[Chris R.]

There is already a cycling specific thread, but because the forum mostly focuses on Toronto, it was suggested to have a Hamilton specific thread, by @Crapht today at Hamilton's Bike Day which was a great success. I thought it would be sensible to include the greater Hamilton region, as sometimes Burlington, Grimsby, Brantford get cycling updates too and putting them in the largely Toronto focuses thread means they get lost in the thousands of posts.

For those who aren't in the know here are some recent Hamilton updates;

- A year or two ago (despite delegating myself on behalf of Cycle Hamilton I forget when exactly) Hamilton raised the fine for parking in the bike lane and sidewalk to $200 in line with Toronto. This was a substantial increase from the prior joke amount of $35 (yes, it really was that low). A major issue is with enforcement. Unlike Toronto, Hamilton doesn't pro-actively enforce most of its by-laws, including this one, it's complaint based only. I probably call by-law 1-2 times per week, and again, because we have no 311, I have to call the city and wait on hold for upwards of 20 minutes to report it.

- York Boulevard is functionally complete, though some finishing touches are still to be completed this year. I believe the city may be doing an official opening ride at some point this year.

- There's some new bike lanes installed by the Queenston Circle that I took some photos of:

Again, I'm on the board of directors for Cycle Hamilton so reach out if you have any cycling related questions about Hamilton. You can also reach me more formally behind info@cyclehamont.ca

 

[Crapht]

Hmm. It still doesn't appear under the Transportation and Infrastructure thread with the Hamilton filter as does the "B line LRT" thread.

 

[Chris R.]

Hmm. It still doesn't appear under the Transportation and Infrastructure thread with the Hamilton filter as does the "B line LRT" thread.

I think it would have to be tagged by one of the mods like @interchange42 or @Paclo

 

[Bojaxs]

Doesn't seem like the city made any attempt to shift utilities to accommodate the bike lanes. Last photo shows a fire hydrant and light post pretty much inside the bike lanes.

 

[Chris R.]

Doesn't seem like the city made any attempt to shift utilities to accommodate the bike lanes. Last photo shows a fire hydrant and light post pretty much inside the bike lanes.

I was told in 2018/2019 moving a light/hydro line pole cost $13,000 each related to Governor's Road. I can't imagine what it would cost today or what a fire hydrant would be. From what I understand. They are doing these kinds of installs to keep the costs low. Once one lifestyle is through they may move the utilities, or when the utilities need to be replaced or adjusted. I think with the LRT as well, they're hesitant to install anything that might be removed in part or in full until after completion.

 

[Crapht]

So does that cycle track end at Strathearne ave? Ideally it would head north through the small hydro cut and connect with Barton and the Pipeline trail.

 

[matt602]

Unfortunately it does end there. They definitely should have extended it North on Strathearne (another ridiculously overbuilt street with little traffic) to Melvin, which hooks up to the Red Hill Valley trail or they could just designate Walter as a bike boulevard as they did with Frederick Ave recently since the bike lane on Melvin ends there anyway.

 

[ownthesky]

Hey Chris! I was curious, are there any quick wins you think Hamilton should do immediately that the city hasn't committed to?

 

[interchange42]

Hmm. It still doesn't appear under the Transportation and Infrastructure thread with the Hamilton filter as does the "B line LRT" thread.

For that filter to to be added to the thread title, a database file has to be tied to the thread. Database files are established whenever we have quantifiable info to present for a particular project... which is tough in a general thread. Maybe putting a "watch" on this thread would be a halfway measure to being updated on it? (I wish we had more universal solutions in the software. Not yet though, sorry!)

42

 

[Chris R.]

For that filter to to be added to the thread title, a database file has to be tied to the thread. Database files are established whenever we have quantifiable info to present for a particular project... which is tough in a general thread. Maybe putting a "watch" on this thread would be a halfway measure to being updated on it? (I wish we had more universal solutions in the software. Not yet though, sorry!)

42

I have a no-email watch on this thread to keep up with it!

 

[Crapht]

For that filter to to be added to the thread title, a database file has to be tied to the thread. Database files are established whenever we have quantifiable info to present for a particular project... which is tough in a general thread. Maybe putting a "watch" on this thread would be a halfway measure to being updated on it? (I wish we had more universal solutions in the software. Not yet though, sorry!)

42

Thank you for the clarification. I appreciate the explanation and I'm actually happy the thread now exists as is for now.

 

[Chris R.]

Hey Chris! I was curious, are there any quick wins you think Hamilton should do immediately that the city hasn't committed to?

Honestly, the city and staff have committed to quite a bit I'd just like to see get done. The city regularly says they have 10 - 20 projects in the works for a year as a result of the accelerated cycling plan, but they're constantly deferred for one reason or another. A good example is the Bay Street bicycle track upgrades that were suppose to be done last summer.

The city already committed to building our cycling infrastructure, and has a pretty solid plan, but the plan isn't perfect and isn't likely to see a substantial improvement until most of the network is built out.

I think the city should also be looking to upgrade heavily used infrastructure. They should be collecting far more information about cycling to get a better idea of bicycle lane usage.

I live by Bayfront Park and during the summer the Bay St bicycle lanes north of Cannon are PACKED with people, families and mostly casual or commuter cyclists, and yet, the bicycle lanes suck, it's a truck route and people park in the bicycle lanes that I have hundreds (yes hundreds) of pictures of cars stopped in the lanes, and I have personally made the city a couple thousand dollars reporting them.

One thing I want the city to commit to is more by-law enforcement of bicycle lanes and sidewalk blocking. It's not pro-actively enforced, and when I do call, like the other day, it's sometimes a 20 minute wait on hold. A reporting number, proactive enforcement, better infrastructure, or the ability to send a picture of the bylaw breaking and then getting a fine automatically would all be great, and a few could be done pretty easily.