Why can't deliveries be made on parallel side streets instead of the main street where they block bicycle traffic and pedestrians? There is no traffic on side streets.
I used to do delivery around the city. I managed to never once park in a bike lane. It takes a little more thought and planning, but it's definitely possible.
There are several times I've stopped to thank a delivery driver that puts on their 4 ways and stops outside the bike lane, in the car lane, for their delivery. As is the correct guidance. Bless you, friend. 🙏🏻
I feel you. The NW corner of Yonge/Bloor is also notorious for this. My morning cycle commute is unnecessarily dangerous because of daily lineup of delivery trucks (big ones, mind) on Yonge that block the stretch of southbound bikelane from Davenport on down to Bloor.
Also 100% legitimately, as a car driver as well, streets with bike lanes are awesome. Traffic ironically is calmer, and less heavy as cars divert to other roads. And many who would otherwise drive, chose to bike instead, freeing up road for the remaining cars. Bike lanes make driving in this city better. Period.
Many drivers think they are better than people who don't own cars - they need to look down on other people to make themselves feel superior. If you don't own a car you must be poor, and they don't want to sit next to a smelly poor person on the bus. They want poor people to suffer.
So they vote for policies that will keep those poor people poor, and make them suffer, even if it makes their own quality of life worse. As long as they feel superior to smelly poor people they will be satisfied.
I get it, but as both a cyclist and someone who has to shut down bike lanes to do my work, where do you expect us to park our machinery and equipment that's needed to do infrastructure work? The backhoe can't dig from around the corner.
I don’t have these answers, I don’t work in urban planning or civil engineering. What was done prior to bike lanes? How was big machinery accommodated in an urban centre that also accommodated traffic flow?
The thing is when car lanes are blocked people bitch. When cyclists don’t follow the rules of the road as a legal vehicle on the road people bitch. But when our dedicated vehicle lanes are taken over regardless of our safety, cyclists supposed to just take it and yield. Because the reality is, when it’s convenient for drivers, cyclists are no longer viewed a legal vehicle on the road.
Prior to bike lanes, or when I work where there are no bike lanes, we shut down the 'normal' lane. Essentially all of my work is curbside so I'm closing down whatever lane of traffic happens to be there. If there's a bike lane we take the necessary steps to comply with Book 7. Even when I make a temporary bike lane adjacent to my work zone, I'd say maybe 1 in 20 cyclists actually use it, the vast majority prefer to just take the lane. And in those cases, drivers are expected to yield to cyclists just as much as cyclists are expected to yield to drivers. I see this day in and day out and frankly, there's rarely a honk or conflict. Most people, drivers and cyclists alike, understand the lane constriction and work together.
Apply for a street occupation permit from the city, set up closure notices, signage and an ontario traffic manual compliant closure so it’s safe for all road users.
Yeah, that's what we do. OP makes it sound like the bike lane can't ever be occupied, even for civil works or we need to find some alternative. The machinery, equipment, and materials all more or less need to be where the work is being done, there's not a work-around for that unless we can get our hands on a skyhook.
People and machines doing public utility work that keeps the city running are exempt, both in my own mind and by law. It's one of the only 3 types of vehicles that can legally stop in a cycle track (without location/project specific permitting). Otherwise, if private construction has gotten a permit to occupy/close lanes, then that's good too.
Why can't deliveries be made on parallel side streets instead of the main street where they block bicycle traffic and pedestrians? There is no traffic on side streets.
I used to do delivery around the city. I managed to never once park in a bike lane. It takes a little more thought and planning, but it's definitely possible.
There are several times I've stopped to thank a delivery driver that puts on their 4 ways and stops outside the bike lane, in the car lane, for their delivery. As is the correct guidance. Bless you, friend. 🙏🏻
I feel you. The NW corner of Yonge/Bloor is also notorious for this. My morning cycle commute is unnecessarily dangerous because of daily lineup of delivery trucks (big ones, mind) on Yonge that block the stretch of southbound bikelane from Davenport on down to Bloor. Also 100% legitimately, as a car driver as well, streets with bike lanes are awesome. Traffic ironically is calmer, and less heavy as cars divert to other roads. And many who would otherwise drive, chose to bike instead, freeing up road for the remaining cars. Bike lanes make driving in this city better. Period.
This thread is giving me hives.
Many drivers think they are better than people who don't own cars - they need to look down on other people to make themselves feel superior. If you don't own a car you must be poor, and they don't want to sit next to a smelly poor person on the bus. They want poor people to suffer. So they vote for policies that will keep those poor people poor, and make them suffer, even if it makes their own quality of life worse. As long as they feel superior to smelly poor people they will be satisfied.
I get it, but as both a cyclist and someone who has to shut down bike lanes to do my work, where do you expect us to park our machinery and equipment that's needed to do infrastructure work? The backhoe can't dig from around the corner.
I don’t have these answers, I don’t work in urban planning or civil engineering. What was done prior to bike lanes? How was big machinery accommodated in an urban centre that also accommodated traffic flow? The thing is when car lanes are blocked people bitch. When cyclists don’t follow the rules of the road as a legal vehicle on the road people bitch. But when our dedicated vehicle lanes are taken over regardless of our safety, cyclists supposed to just take it and yield. Because the reality is, when it’s convenient for drivers, cyclists are no longer viewed a legal vehicle on the road.
Prior to bike lanes, or when I work where there are no bike lanes, we shut down the 'normal' lane. Essentially all of my work is curbside so I'm closing down whatever lane of traffic happens to be there. If there's a bike lane we take the necessary steps to comply with Book 7. Even when I make a temporary bike lane adjacent to my work zone, I'd say maybe 1 in 20 cyclists actually use it, the vast majority prefer to just take the lane. And in those cases, drivers are expected to yield to cyclists just as much as cyclists are expected to yield to drivers. I see this day in and day out and frankly, there's rarely a honk or conflict. Most people, drivers and cyclists alike, understand the lane constriction and work together.
I agree, for months and be been merging along bloor between sherbs and parliament and not a single honk or issue.
Apply for a street occupation permit from the city, set up closure notices, signage and an ontario traffic manual compliant closure so it’s safe for all road users.
Yeah, that's what we do. OP makes it sound like the bike lane can't ever be occupied, even for civil works or we need to find some alternative. The machinery, equipment, and materials all more or less need to be where the work is being done, there's not a work-around for that unless we can get our hands on a skyhook.
People and machines doing public utility work that keeps the city running are exempt, both in my own mind and by law. It's one of the only 3 types of vehicles that can legally stop in a cycle track (without location/project specific permitting). Otherwise, if private construction has gotten a permit to occupy/close lanes, then that's good too.