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He also covered improvements to the Yonge/Queen's Quay intersection: (protected waiting area, bike box etc.)
Very big news as biking this section during tourist season can be a headache between pedestrians and rideshares.

The Harbord enhancements look great. We need more of that all over the city.
 
Meanwhile, on Shuter Street, there are these wishy-washy separators that are supposed to allow for garbage trucks and such to go over them. Problem is, these flaps(?) are rusting and busting all along the cycle lanes. Some are leaning, while others are fully busted and just laying flat now or broken off completely.

I wish they would just commit to something permanent and make it universal. There are too many streets with too many different "types" of bike lane implementations. It comes off very indecisive and reminds of the garbage cans across the city. What version are we on now? 5? 6?. 😑

20251013_112113.jpg


20251013_112125.jpg
 
I mentioned this very thing to a city official after struggling to find information on the Toronto.ca website and they chuckled when I told them I have been a web designer for 26 years with a heavy emphasis on UX and I felt stupid not being able to find such simple information. I said I should get a job there to fix all this. With a smile in her voice, she said "You should" with a long pause like she wanted to say more. 😅

Anyway, they are horrible for upkeeping the website. Relevant information is not updated promptly. Example: The Cherry House Affordable Housing Lottery that is up on the Toronto website now. It ends on December 1st. Watch how long that information stays on that page past December 1st. Before that, the last lottery was up for at least 4 months past the end date. 🤣 Literally simple scripts can simply have that information vanish from a page on the end date or even setting a note in an email calendar to remove the info would also work.

As a result, I'm never sure if I'm reading any information that is current on any of the city websites (Toronto.ca, CreateTO, etc). 😔
Part of the problem with City info is that it needs to be OKed by so many layers of 'communications" staff etc that even simple things do not get fixed for months. In the old days, the engineers were allowed to hold public meetings about plans, now they are chaperoned by communications staff - who seldom know anything but try to stop those who do from sharing it.
 
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I was out cycling on the martin Goodman today and can report...

View attachment 688847

This is the very bumpy section and my ass is going to be VERY happy once it's done!
Maybe they could start by fixing Unwin. Personally, I’d love to see a smooth, fast loop around Commissioners, Leslie, Unwin, and Cherry, all right hand turns.

High Park used to be a great loop, as was Exhibition Place and the Spit. Each of those areas eventually introduced measures to deter fast riding. Instead, the city should consider dedicating one or two times a week for cyclists, similar to what they do on Sunday mornings in Ottawa, Gatineau, or Central Park.

Closing Lake Shore on weekends during COVID was a great idea. The road was too busy otherwise, unless you went out early. But maybe this city is just too big for something like that to work consistently.

Right now, there’s really no safe place to ride fast outdoors, except indoors in Milton.
 
Per Cycle Toronto's social media, Phase 2 consultations for Trethewey will be happening on Wednesday, October 29 (7 - 9 PM) at Charles E. Webster Public School (1900 Keele Street). If you can't make it, you can submit your feedback by Sunday, November 9.


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1760663031174.png
 
Meanwhile, on Shuter Street, there are these wishy-washy separators that are supposed to allow for garbage trucks and such to go over them. Problem is, these flaps(?)

Curb mounted Flexi-posts.

are rusting and busting all along the cycle lanes. Some are leaning, while others are fully busted and just laying flat now or broken off completely.

That's normal, they are refreshed from time to time.

I wish they would just commit to something permanent and make it universal. There are too many streets with too many different "types" of bike lane implementations. It comes off very indecisive and reminds of the garbage cans across the city. What version are we on now? 5? 6?. 😑

They are committed to something permanent, but that goes in during major resurfacing or reconstruction of the road, every 20-60 years.

This is the temporary, or interim choice. Pouring a permanent curb or raising the cycling track means moving all the catch basins (drains); its much more involved and expensive.

You would either get a lot less cycle tracks or you would have to find another 40-80M per year.

There is another interim solution, which is the mini jersey barriers, but those are also more expensive and require a bit more room.

I get that its not ideal, but at best, the ideal is a 30 year project. So this is what's on offer, unless, you'd prefer less but better, or have the heft to find the additional money required.
 
Toronto's Chief Planner, Jason Thorne posted on Bsky recently with a number of updates on downtown cycling infra.

The first we've covered here extensively, but I'll share his photo just the same, Habord:

View attachment 688823

He also covered improvements to the Yonge/Queen's Quay intersection: (protected waiting area, bike box etc.)

View attachment 688824

And work on Wellesley: ( new raised cycle track/platforms at bus stops)

View attachment 688825

Checkout Jason's stuff on Bsky here:


That Wellesley raised cycle track and bus platform existed before, back in 2021, before they were destroyed to accomodate the two-way car traffic as the road was narrowed for condo construction across the street. I hope the developer paid to have it reinstated.

Screenshot_20251017-000353~2.jpg
 
That Wellesley raised cycle track and bus platform existed before, back in 2021, before they were destroyed to accomodate the two-way car traffic as the road was narrowed for condo construction across the street. I hope the developer paid to have it reinstated.

View attachment 688983
The developer is normally expected to replace what was there OR make it better. I assume they were charged for the raised track reinstatement (and if there had not been a raised track might have had to pay to put one in.
 
Meanwhile, on Shuter Street, there are these wishy-washy separators that are supposed to allow for garbage trucks and such to go over them. Problem is, these flaps(?) are rusting and busting all along the cycle lanes. Some are leaning, while others are fully busted and just laying flat now or broken off completely.

I wish they would just commit to something permanent and make it universal. There are too many streets with too many different "types" of bike lane implementations. It comes off very indecisive and reminds of the garbage cans across the city. What version are we on now? 5? 6?. 😑

View attachment 688833

View attachment 688832
Why the heck are we using non-galvanized or other ferrous steel for this work?
 
Meanwhile, the "sound of crickets" on nearby Black Creek Drive (which cuts through Tretheway Drive) between Eglinton Avenue West and Jane Street. Currently, pedestrians and cyclists, are "forbodden" along Black Creek itself for "safety" purposes.
Black Creek Drive.jpg
 
Curb mounted Flexi-posts.



That's normal, they are refreshed from time to time.



They are committed to something permanent, but that goes in during major resurfacing or reconstruction of the road, every 20-60 years.

This is the temporary, or interim choice. Pouring a permanent curb or raising the cycling track means moving all the catch basins (drains); its much more involved and expensive.

You would either get a lot less cycle tracks or you would have to find another 40-80M per year.

There is another interim solution, which is the mini jersey barriers, but those are also more expensive and require a bit more room.

I get that its not ideal, but at best, the ideal is a 30 year project. So this is what's on offer, unless, you'd prefer less but better, or have the heft to find the additional money required.

The strange thing is that this particular point I photographed is right where the Regent Park Phase 1-3 Redevelopment happened. I remember the workers redoing all these sidewalks from scratch. I really wish they would have just implemented a raised bike lane at that time. More efficient and it would be done and over with (for 20 years or so).
 

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