Calgary Bike Lanes and Bike Paths

[Mountain Man]

I've never seen a dirtbike on he pathway before, lots of ebikes and a couple stinky mopeds though.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

I've never seen a dirtbike on he pathway before, lots of ebikes and a couple stinky mopeds though.

It was wild, why not go to McLean Creek? It's not like you have to pay for a Kananaskis Park pass.

 

[darwink]

Has anyone seen someone get a speeding ticket on a bicycle or a scooter for that matter? On dual purpose pathways, I am surprised there are not more accidents with pedestrians, the way some cyclists and scooters dart in and out of people walking. If there are accidents with any kind of frequency how and where would they be reported?

Emergency room statistics?

 

[Mountain Man]

Most ER visits are people hurting themselves on escooters, this according to the doctor who stitched my elbow up after being taken out by an escooter in the bike lane a couple years ago lol. Apparently adult softball is a big cause of ER visits too lol.

 

[lemongrab]

Apparently adult softball is a big cause of ER visits too lol.

Now that I'm getting old I can absolutely see why. Lots of standing around with very occasional full-effort bursts...it's hard to stay warmed up.

 

[Mountain Man]

Add in some beers and bam, hospital visit! lol.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I've never seen a dirtbike on he pathway before, lots of ebikes and a couple stinky mopeds though.

I saw a dirtbike on the pathway a while back, and was wondering if it was allowed or what the deal was. Only the one time though.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

I saw a dirtbike on the pathway a while back, and was wondering if it was allowed or what the deal was. Only the one time though.

Recently saw one crossing the Glenmore Reservoir.

 

[Mountain Man]

Dirtbikes are definitely not allowed. Though with ebikes becoming more and more common, the lines will be blurred in the near future. The City needs to take a serious look at our pathways and their future with all the personal electric vehicles becoming more and more common. I think we are witnessing a quiet revolution in personal transportation, and with battery technology getting better, it's only going to gain steam.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

It's already at or past that point. I don't have an ebike but over the pandemic I bought a new bike and have also started biking to work at least half the days in the summer. The current status quo isn't going to hold for much longer. Some people don't want to hear this but the classically understood and accepted bike paths in the city centre/downtown are likely over capacity. The varying speeds of users can be dramatic and is much different than a road with vehicles where everyone goes the limit, on a bike path you have people going very slow on a casual ride and others going fast because they're commuting or getting a workout. I'm not sure what the next step in this evolution but it has to be thought about. The other factor to take into consideration is the weather/climate. Bike paths in the summer probably have (estimated) 10 times the use than they do in the winter so how do you adapt them for different uses, different times of year?

I'm just talking about bike paths here, not even cycle tracks. Imagine, more road space for cyclists! Muahaha! It can be frustrating as a commuter to have to pass slower riders on a casual ride (I know I just need to relax, but I like turning my commute into a workout... Sorry). I'd like to see more adaptability, you know those lane reversal vehicles where they pick up and move the median based on which side has the majority of traffic, give me some of that!

Small rant: There are too many rules for parking, stopping, etc. on our roads. I like the adaptability 3 different signs offer (don't park here during these time, pay for parking during these times, don't stop here during these times) but there has to be a better way... Have you seen the amount of signs on 2nd St. SW to accommodate those bike lanes?! Could painting the curb a certain colour work?

 

[Mountain Man]

The best answer is to have fast and slow lanes, that way those of us who ride a bit quicker can get by and those who want to be more chill also can take their time.

 

[artvandelay]

In European cities you see all kinds of two-wheelers using the bike lanes - mopeds, vespas etc. It's not a big deal as long as everyone is driving safely.

 

[Mountain Man]

You see a lot of 2 wheelers on the roads in Europe too. It's a lot busier there and people have learned to deal with it, we are a long way from that here sadly.

 

[Nimbus]

Straight up doubling pathway widths would be a good start (where there is space), and still peanuts compared to road investment.

Riverwalk is a perfect example, no way should they have just put in a standard width bike pathway there. They had to know it was going to end up being a busy corridor, widen it up. And missed opportunity to do just that with the flood wall work, everything going back in right now like before.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

people have learned to deal with it

I honestly think we're a generation away from properly sharing the road. The growing biking infrastructure on city streets has really helped getting people to bike in the city and not just on river pathways. A bike line separated by a small cement bollard and green cones doesn't make it that much safer, a vehicle can crash through that at any time. But what it does is give drivers a visual separation, one they didn't have before, so they're learning.

We can do anything we want with the space between buildings. Its been a choice for so much of that space to be dedicated to vehicles, the more people that bike, the more they'll demand space for biking (riding is really what I should say to include scooters or whatever). We're closer than we have ever been to rethinking the space between buildings, even in Calgary, its just going to take more time.