile access will still exist, but pessimistically drawing a straight line from "reduced traffic lanes and parking" to "depressed business" ignores the realities that (a) drivers still arrive to King St. businesses on foot (even if they parked down the block) and will be influenced by the state of the pedestrian realm, and (b) once a potential customer is in the car, the Uptown business may have already lost as Uptown is now as close, or far away, as our malls and box stores. The key for success in Uptown is to be as accessible and welcoming as possible to people who have the option to not drive, because these people are growing in number.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyCp-0m2rm8lFXH82PQmiGevcITuovkxNP8307SWlnAvYJqUsU0-56MIHgb4YFiLSPcrOAVBHGg_QshlwNw68eQCD6J4I2YVUZ1wKzIcjdplcLWVJjvSqQ67sxMA2jj1NNkbZ-gZq/s1600/9280788416_b4ba95f8fa_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyCp-0m2rm8lFXH82PQmiGevcITuovkxNP8307SWlnAvYJqUsU0-56MIHgb4YFiLSPcrOAVBHGg_QshlwNw68eQCD6J4I2YVUZ1wKzIcjdplcLWVJjvSqQ67sxMA2jj1NNkbZ-gZq/s1600/9280788416_b4ba95f8fa_b.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And it's not so weird.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
These people have a right to shape this city as they want. Businesses in Uptown are stakeholders in the streetscape redesign, to be sure. Their needs and concerns must be listened to. But they must be weighed against the needs and desires of all who live, work and play in Uptown Waterloo, as well as taken in context with the growing body of evidence that our city cores can be "complete streets" <i>and</i> vibrant and successful.<br />
<br />
We have a unique opportunity to turn Uptown's King St. in to the kind of Main Street that Waterloo deserves, and with an project lifetime of 25 years, this kind of opportunity only comes around once in a generation. At the same time, we're recognizing both the need for walkability and for cycling infrastructure that the average person finds welcoming, and how these strengths tie in to the adoption of transit and the reduction of traffic congestion in a region that has grown by leaps and bounds. The stage is set.<br />
<br />
A lot has to go right for the proposal to become a reality. Project staff need to feel confident about recommending this proposal, and that requires vocal popular support at the May 29th Public Consultation Centre. The city of Waterloo council needs to endorse the recommendation, and then (because it's a two-level project) the regional council needs to approve it. All of that could happen by this fall, <i>if </i>we are willing to speak up in favour of it.<br />
<br />
<br />
So speak up. This is local, direct engagement with a real potential to shape this city in a positive way. How much more incentive do you need?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNtvJLCIljz1s84KtbGt5SNI6t-ZmljsZHNVXPZn04sA13a4_CUtd1N4ip3WOqasxQanER2KrolhV17SkYOef-9rDW_MvGMxxhpCeORrZh479jjG5edVT0tFdVjxqLJnN2xYoq5Ol/s1600/protected-bike-lane-infographic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNtvJLCIljz1s84KtbGt5SNI6t-ZmljsZHNVXPZn04sA13a4_CUtd1N4ip3WOqasxQanER2KrolhV17SkYOef-9rDW_MvGMxxhpCeORrZh479jjG5edVT0tFdVjxqLJnN2xYoq5Ol/s1600/protected-bike-lane-infographic.png" height="320" width="155" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-29583102647087447912014-04-06T17:38:00.000-04:002014-04-07T13:44:10.093-04:00The Cost of a Costco<i><b>Edit:</b> This post produced a... vigorous twitter debate, in which a critical friend made a few points. The chief point to concede is that a Costco may well be a good use for this site, infrastructure costs notwithstanding, especially given Costco's positive employment track record and the absence of other grocery stores out at Ira Needles. Also, the factors that led to the growth of big box stores out on Erb's Road were put in place years ago and may now be immutable.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I can't disagree with that. What brought me to write this post was not "Costco is evil!!1!" but that we are seeing the engines of sprawl in action right in front of us, along with many of the downsides that come with it. What we should be concerned about is how we aren't doing enough to check the momentum of this outward expansion. Wilmot Line is the current west side boundary for urban expansion. It will only hold if it is strong enough to withstand the pressure. Reducing the pressure is as important as strengthening the line.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>With that, I return you to the post as originally written...</i><br />
<br />
<br />
A lot of people are discussing the prospect of a new Costco store on the west side of Waterloo, across from the landfill.<br />
<br />
Between 1998 and 2000, I worked for a very small software company located in a converted house that lays just within Gate 1 of the landfill. (Unsurprisingly, the company's product was designed for waste management.) At the time, when I would drive my rusty '86 Honda CRX home, I would turn out of the gate, drive east past Westhill Drive, and the edge of the city was the recently expanded KW Bilingual School at the corner of Erb and Erbsville.<br />
<br />
The amount of change in this area is remarkable. Both Westhill Drive and Erbsville Road are disconnected remnants of their former selves, as Ira Needles Blvd. is the main west side artery. The line of houses that faced the regional landfill in mute testimony to the foolishness of their purchasers (or so we joked at the time) now sit behind a new, even closer residential subdivision. And snuggled up to the landfill property are massive commercial developments, the largest of which is the Boardwalk. This euphemistically named strip of windswept parking lot and box store at the foot of Mount Trashmore II is as large as the entire downtown core of Kitchener.<br />
<br />
And yet, Waterloo's expansion seems hardly content to stop here, and is about to envelop the landfill. Costco sees an opportunity in our growing region. With one busy store down in Kitchener, an expansion of the chain to Waterloo makes a lot of sense in principle. As retail employers go, Costco has a <a href="http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-organization/how-businesses-can-profit-from-raising-compensation-at-the-bottom">history of being very good to its workers</a>. Why wouldn't we want them to come in with another store?<br />
<br />
But Costco's expansion plan is bringing our community's sprawl problem into focus. Three football fields' worth of farmland stands to be paved over and built on. A massive lot with over 900 parking spots will be installed, presenting new environmental challenges as development creeps ever closer to the sensitive west side moraine. And as Waterloo councilor Vieth (among others) has pointed out, this development will strain the ability of our current roads on this side of town to move traffic.<br />
<br />
It's worth considering that a bulk goods store like Costco is not the kind of place you'd expect many people to hop on a bus to go to. Costco's business model depends, as so much of our development pattern does, on its customers providing their own transportation in the form of cars and trucks. And yet, as is also evident in so much of our development pattern, our infrastructure is being stretched and strained, and ultimately the great commercial developments of the west side (of which this Costco would be the latest) are being subsidized as we expand roads to meet the traffic demand they generate.<br />
<br />
Even as our regional government fights private developers in court to retain the right to draw our own urban boundaries, and redirects much of our growth inward where it requires less new infrastructure, it's clear that developers want to race to the "countryside line", which on the west side is Wilmot Line (<a href="http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/ROPMap7new.pdf">map</a>). And that is because greenfield development is easy and profitable. Given ample space and without historical site contamination risks, and with minimal pressure to design a working neighbourhood that isn't car-bound, it's not surprising that sprawl is so often the answer to the question of how to meet the market for growth. Forcing growth upward, rather than outward, takes substantially more effort and planning.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this new westerly development could become a nucleation point for the next round of suburban sprawl. But the fault here isn't Costco's. It's ours. Yes, we're investing in our cores to make them viable sites for future growth, and to make our region more sustainable and affordable. But that's only part of the equation. We also need to curb our outward expansion, and put rules in place that force new heavily-trafficked commercial developments to be located more centrally, and more accessibly. And when a business comes along that's built on selling goods cheaply in large warehouses and parking lots on the edge of town, perhaps we should be a little more thoughtful about the infrastructure costs their presence will impose upon us.<br />
<br />
If we don't take a deliberate approach to managing our growth, then the so-called countryside line will be just a brief hurdle in Waterloo's outward expansion. The environmental costs will be substantial as we'll need to reach towards the great lakes for our water, and when the infrastructure costs come due, it'll hit us hard in the pocketbook.<br />
<br />
How many bulk boxes of chicken wings is that worth?<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-83754617155545751382014-03-19T23:07:00.001-04:002014-04-07T09:20:28.862-04:00Why is it a war?Well, it's approved.<br />
<br />
Committees, lawsuits, submarine motions and council votes. Letters to the editor, blog posts, newsletters, emails to reps, calls to action. Misinformation, disinformation, feet in mouths and FUD. Meetings, phone calls, rumours and mysteries.<br />
<br />
Done. For now, at least.<br />
<br />
All of this is about establishing the foundation for a better transit system, the basis for moving around the region for the next half a century. That's all. Seems like so much struggle for such a comparatively simple thing. Why is it such a fight? How are we so conflicted about this?<br />
<br />
With everything happening around us, how can we look each other in the eye and say "no, we don't want to react to change"? How do we consistently get stuck on this simple topic of how to move people around and make a war out of it, while we give a free pass to all the other monumental costs that come with civilized society?<br />
<br />
What makes us so mad about transit?<br />
<br />
We need to work this one out. Today we've cleared the hurdle, but it was a close run thing. We face many of the same hurdles to come.<br />
<br />
How can we keep making progress on this track if we are at war with ourselves?<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-11435864197409803912014-03-13T11:56:00.001-04:002014-03-13T11:56:24.639-04:00Transit for Cambridge: everyone's on board, almost.Councillor Jane Mitchell recently laid out why Cambridge is where it is when it comes to transit, and why Mayor Craig's motion to area-rate Cambridge out of paying for LRT (rationalized as Cambridge isn't "getting anything out of it") displays an astonishingly selective memory on his part.<br />
<br />
As Mitchell points out, Cambridge's transit has been pulled up by its metaphorical bootstraps since the region took it over. Before then, according to Cambridge regional councillor Brewer, it was raided for funds whenever things were tight. Since the formation of GRT as a regional transit entity, Cambridge has seen a huge service increase (more than doubled) while <b>ridership in Cambridge has more than tripled</b>.<br /><br />It seems like Cambridge residents are interested in transit. It seems like the region is interested in bringing transit to the residents of Cambridge. But is Cambridge's own leadership interested?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://janemitchellblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/cambridge-is-playing-catchup-on-transit/">Read Councillor Mitchell's post</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-65325474570305214692014-03-06T08:08:00.000-05:002014-03-06T16:04:04.386-05:00Reading for comprehensionFirst off, I Am Not a Lawyer. I do, however, practice reading for comprehension.<br />
<br />
For those of you wondering about a certain Waterloo businessman's threat of legal challenge against LRT, based on the claim that it violates the region's current official plan, I offer you this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>11.2.3 The Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in conjunction with Area Municipalities as appropriate, will promote increased transit ridership, walking and cycling and reduce the need to make trips by automobile through such means as:</i><br />
<br />
<i>a) the provision of rapid transit service within the Central Transit Corridor with linkages to other transit corridors and nodes;</i><br />
<br />
<i>(...) </i></blockquote>
<br />
That's from "<a href="http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/Ropp_amendment_26.pdf#page=9">Amendment No. 26 - Introduction of New Transit and Rapid Transit Policies and Mapping</a>" to the <a href="http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/RegionalOfficialPoliciesPlan.asp">Regional Official Policies Plan</a>. This is the plan <i>in effect right now</i>, as the new regional official plan (which also provides for rapid transit) is in legal limbo due to the appeal of an OMB challenge. The amendment was approved and adopted in 2007.<br />
<br />
The claim against the region is that this rapid transit project violates <a href="https://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90p13_e.htm#BK41">Section 24 of the Ontario Planning Act</a> which basically says all public works must conform with the official plan. The claim seems built on the fact that the new 2009 plan provides for rapid transit but it's not in effect, along with an impression that the old plan does <i>not</i> provide for rapid transit.<br />
<br />
So what's the deal? Is there something else up this person's sleeve? Hard to rule out the possibility that sufficiently motivated lawyers may dredge up some loophole, but at the same time it beggars belief that a public project could be so easily tied up by a single disgruntled citizen with lawyers in tow. Especially a public project like this, more than a decade in the making.<br />
<br />
What's worse, this person can still attempt to pursue this case, and our tax money will be spent defending it.<br />
<br />
Well, the regional government is acting like there's nothing to be concerned about. I hope they're right. We've waited too long for this.<br />
<br />
<b>Edit:</b> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/businessman-intends-to-take-legal-action-to-stop-lrt-1.2560413">this CBC article</a> includes a legal letter that states,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The ROPPA 26 rapid transit policies currently in effect contemplates a further official plan amendment. Accordingly, entering into a contract which commits the Region to the construction and operation of the LRT does not conform to the existing policy framework."</i></blockquote>
So they're claiming that this part of the plan can't be pursued without the contemplated amendments, and the new plan is not in effect. I took a look. Amendment 26 says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"This amendment will be implemented through the future approval of further amendments to this plan, amendments to the affected area municipal official plans and the approvals process for development applications <b>in areas where application of the new and/or revised policies is appropriate.</b>" </i>(emphasis mine)</blockquote>
Does that mean we need more amendments before rapid transit is enshrined in the official plan? The lawyers writing that letter seem to think so. But arguments about Oxford Commas aside, there's a lot of wiggle room in the bolded text above.<br />
<br />
I'm sure lawyers will be getting a workout.<br />
<br />
<b>Edit again: </b>Waterloo Chronicle has a <a href="http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/seiling-responds-to-lrt-legal-challenge/">statement</a> from Chair Seiling regarding the region's opinion. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-30459195476793799512014-02-25T21:02:00.002-05:002014-02-25T21:44:07.651-05:00For want of a sidewalkOkay, I admit, I'm not one to tolerate cognitive dissonance in others for very long. I want to dissect it until the internally conflicted belief or viewpoint is cut open for all to see. I can cut pretty deep, too.<br />
<br />
And occasionally, I do it to myself (and that's what really hurts, as the song goes.) In a fit of honesty, this time I'll do it out in the open.<br />
<br />
Last night, I spoke at Waterloo city council on behalf of <a href="http://tritag.ca/">TriTAG</a>, generally supporting a plan that will see <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/living/lexingtonroad.asp">Lexington Road</a> gain new bike infrastructure, and sidewalks on one side of the road where none exist at all today. I did take some time to talk about how sidewalks on only one side are "a compromise" and "the bare minimum" but generally we gave Waterloo a pass. A mature neighbourhood, after all. Limited budget. It's understandable.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB0babd2DtZbM50osXWUxnTqvhmEbjk2lIZto9UAYceKEE1oMaXrIyuANCfZrSLCorIaUPsvWXqdmIhTIiF-Rml3urEDavVL9700XMrSI7_q5eDlw-IWxF5rNBxQ2QFKh5tF5oK1x/s1600/lexingtonphoto.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB0babd2DtZbM50osXWUxnTqvhmEbjk2lIZto9UAYceKEE1oMaXrIyuANCfZrSLCorIaUPsvWXqdmIhTIiF-Rml3urEDavVL9700XMrSI7_q5eDlw-IWxF5rNBxQ2QFKh5tF5oK1x/s1600/lexingtonphoto.png" height="188" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And who wants their kids walking to school along this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At the same time, mood among TriTAG members has been far less charitable towards the city of Kitchener. In January, city council there decided to go against staff recommendations and cancel plans for <a href="http://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news/residents-get-glasgow-sidewalk-scrapped/">adding sidewalks to the unimproved side of Glasgow St</a>. after local residents showed up to make their case against it. Yesterday, council chose to defer an item regarding sidewalks on the bare side of <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Palmer+Ave,+Kitchener,+ON,+Canada&hl=en&sll=43.430434,-80.476315&sspn=0.459253,1.056747&oq=kennedy+%26+palmer&t=h&hnear=Palmer+Ave,+Kitchener,+Ontario,+Canada&z=17">Palmer and Kennedy streets</a>, near the Courtland Ave. Schneiders plant. The item will be revisited on Monday so that local residents have more chance to react.<br />
<br />
On their own, these two data points show a disturbing trend: Kitchener city council seems willing to be pushed off sidewalk infill projects on streets that already have some minimal infra.<br />
<br />
You probably see where I'm going with this, but I should get one thing out of the way before I get to the meat of the matter. Sidewalks on both sides should be the goal on <i>all </i>city streets. Basic pedestrian infrastructure that accesses all destinations are the first steps to creating a walkable city, and missing sidewalks on one side are a barrier to this. The busier the street (and Glasgow is quite a busy street, complete with transit service!) the more important this becomes. The people who you see satisfied with sidewalks on just one side are <i>not</i> the people who you should be thinking about when you eschew access to the other.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMB4Yvb2rRLYxfjAa8CBKJ7UsR0cGmaAMPEhiWTae5cfD3eZXinwKSESn_cox8TxcQhBqjlzS-77vHWcHTrNVzQbrfZhgwbOhrOSUemuvBK8lRLRVIluR8iBz_v-I-vOkft0_FCnA/s1600/glasgowbusstop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMB4Yvb2rRLYxfjAa8CBKJ7UsR0cGmaAMPEhiWTae5cfD3eZXinwKSESn_cox8TxcQhBqjlzS-77vHWcHTrNVzQbrfZhgwbOhrOSUemuvBK8lRLRVIluR8iBz_v-I-vOkft0_FCnA/s1600/glasgowbusstop.png" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing says "Make transit welcoming" like a bus stop on someone's lawn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Right! Now that we've got that out of the way, I'll address the elephant at the room: <i>it's not fair</i> to excoriate Kitchener councilors for failing to implement second sidewalks on Glasgow St. when I give a thumbs up to Waterloo for a plan that falls short of providing second sidewalks for Lexington Road. Furthermore, deferral on Kennedy and Palmer is not cancellation.<br />
<br />
So to councilors Glenn-Graham & Davey and mayor Zehr: I apologize. In speaking to each of them, I learned that they all intended to uphold the pedestrian charter and approve additional sidewalks unless there are real legitimate reasons not to. Okay then. We'll see how Monday plays out, but I should have given the benefit of the doubt.<br />
<br />
Still, I am concerned that Kitchener has opened a Pandora's box, because new sidewalks are always a hot-button issue. One one hand, we need a rich pedestrian network to make a place walkable and we benefit from it. But on the other, sidewalks on our own property are a maintenance burden (because the public will to pay for municipal sidewalk clearing in the winter has not been there) and backfitting sidewalks in mature neighbourhoods often comes at the cost of mature trees, to say nothing of landowners' sense of ownership and privacy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Qz9RqtFfw46m6S9uG26C3SZinsZtyYFOvwb4ERbLvZym9kWX0Qf8l0IZnAXD8u4j4RUh1X9iYrqp1DS_eUMg57PG4_0ngx0jmJF_ZVgO5CJTnFVlawDStQAlzYqWoSR5mvaTwpzW/s1600/palmer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Qz9RqtFfw46m6S9uG26C3SZinsZtyYFOvwb4ERbLvZym9kWX0Qf8l0IZnAXD8u4j4RUh1X9iYrqp1DS_eUMg57PG4_0ngx0jmJF_ZVgO5CJTnFVlawDStQAlzYqWoSR5mvaTwpzW/s1600/palmer.png" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While Palmer is quieter than Glasgow or Lexington, it does connect to the Iron Horse Trail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Furthermore, we made a mess of things a couple of decades ago, going through a phase of extreme car-centrism where we talked ourselves out of a lot of sidewalks. So we're playing catch-up more than we should need to.<br />
<br />
So there's a strong local incentive to fight sidewalk infill tooth and nail, despite the fact that we benefit as an inclusive, equitable society to get those missing links corrected. If a city government makes its values crystal clear-- we <i>will</i> fill in sidewalks when the opportunities present because we <i>will</i> provide pedestrian access to all parts of the city as a basic right-- then expectations are set, and those who insist that the city compromise its own values for their personal benefit will not be able to disguise their true motives.<br />
<br />
If instead, the city seems willing to grant exceptions if pressed, they <i>will</i> be pressed every time this topic comes up. I think Kitchener will see that for Kennedy/Palmer next week, and with other projects in the future.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MJ30S32YKwkZHWLZjA0hRZQK1CVSwCW9nIi2NaF-EBhyphenhyphenEb_PhMi3Q8hY9V6-VrD6Fc6NAOhyphenhyphenoZj_EbctdXONlbWXD1-KgtavMpBY3GEx9ZxpPFjkduz9U9OzOm_nQKctHVDFxhIW/s1600/stirling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MJ30S32YKwkZHWLZjA0hRZQK1CVSwCW9nIi2NaF-EBhyphenhyphenEb_PhMi3Q8hY9V6-VrD6Fc6NAOhyphenhyphenoZj_EbctdXONlbWXD1-KgtavMpBY3GEx9ZxpPFjkduz9U9OzOm_nQKctHVDFxhIW/s1600/stirling.png" height="178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's special about this stretch of Stirling, that we kick pedestrians over to the other side?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Councilors who come to the table with the mindset that sidewalks on both sides of the street are <i>not</i> always a necessity are missing the point that even cases they think are marginal may be worth supporting because it will make the entire strategy easier to defend. They should consider sidewalks on both sides of the street as the <i>expected </i>outcome of any project improving the area, and compromise on that principle only under very extraordinary circumstances. Sidewalk infill should not be done only when it's convenient and nobody minds, or we will all lose.<br />
<br />
Would that viewpoint make Kitchener councilors view Glasgow St. differently? I don't know. Should we expect it to change the Waterloo plan for Lexington? At least there we saw a concerted effort to mitigate the impact of one-side sidewalks, but fundamentally these two situations are not that different.<br />
<br />
I don't think we should be satisfied with either situation. Waterloo got a pass because they demonstrated forward motion, bringing minimal infrastructure where it was completely absent, but that doesn't change the fact that they compromised. And as for Kitchener? We need to trust that councilors will stay true to the city's pedestrian charter, think critically about each project calling for sidewalk infill... and not lose sight of the big picture.<br />
<br />
Trust, but verify. The first test will come Monday.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-84880120371394098972014-02-01T14:28:00.003-05:002014-02-01T14:28:57.796-05:00Light Rail approaches its last big hurdleIn 2011, I blogged extensively about the decision-making process that led to the approval of Light Rail in Waterloo region. That decision set in motion years of groundwork required before construction could start in earnest. But planning and preparation is almost complete. It's almost time to build!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpY7zJQEd3AapZ8sEICGerQwoJ4naipTG22kJDFAhRa9i87lR3MhJJLjajGFUEAj1rZk8wVFT_L0pr2y438-gGglaimV1jE4Ha3dffS0q5CkT4zhcN-ucVxkH4IXvf1PLQvFKAg1/s1600/ION.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpY7zJQEd3AapZ8sEICGerQwoJ4naipTG22kJDFAhRa9i87lR3MhJJLjajGFUEAj1rZk8wVFT_L0pr2y438-gGglaimV1jE4Ha3dffS0q5CkT4zhcN-ucVxkH4IXvf1PLQvFKAg1/s1600/ION.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
The bids for construction are in. On <b>March 4th</b>, the rapid transit team will bring their recommendation to the Planning and Works committee. This will be the point at which we find out who the preferred bidder was, and what construction cost will be, and whether council intends to approve it.<br />
<br />
There has been a vocal element in our community who has campaigned non-stop to derail this plan. While some of them are simply concerned about the amount of money being spent, a considerable number will say pretty much anything to tarnish the case for LRT, including <a href="http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/opinion/wheres-the-evidence-from-the-pro-lrt-crowd/">outright misrepresentation of how the system works</a> and welcoming cancellation penalties some kind of <a href="http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/4340687-it-s-not-insanity-/">perverse morality object lesson</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0F6GX2yC0qbV-EqqChQheQL0pcyQP5RQSJjV41AAV3jGEIcmd_0ZxVhwvNxFu5vZh3IPgBJNAWLFyAChD2mf5c4HuvfcgFXwNaHECUOsnmR57E0L5lZmMai66rmCr-z7Nu7DIT0t/s1600/crowd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0F6GX2yC0qbV-EqqChQheQL0pcyQP5RQSJjV41AAV3jGEIcmd_0ZxVhwvNxFu5vZh3IPgBJNAWLFyAChD2mf5c4HuvfcgFXwNaHECUOsnmR57E0L5lZmMai66rmCr-z7Nu7DIT0t/s1600/crowd.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transit crowd at Conestoga mall wait for a train "from nowhere to nowhere"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And yet, as I wrote for TriTAG recently, <a href="http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2014/01/31/lrt-fundamentals-never-stronger/"><b>the fundamentals supporting LRT have never looked stronger</b></a>. Go ahead and read that if you'd like to learn more about the change that has happened so far. Basically, the short version is: service is expanding. Ridership is booming. This is working.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LeBScIQssyyF6AYkJkiqHKjX3hpBOb1PffzjUada5FuF-hLT6mkA9OyCmpuJQoA8RHOmZJWyQ_9KMjl2SxXy2KTBP0Ch8uyOg-yNsVVJjkwDVmUANg1ISbrs9cV65RtaIi6ByXs2/s1600/CameraZOOM-20140131172448099_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LeBScIQssyyF6AYkJkiqHKjX3hpBOb1PffzjUada5FuF-hLT6mkA9OyCmpuJQoA8RHOmZJWyQ_9KMjl2SxXy2KTBP0Ch8uyOg-yNsVVJjkwDVmUANg1ISbrs9cV65RtaIi6ByXs2/s1600/CameraZOOM-20140131172448099_1.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new reality along our central transit corridor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
But it's also important to remember that LRT is a key element in a multi-faceted plan to grow Waterloo region in a smart and sustainable way. The affordability of our community in the future depends on how we build now. We face a decision: grow up, or grow out. The <a href="http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/gettingAround/ATMP.asp">Active Transportation Master Plan</a> is up for council approval this month, and it is focused on providing the region with better walkability, and the ability to make short trips on foot and by bike. The broader <a href="http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/transportationmasterplan.asp">Regional Transporation Master Plan</a>, which includes a transit network redesign to coincide with LRT, aims to flesh out a transportation network to give thousands an alternative to driving.<br />
<br />
But LRT is the single biggest (and admittedly, most costly) piece of the puzzle, and the one with the highest level of expectation tied to it. It is not meant to just serve demand, but also to shape our city to generate it. By providing a high quality level of service, convenience and permanence, Light Rail is already <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4320740-momentum-plans-second-condo-project-on-victoria-street/">drawing lots of interest</a> for people to live and work along its route and closer to downtowns.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NYg5bJZ4DvB7uzq3bevsoVArub6v0Lwi3VYZAvsBb2p2ifTVbic28C3n6mkSdZL9H4INg5Jd1kAUeEoePy5aqEyFQltGu4NyMx5Yh0NBkaRBCROSRiF_ggwnCFJcjHK0DkYCBGwh/s1600/1-victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NYg5bJZ4DvB7uzq3bevsoVArub6v0Lwi3VYZAvsBb2p2ifTVbic28C3n6mkSdZL9H4INg5Jd1kAUeEoePy5aqEyFQltGu4NyMx5Yh0NBkaRBCROSRiF_ggwnCFJcjHK0DkYCBGwh/s1600/1-victoria.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 Victoria, one of many developments green-lit after LRT approval</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This growth in our core translates into fewer greenfield subdivisions, which directly improves our traffic situation within existing suburban areas. It also lowers the overall reliance on transportation by car, which again means less demand on our road infrastructure, and fewer costly expansions. By shaping our growth in this way, <a href="http://rapidtransit.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/projectinformation/resources/recommended_rt_imp_option_report.pdf">LRT will cost less than doing nothing at all</a> because we don't actually have an option to "do nothing at all".<br />
<br />
Now, this one light rail line is not perfect (I've criticized aspects of it before) and it will not change the world on its own. As I said before, there are other pieces to this puzzle. They are <i>all</i> important. But it's safe to say that LRT is the linchpin. Without it, everything else we do will have much more muted success. If we blink now, it will be many years before we get a do over. We'll eventually find ourselves drawn back to something like it, because of the fundamentals and the way our region is laid out. But it will inevitably cost more, and we will be fearful of taking the steps we have to, because of our failure to face the future.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8hoZpcEsgqKwNuuU8UlwldxzTKiPIX7Dzz7ji7Uw4O8ALyEK4FucNr3_O2dOhB6lUsd5m8Gks40n8J4vMyrJ0Rkrp8rCt52PTSeQ8jr8-hCtuuOg3-kChmd60CLiYzadpYTguFs3/s1600/rally-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8hoZpcEsgqKwNuuU8UlwldxzTKiPIX7Dzz7ji7Uw4O8ALyEK4FucNr3_O2dOhB6lUsd5m8Gks40n8J4vMyrJ0Rkrp8rCt52PTSeQ8jr8-hCtuuOg3-kChmd60CLiYzadpYTguFs3/s1600/rally-photo.jpg" height="128" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public support of LRT in 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I, for one, would like to stop talking about LRT. Having approved it twice, there's no good reason for council to change their minds this third time. But the vocal minority grows more vocal and strident, and they still offer no real solution of their own, only the false reassurance that nothing will change. Someone has to say something. But I look forward to having construction underway, and to be able to step back and tackle new challenges.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiYN4JeaLBqoS1FfdYNkDr5cPHql9hAwZhQme9YSPGLU2khxIkOkNGYJucK2aZYaaD-u4dJmD4RbZN1Le7L6Gl04ZOAdVq2TOaIXcPzsrvGw6Fb3AoXsIBebqcU4jvKWDPhLrlpN6/s1600/applause.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiYN4JeaLBqoS1FfdYNkDr5cPHql9hAwZhQme9YSPGLU2khxIkOkNGYJucK2aZYaaD-u4dJmD4RbZN1Le7L6Gl04ZOAdVq2TOaIXcPzsrvGw6Fb3AoXsIBebqcU4jvKWDPhLrlpN6/s1600/applause.jpeg" height="237" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Council approved LRT in 2009, and as seen here, in 2011 (to great appluase)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So, if you support this plan, please, <a href="http://www.tritag.ca/m/lrt/">contact your councilors and tell them</a>.<br />
<br />
If you're on the fence, or wonder why I keep going on about this, I urge you to recognize this: We have a thoughtful and progressive regional government that are trying very hard to prepare Waterloo region for the future, with a vision that very few other cities aspire to. It's part of our culture here, to be industrious, to adapt, and to innovate. Ultimately, we have to be ready to sign off on the plan, and take the next step.<br />
<br />
LRT is our next step. It's a big one. Come with us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-76675416984861083152014-01-16T18:05:00.000-05:002014-01-16T18:05:00.458-05:00The tragic problem of local speedersThere's been some friction regarding Auburn Street in Waterloo <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4317393-city-residents-compromise-on-traffic-controls-at-auburn-drive/">between the city and the local residents</a> regarding traffic calming measures. This post is not about that.<br />
<br />
This is about Councilor Mark Whaley's quote at the end of the linked article, regarding the problem of drivers speeding along this residential street:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"We know that most of the speeders are those who live in the neighbourhood. It's frustrating."
</i></span></blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDd4MWQjsfuU7glQwReT6SYaa0ovYQW41N4zIzs7hJUXruGrqtlzWpxCVF7YmUm_kM1bmc3eVrg7cZxf7dretZI1vCWSxqvYMTPHOrE61P6IVLoUT3br9srpS5gdLQDk90M181SRi/s1600/auburn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDd4MWQjsfuU7glQwReT6SYaa0ovYQW41N4zIzs7hJUXruGrqtlzWpxCVF7YmUm_kM1bmc3eVrg7cZxf7dretZI1vCWSxqvYMTPHOrE61P6IVLoUT3br9srpS5gdLQDk90M181SRi/s1600/auburn.png" height="189" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How could anyone be speeding past that obvious "children playing" sign?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This touches off something I remember from a Kitchener city council discussion on raised crosswalks for Williamsburg Road. Council observed that because <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2627809-the-challenges-of-traffic-calming/">92% of traffic was local</a>, the speeders must be among the same local residents calling for traffic calming. Some people have expressed the sentiment that instead of calling for traffic calming, local residents should <i>just drive slower</i> in their own neighbourhood.<br />
<br />
It's obvious, isn't it? It's despicable that someone would speed in their own neighbourhood, on the same streets their own kids may be crossing. If we could only get people to see that, they'd drive slower and more carefully, at least on their home turf. Right?<br />
<br />
But that idea leaves me feeling a little hollow. Why, for instance, is there not a similar outrage to drivers who speed through the neighbourhoods of others? If it's despicable to endanger your own kids, why is it not considered as bad (or worse) to endanger a stranger's family?<br />
<br />
And then, of course, there's the troublesome issue that asking people to drive more slowly... <i>doesn't work</i>. Nor does arbitrarily reducing speed limits (at least, not without taking other steps.) We tend to drive on streets at the speed we feel comfortable at. On wide open roads with no parked cars, gentle sweeping turns and few obstructions, we naturally drive fast-- often faster than the posted limit.<br />
<br />
It doesn't matter where we are, and whose kids are crossing the road. Perhaps near home, our comfort level goes up with familiarity, and we speed up a little, take corners we've taken a hundred times before a little faster. But we can't stop that by wishing it away.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gw_WW9AsQ0x7ZyLtcbCAQyl88YnudvRZQkzIqtGCS7uwh2NKeS8CUl8FkkSDpwDEAZRcsPEzirPTSdzc0t11_FW1W8zG-ynXAVy88BgUwap7o3l9buVDLoHdb0sUUFxs2WTEtR2a/s1600/injuries_at_impact_speeds.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gw_WW9AsQ0x7ZyLtcbCAQyl88YnudvRZQkzIqtGCS7uwh2NKeS8CUl8FkkSDpwDEAZRcsPEzirPTSdzc0t11_FW1W8zG-ynXAVy88BgUwap7o3l9buVDLoHdb0sUUFxs2WTEtR2a/s1600/injuries_at_impact_speeds.gif" height="173" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(UK DOT 1987, via <a href="http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/engineering/slowing_down_traffic.cfm">SRTS</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Unfortunately, as the cliche goes, <i>speed kills</i>. If we could reduce vehicle speeds, especially on neighbourhood roads, not only would accidents be more avoidable, but they'd also be less lethal. So how do we <i>really </i>get people to slow down?<br />
<br />
The answer lies mainly in the design of our streets, and the ways that design can influence our behaviour. Some design measures, like speed bumps, have serious unintentional effects in impeding and damaging transit and fire vehicles. But <a href="http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/how-can-you-design-environments-slow-down-traffic">other measures exist</a>: steps like narrowing the roadway, providing crossing islands, or reducing crossing distances at intersections with neckdowns can cause us to unconsciously drive a little slower.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8ufMaP1taD57KbQ0aDmaEmBnvGawWQp5N_vmGpZqFSK4Zq6ZA1L7XZG0JABT4tCjSsQCW1EMUNDYBz30iObRcPsU5NUlNRCakz7OpX4PyFyrDHSx0Qz_hwS-kUf6j62-2-0D846D/s1600/neckdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8ufMaP1taD57KbQ0aDmaEmBnvGawWQp5N_vmGpZqFSK4Zq6ZA1L7XZG0JABT4tCjSsQCW1EMUNDYBz30iObRcPsU5NUlNRCakz7OpX4PyFyrDHSx0Qz_hwS-kUf6j62-2-0D846D/s1600/neckdown.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neckdowns make crossing easier and turning vehicles slower. (via <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/02/19/dot-pledged-pedestrian-safety-fixes-for-third-avenue-by-2006/">Streetsblog</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The presence of on-street parking in a tighter environment also contributes to an instinctive lightening of the gas pedal. Unfortunately, in suburban neighbourhoods, that can be impeded by the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/brent-toderian/garage-design-neighbourhood-walkability_b_4538831.html">design of the houses themselves</a> reducing the amount of room to park along the curb.<br />
<br />
It's important to note that these measures can all help, but we don't really have a silver bullet. There has been growing talk in <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-11/news/chi-city-road-plan-could-limit-speeds-to-20-mph-20120511_1_speed-limit-speed-humps-pedestrian-safety">North</a> <a href="http://politicker.com/2013/11/council-working-to-the-reduce-speed-limit-on-city-streets/">American</a> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/04/24/lower_toronto_speed_limits_by_10_to_20_kmh_to_protect_pedestrians_chief_medical_officer_says.html">cities</a> that we'd be better off with a 30km/h speed limit (as well as the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-mayor-says-reducing-speed-limit-is-nuts-nuts-nuts-nuts-1.1272436">predictable knee-jerk reactions</a> against it) but that's the cart, not the horse. To actually be able to change a city speed limit, the streets in our city must first bring traffic down to that number <i>by design</i>. Which helps explain why complete streets, and rightsizing of overbuilt roadways, are all important. <br />
<br />
So it's good to note that while some measures have been rolled back due to residents' objections, some of the Auburn Street calming measures (such as raised crosswalks) will still proceed.<br /><br />Even then, traffic calming won't be enough on its own. A family member has pointed out his tree-lined, parking-lined, narrowed and speed humped street with a 30km/h speed limit as a place where, despite all these measures, some people still drive like idiots. Maybe these measures help to alleviate the problem, but they can't solve it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqxADjeQsZ8zLQW2vI0-uGJji4H9MUxqZorfI88EFD4rM4qHteUO8eIAgary5WC29QjIvQZZK2eyTPUKhlrYmDSjdRzpTw2j7bDk57n1arnImnpkyCOT5r-Onv0fmijeDys6QMrct/s1600/trafficcalming.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqxADjeQsZ8zLQW2vI0-uGJji4H9MUxqZorfI88EFD4rM4qHteUO8eIAgary5WC29QjIvQZZK2eyTPUKhlrYmDSjdRzpTw2j7bDk57n1arnImnpkyCOT5r-Onv0fmijeDys6QMrct/s1600/trafficcalming.png" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks pretty nice. Maybe there's a Reckless Drivers Anonymous up the road?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So maybe, for lack of any magic bullet improvement, we should still ask people to drive safely. It can't hurt. Can it?<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-52397789494806688232013-12-04T18:48:00.000-05:002014-11-10T14:38:55.102-05:00Waterloo really does bike!There's a lot going on in Waterloo for bikes. And I'm not just talking about <a href="http://waterloobikes.ca/">Waterloo Bikes</a> (though they'll come into it). Maybe when they took the fluorine out of the water, they put something else in, because change is afoot in Waterloo-- real physical change, and change in perspective.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Uptown Protected Bike Lanes?</h3>
<br />
Let's start with the changing attitudes. I've raised the Uptown Streetscape improvement plan <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2013/04/changing-orbits-charged-particles-and.html">before </a>but this fall it came back to the public with a preferred option. One that included bike lanes and reduced traffic lanes. That on its own really says how far we've come! We can actually talk about converting uptown's King Street away from a 4-line thoroughfare, into a complete street serving all users.<br />
<br />
But, as proposals go, it wasn't perfect. It's the barest of concessions to bikes and doesn't really provide a welcome cycling environment to attract serious use. So Graham Roe of <a href="http://waterloobikes.ca/">Waterloo Bikes</a>, as well as yours truly, both spent some time going over the possibilities of <i>protected bike lanes</i> in uptown Waterloo. I put together a <a href="http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2013/11/12/uptown-protected-bike-lanes/">detailed post up on TriTAG's blog</a>, which led to a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/The+Morning+Edition+-+K-W/ID/2418113096/">CBC radio spot</a> to discuss the idea. Also, a lot of great conversations during and around the public consultation.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDFlfk8tgtRh5MvaQCdBK9j0KKacJNldovzcBjMdDnzDJGOBElLeNpUdRpY3GyVswmGA5qqRE_TAkh5IEvHjOyVvz8NCgvNQcHAULx3KH8Jfg5XZ6tfil-P1myTIb5Gspgb9jQWqh/s1600/Kinzie_JL_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDFlfk8tgtRh5MvaQCdBK9j0KKacJNldovzcBjMdDnzDJGOBElLeNpUdRpY3GyVswmGA5qqRE_TAkh5IEvHjOyVvz8NCgvNQcHAULx3KH8Jfg5XZ6tfil-P1myTIb5Gspgb9jQWqh/s320/Kinzie_JL_2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protected bike lane on Kinzie in Chicago</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Graham has carried it further. He has spoken to the issue on radio as well, and even started and promoted a petition that <a href="https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/city-of-waterloo-region-of-waterloo-we-need-segregated-bicycle-lanes-on-king-street-uptown-to-university">edges towards one thousand signatures</a>.<br />
<br />
I think we've moved the needle on this one. But that is largely because it is an idea we're ready to seriously discuss, and a lot of people are realizing they'd bike if the infrastructure was accommodating. This matches what other cities have discovered-- just <a href="http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/158497">how many people would move around by bike</a> if they felt it was safe and convenient.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5h5UFM51JCx_PW6f91Bp4hAYqfeMSsmJPLSQbeplJEd9DVftsEjhfkHNxHV2BAktWe2yd2CNgRcnyWdee4ZjsACoesK23XIj0FtHcxOV4b_5Cf8Aa1_7mQeKyHkh-WNQ3j4SmAtBO/s1600/PBL-Benefits.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5h5UFM51JCx_PW6f91Bp4hAYqfeMSsmJPLSQbeplJEd9DVftsEjhfkHNxHV2BAktWe2yd2CNgRcnyWdee4ZjsACoesK23XIj0FtHcxOV4b_5Cf8Aa1_7mQeKyHkh-WNQ3j4SmAtBO/s320/PBL-Benefits.png" height="320" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy: <a href="http://transitized.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/PBL-Benefits.pdf?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=PDF&utm_content=protected+bike+lane&utm_campaign=download">Transitized</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And when you throw in a study which demonstrates the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/transit-use-in-uptown-waterloo-peaks-in-afternoon-study-1.2427465">rise of alternative transportation in our uptown core</a>, we can paint a picture of a city in transition, both in thought and action.<br />
<br />
I <i>might </i>have accused Waterloo in the past of losing its mojo. It seems reports of its demise were greatly exaggerated.<br />
<br />
But wait... there's more.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Waterloo Interior Loop is a Real Thing, except for the Loop part</h3>
<br />
The city of Waterloo presented its latest public information centre on the so-called Interior Loop that <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2013/09/waterloo-trail-improvements-summary.html">I posted about before</a>. Details and boards from the latest PIC are available on the <a href="http://waterloo.ca/atprogram">city's website here</a>.<br />
<span id="goog_721073956"></span><span id="goog_721073957"></span><br />
Options have been condensed to concrete proposals and intentions. While the "Loop" aspect of the Interior Loop is still lacking a key piece on its north side, the rest of the trail has received very detailed, systematic examination.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LfzhzG1I-2Ccda_ozZJZ7Ei0yoAxek2ARKN6NRnWCN7TrTwi3tIhh646Krnatjj52dnJG_IoUNI545QmH5pXmupyL_fEKGmiRG_PvDN-n8cQq6Y7qr4Oob1UiFSd7xbfhSx4XZgw/s1600/interiorloop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LfzhzG1I-2Ccda_ozZJZ7Ei0yoAxek2ARKN6NRnWCN7TrTwi3tIhh646Krnatjj52dnJG_IoUNI545QmH5pXmupyL_fEKGmiRG_PvDN-n8cQq6Y7qr4Oob1UiFSd7xbfhSx4XZgw/s640/interiorloop.png" height="339" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just two of two dozen points of improvement.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We see consistent crossing treatments, strong signage, trail infill, realignments and surface improvements. All to create a navigable, accessible trail. It's hard not to like, but easy to underappreciate-- this kind of systematic standard-setting usually just doesn't happen.<br />
<br />
Okay, so there's still a failure to address the Weber St. crossing of the Laurel trail north of Lincoln. Only marginal improvements will be delivered there this time round. But on the other hand, we have real improvements that will be delivered in 2014, and are already budgeted.<br />
<br />
Some of the expected (by me) local resistance to trail improvements has <i>not</i> emerged. In fact, I've heard support for the all-important resurfacing of Hillside Park trail from local residents along warnings about flooding problems that need to be handled.<br />
<br />
Winter maintenance is still not on the cards, though.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile...<br />
<br />
<h3>
Columbia St. W and Lexington Road Upgrades</h3>
<br />
Waterloo continues to knock off deficiencies in its east-west network. Out in the west end, a $10M widening project will add lanes, roundabouts, sidewalks and "raised" bike lanes to <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/living/columbiastreetwest.asp">Columbia between Fischer-Hallmann and Erbsville</a>. This marks the first use of raised or separated bike lanes in Waterloo. There's some chatter about whether the 4-to-2 lane adjustment makes sense on this stretch, but I'll leave that for others to worry about. Hopefully Waterloo also learned to do bike lanes and roundabouts better than <a href="http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~mboos/?p=1005">this dangerous setup</a>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDlqqt120L9BENk-gjWx5XQyoG6SQ4nzCfogWTDrM-cLTcMu_0tFiWiYoeIo2vLsMLsI2H7ZdJVPf4_ifgQwlOQyoQXMYsn6EqcDmFGiGcyln9Mm66Wr770GRREmHUhN8mRE9GeTP/s1600/onelane-153x300.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDlqqt120L9BENk-gjWx5XQyoG6SQ4nzCfogWTDrM-cLTcMu_0tFiWiYoeIo2vLsMLsI2H7ZdJVPf4_ifgQwlOQyoQXMYsn6EqcDmFGiGcyln9Mm66Wr770GRREmHUhN8mRE9GeTP/s1600/onelane-153x300.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DO NOT WANT</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
East of the expressway, Lexington Road may see new sidewalks, bike lanes, and a multi-use trail between Davenport and University. The Public Information Centre for this is on Wednesday 11th December at Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church (<a href="http://lex.wrdsb.ca/files/2013/11/Notice-of-Public-Information-Centre-2013-12-11a-2.pdf">details</a>). Can these changes be carried through successfully? It may depend on the reaction of residents on Lexington who may prefer to keep their streetscape as-is, if nobody else shows up.<br />
<br />
I'll show up. Preserving "the look" and even a few trees can't trump basic human accessibility on foot. We're talking sidewalk on just one side, after all.<br />
<br />
Of course, all this leaves an elephant in the room: the stretch of Lexington/Columbia between Davenport and King-- across the expressway, through four massively overspecced lanes, past a nasty choke point at Marsland and through busy Weber. This will be the hardest to deal with, but <a href="http://waterloons.blogspot.ca/2011/06/cyclists-take-on-lexington-upgrades.html">as I've pointed out before</a>, the most necessary. <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2606882-city-puts-brakes-on-lexington-road-diet/">Waterloo has already blinked once</a>, but as the rest of this corridor comes together, it gets harder and harder to ignore.<br />
<br />
What I'm wondering: with a proposed south-side multi-use trail east of the expressway, has someone tipped their hand? Does the city have something up their sleeve for overpass improvements? Has MTO softened their stance on bridge changes to improve walking and cycling?<br />
<br />
<h3>
What about Kitchener?</h3>
<br />
That's what's great about living in these twin cities. We have two (or four, including Cambridge and the regional government) chances to see good things done well. Of course, it's also two (or four) times as hard getting broad sweeping improvements through region-wide. You take what you can get.<br />
<br />
Today, though, Waterloo gets the spotlight. They're bringing some really positive change forward, and more exciting change seems tantalizingly close.<br />
<br />
Let's make it happen.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-26851975952573246422013-09-19T18:08:00.000-04:002013-09-19T18:08:00.693-04:00Waterloo Trail Improvements - summaryThese are based on my recollections and conversations at the open house Wednesday.<br />
<br />
The "Interior Loop Trail" (<a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/contentresources/resources/living/Submission_Form_and_Background.pdf">contest to come up with a name!</a>) was the showcase of the proposal, and was generally positive, though with some caveats.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4_UVHSWGbyvPk2xhkWGV28Q7FB2oqhoh-jjcUjLFkrLrROUAzJaIbYISYhjVW_7imX1yoCL0WG_un71l-wLjvB6D5dEvHzy539E3bPbu9tV9SwXhT8i_f2_lfUQBK0ANa4xxMyn8/s1600/interiorloop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4_UVHSWGbyvPk2xhkWGV28Q7FB2oqhoh-jjcUjLFkrLrROUAzJaIbYISYhjVW_7imX1yoCL0WG_un71l-wLjvB6D5dEvHzy539E3bPbu9tV9SwXhT8i_f2_lfUQBK0ANa4xxMyn8/s400/interiorloop.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/contentresources/resources/living/Map_of_Interior_Loop_Trail.pdf">Link to PDF</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Positives:</b><br />
<br />
Overall, it's ambitious (as trail improvement plans go) to address this route so systematically, and with (according to staff) a lot of potential for change to take place even in the next year. Creating a loop enables a lot of different trips, not just back and forth from uptown, but from neighbourhood to neighbourhood in the north. Improving the quality and consistency of the trail, and taking a serious stab at wayfinding aids, are also welcome.<br />
<br />
In addition, a lot of intersections and crossings would be improved. Not a huge amount of detail here, but again the term "systematic" really jumps to mind. Virtually every trail segment and intersection has been looked at.<br />
<br />
<b>Downsides: </b><br />
<br />
As you can see, it won't be a "loop" for a while. In the north is a large section that remains to be worked out, with a couple of possibilities (working out an agreement with Waterloo Inn if/when they redevelop, or following city-owned land close to the highway). But they're still conceptual.<br />
<br />
Another small gap lies in Uptown, in the King St. area, though that's not surprising given the LRT construction plans. Also, LRT is responsible for delaying surface improvements in Waterloo Park. But, the same project may yield opportunities to extend paths and trails along the rail corridor up to Northfield and beyond (...St. Jacobs?) This intriguing possibility was raised by Jan D'ailly, chair of the Waterloo advisory committee on active transportation (WACAT).<br />
<br />
<b>Other noteworthy items:</b><br />
<br />
Carter and Mackay streets (between Weber and University on the south-east side of the loop) are being proposed with sharrows. I had a discussion with a staffer about whether this was appropriate or desirable. These streets are very low volume wide residential streets, with sparsely used on-street parking. It could be that sharrows will be benign here, and useful wayfinding devices. It struck me as an odd context to apply sharrows in, though.<br />
<br />
The proposed trail crossing at Weber/Mackay is still a work in progress. A couple of options were presented. This crossing will be a challenge, but also of great benefit.<br />
<br />
<b>Big picture:</b><br />
<br />
The trail system in Waterloo is still disjoint and inconsistent, but this proposal would be a major step in bringing it together if it is followed through.<br />
<br />
For cycling, the way we should look at the trail system is as a place where very casual or novice cyclists of any age should feel comfortable and confident to ride. Unfortunately with all of the current breaks, bad intersections and lack of signage, they are not so appealing. When a gentle trail is interrupted by 4 lanes of speeding traffic without any crossing, it is effectively a dead end for many people.<br />
<br />
The city of Waterloo should be congratulated for attacking this problem. It's not a perfect proposal, and it's not a complete solution. But as incremental improvements go, this one is bigger than most.<br />
<br />
Now we need to see it happen. And that's where we come in: to provide feedback and shape the proposal, and then to be willing to speak to council about the benefits it will bring.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828111806827394610.post-1600140854395526872013-09-18T08:54:00.001-04:002013-09-18T08:54:51.432-04:00Waterloo Trail Improvements Open House: TONIGHT!The City of Waterloo is proposing big trail improvements over the next few years. There is an open house on the trail improvements tonight:<br />
<br />
<strong>Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013</strong><br /><strong>6 p.m. to 8 p.m.</strong><br /><strong>Waterloo City Centre (City Hall)</strong><br /><strong>100 Regina Street South</strong><br />
<br />
If you walk or cycle in the city of Waterloo and in particular on the trails below, you should check out http://waterloo.ca/atprogram for more information and drop in tonight!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75gwTmu4qsmCIgfb0De-dl5rRAW0gboQP9eFxuG-R-GbKfrV7ICp-BjRdEzD0ETbhxNBEFd04zgI2GkhmtzYUpP2E9lVZMQd7vWOCcCXGwBqVOHwhb10sSCo2UB-IgMH0C1gamjwu/s400/waterlootrail.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="393" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original PDF <a href="http://www.waterloo.ca/en/contentresources/resources/living/PROJECT_AREA_MAP.pdf">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Note: For those with sharp eyes (it's come up a couple of times) University Avenue at Carter/Hillside Trail is not listed for crossing improvements because a crossing island is already planned there for 2014 as part of regional road reconstruction.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But don't let that stop you from coming down to the open house! This proposal deserves support and maybe you can help provide some constructive criticism.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2