Calgary Bike Lanes and Bike Paths

[trtcttc]

New bike lane being built at 19th St NW. Seems like the pole is here to stay and the bike lane is narrowed and winding, probably to decrease speed approaching the intersection, which is a good design choice.

I don’t think the pole is for a flashing beacon. Asked the project team previously and they said a permanent beacon will be built where it is now, and they do not plan to even paint a crossing anywhere else.

The rationale being: “The intent of painting only one of the connections is to encourage users to utilize the crossing that has the flashing beacon as much as possible. While the other crosswalks are open for use, the most ideal crossing would be the NW-SE with the flashing beacon.”
I’d argue installing two beacons so people can cross where they want and I’m sure the outcome with only one crossing won’t be kids crossing in the “open but not encouraged for use” crossing.

 

[lemongrab]

New bike lane being built at 19th St NW. Seems like the pole is here to stay and the bike lane is narrowed and winding, probably to decrease speed approaching the intersection, which is a good design choice.

I don’t think the pole is for a flashing beacon. Asked the project team previously and they said a permanent beacon will be built where it is now, and they do not plan to even paint a crossing anywhere else.

The rationale being: “The intent of painting only one of the connections is to encourage users to utilize the crossing that has the flashing beacon as much as possible. While the other crosswalks are open for use, the most ideal crossing would be the NW-SE with the flashing beacon.”
I’d argue installing two beacons so people can cross where they want and I’m sure the outcome with only one crossing won’t be kids crossing in the “open but not encouraged for use” crossing.
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That's an interesting one...it looks like the wheeling lane just kinda starts/ends there? With nothing on the southbound side? Does it at least go all the way up to 5 Ave?

Here's what it was before:

I think they made the right call moving the RRFB up to the yycburg corner, but I strongly disagree with not keeping the other crosswalk painted. We shouldn't be conditioning drivers to expect pedestrians will only exist if the bright lights are flashing...RRFBs are also just good pedestrian signs on their own and drivers should be alert before they flash.

One might argue that there's little reason on paper to expect peds to use the now formerly painted crosswalk, but it's been that way for years. I have at least 2 common crossings I use where the RRFBs are on the wrong side and the paint suggests I should cross three streets instead of one (which would also expose me to A-pillar blindspots for left turns).

They definitely need to paint the N-S crosswalks on both sides

 

[trtcttc]

That's an interesting one...it looks like the wheeling lane just kinda starts/ends there? With nothing on the southbound side? Does it at least go all the way up to 5 Ave?

Here's what it was before:

View attachment 693256

I think they made the right call moving the RRFB up to the yycburg corner, but I strongly disagree with not keeping the other crosswalk painted. We shouldn't be conditioning drivers to expect pedestrians will only exist if the bright lights are flashing...RRFBs are also just good pedestrian signs on their own and drivers should be alert before they flash.

One might argue that there's little reason on paper to expect peds to use the now formerly painted crosswalk, but it's been that way for years. I have at least 2 common crossings I use where the RRFBs are on the wrong side and the paint suggests I should cross three streets instead of one (which would also expose me to A-pillar blindspots for left turns).

They definitely need to paint the N-S crosswalks on both sides

They're rebuilding the whole stretch of 19th between Kensington and 5th/6th. They only finished the NE side so far. I also agree the crossing they have the beacon is the best one, as it is the most convenient connection between the disjointed 2nd Ave. I just don't agree, same as you, that not painting the other crosswalks will somehow encourage the use of the flashing beacon rather than resulting in unsafe crossing, and drivers thinking pedestrians are not "supposed" to be there. We saw in the Airdrie incident how entitled some drivers are. The raised intersection and overall narrowing of the street are very positive changes though, especially as more retail opens on 19th.

 

[lemongrab]

I wondered if there was a project page. Positive step overall, but plenty to nitpick.

I think these wheeling lane designs try to be thoroughfares to cover distance and also serve as 'last meters' access to destinations, but they end up doing neither very well at all.

I'd hate to ride those SB passenger-door-zone lanes at anything higher than jogging speed. Which is fine, until we remember that we're not Denmark and most trips are a lot longer than 5 blocks. If I'm not stopping on 19th St, then I'm definitely just sticking with 21st St (fairly low traffic, connects to Memorial overpass, only 1 extra stop sign compared to 19th). So it's great that we already have a pretty efficient road here for riding fast (though a few speed cushions and traffic circles would make it even better).

As for destination access, being down at street level with a vertical curb makes it a lot less useful if you're in a wheelchair/mobility scooter, towing a bike trailer, riding a heavy cargo bike, etc. It's usually not the end of the world, just more annoying than it has to be. Meanwhile, the useful sidewalk space remains constrained - like this bottleneck from this very recent build which will remain the same width despite this project (although a curb cutout will help closer to the corner).

One might argue that the point of wheeling lanes is to separate pedestrians and wheels, which is fair. But if the wheeling lane can only be used safely at jogging speeds, do we really need to separate, or can we figure out how to keep those wheeling speeds down while staying on the same level as peds? Which might sometimes mean a cyclist needs to ring their bell if a couple strolling hand in hand daydreams their way into the wheeling lane. But it also means a fast walker could pass that same couple easily. Or two double strollers could pass each other on the bottleneck above. Or a bike can more easily go the 'wrong way' to get from the Canada Post box to the bike rack at the far right of the picture.

West District does this set up very well (but of course they started from a much wider ROW). The NB side here also looks to do this well (and in this case the full 5 blocks isn't to bad because there's only 1 cross street). The expectation should be that you don't really want to use 'last meters' style wheeling lanes for more than 2-3 blocks. Which means having good alternatives as 'bike boulevards/highways' running nearby.