[drum118]

It sounds like a combined bus/bike lane could solve these issues.

Only if you remove the centre left turn lane. Doing so opens the door for people to park there regardless what the lane is supposed to be for in the first place.

 

[afransen]

It sounds like a combined bus/bike lane could solve these issues.

Not really a fan of bus/bike lanes. I've ridden around buses, and you're constantly overtaking the bus, then having the bus overtake you. I can tell the driver is apprehensive about it and I don't really like the bus squeezing by. Passing seems like a good opportunity to get hit by a car speeding by as I'm squeezed between.

 

[Mind_the_gap]

It really bothered me when I first saw electric skateboards. In my opinion you shouldn't be on a skateboard unless you're willing to push with your feet.

Then electric mopeds. At first I was happy to see mopeds in Toronto, but with the reluctance to license (plate) them, they became unaccountable DUI bikes..

Now electric scooters menacing the city. Haven't scooters done enough to ruin skateboarding - training wheels!

In my honest opinion, none of this is real. You wanna skate, push. You wanna bike, pedal. You want an electric moped, it better have a license plate. You're riding an electric scooter, no comment...

Then there's the dismantling of our recently lost trolleybus networks. The only true electric buses. It takes real effort to maintain the wires.

My biggest quarrel with electric skateboards, bikes/mopeds, scooters, and buses is that everything is made to be as effortless as possible, while before these used to require real, meaningful effort.

I especially hate how everything has an expensive toxic battery that can explode! We've seen that on the TTC.

 

[afransen]

It really bothered me when I first saw electric skateboards. In my opinion you shouldn't be on a skateboard unless you're willing to push with your feet.

Then electric mopeds. At first I was happy to see mopeds in Toronto, but with the reluctance to license (plate) them, they became unaccountable DUI bikes..

Now electric scooters menacing the city. Haven't scooters done enough to ruin skateboarding - training wheels!

In my honest opinion, none of this is real. You wanna skate, push. You wanna bike, pedal. You want an electric moped, it better have a license plate. You're riding an electric scooter, no comment...

Then there's the dismantling of our recently lost trolleybus networks. The only true electric buses. It takes real effort to maintain the wires.

My biggest quarrel with electric skateboards, bikes/mopeds, scooters, and buses is that everything is made to be as effortless as possible, while before these used to require real, meaningful effort.

I especially hate how everything has an expensive toxic battery that can explode! We've seen that on the TTC.

 

[nfitz]

In my opinion you shouldn't be on a skateboard unless you're willing to push with your feet.

In my opinion you shouldn't be in a car unless you're willing to push with your feet.

 

[Mind_the_gap]

Still waiting on a hoverboard...

 

[lenaitch]

It really bothered me when I first saw electric skateboards. In my opinion you shouldn't be on a skateboard unless you're willing to push with your feet.

Then electric mopeds. At first I was happy to see mopeds in Toronto, but with the reluctance to license (plate) them, they became unaccountable DUI bikes..

Now electric scooters menacing the city. Haven't scooters done enough to ruin skateboarding - training wheels!

In my honest opinion, none of this is real. You wanna skate, push. You wanna bike, pedal. You want an electric moped, it better have a license plate. You're riding an electric scooter, no comment...

Then there's the dismantling of our recently lost trolleybus networks. The only true electric buses. It takes real effort to maintain the wires.

My biggest quarrel with electric skateboards, bikes/mopeds, scooters, and buses is that everything is made to be as effortless as possible, while before these used to require real, meaningful effort.

I especially hate how everything has an expensive toxic battery that can explode! We've seen that on the TTC.

Then there's the dismantling of our recently lost trolleybus networks.

Did this post pass through a time warp?

Then electric mopeds. At first I was happy to see mopeds in Toronto, but with the reluctance to license (plate) them, they became unaccountable DUI bikes.

In fact, impaired operation of any electric conveyance.is a criminal offence. You want to drive impaired, stick to a traditional bike or scooter.

 

[Towered]

Still waiting on a hoverboard...

Seriously, it's 9 years late already - must be Metrolinx in charge!

 

[Mind_the_gap]

So... There seems to be a new EU-directive for electric scooters. This is Finland's policy:
Electric scooters and other unregistered electric mobility devices must be insured, if their net weight is over 25kg or their designed speed exceeds 25km/h.

Here is the new traffic sign:

Source

 

[Mind_the_gap]

Interesting developments out of Finland on controlling electric mobility devices - from electric scooter to electric moped/DUI bike:

The Government proposes legislation on micromobility to improve traffic safety​

Ministry of Transport and Communications
Publication date 6.3.2025 14.06| Published in English on 6.3.2025 at 14.11
TYPE: PRESS RELEASE

Electric scooters. (Photo: LVM).
The Government submitted a legislative proposal relating to micromobility to Parliament on 6 March 2025. The aim of the proposal is to improve the safety of electric scooters and other micromobility vehicles.

The Programme of Prime Minister Orpo's Government states that legislation guiding the use of electric scooters and other micromobility will be drawn up during the government term. In addition, towns and municipalities will be provided with tools for managing micromobility.

"Finland's objective is that by 2050 there would be no road traffic fatalities or serious injuries. This is a very ambitious goal, and reaching it also requires that the use of electric scooters is brought under control. Reckless driving under the influence must be stopped, even on electric scooters. As a solution, we propose a blood alcohol content (BAC) limit. We need not only legislative amendments but also more effective communication and traffic education," says Lulu Ranne, Minister of Transport and Communications.

A micromobility licence provides municipalities with an effective way of guiding micromobility services​

The Government proposal includes several amendments to national legislation aimed at guiding and overseeing micromobility and significantly improving its road safety. The proposal is also expected to reduce the costs of damage and the burden on health care caused by micromobility.

The proposal suggests introducing a micromobility licence, which would provide municipalities with an efficient and flexible tool for guiding micromobility services in the municipality’s area. In practice, professional rental of electric scooters or other micromobility vehicles would require a micromobility licence granted by the municipality in the future. The licence conditions would allow municipalities and cities guide and oversee, among other things, the operating times, parking and driving speeds of rental vehicles, for example if this was necessary for road safety, accessibility or road maintenance.

The Government also proposes a maximum permitted blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.5 per mille for riding light electric vehicles and motorised bicycles. In addition, traffic controllers would be given the opportunity to breathalise cyclists and riders of light electric vehicles or motorised bicycles in traffic.

Furthermore, the proposal would increase the traffic penalty fee for users of micromobility vehicles and introduce new traffic control devices to enable the steering of light electric vehicles separately from bicycles.

Compliance with traffic rules, ability to control the vehicle and not drink or drug driving reduce risks of electric scooters​

Several acts already apply to the use of electric scooters and other light electric vehicles. The Road Traffic Act, the Vehicles Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Safety Act and, the most recent one, the Motor Liability Insurance Act are the key acts applying to micromobility service providers and service users. The same traffic rules apply to riding an electric scooter as to a bicycle. Riders must comply with traffic rules and signs. An electric scooter may be used on cycle paths or lanes and, in the absence of these, on the road or verge – but not on the pavement.

Passengers may not be carried on an electric scooter or a light electric vehicle unless it has a passenger seat. The rider may not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, tired or in another similar condition that would weaken the ability to use the vehicle safely.

What’s next?​

A referral debate on the Government proposal now submitted to Parliament will be held in a Parliament plenary session. The date of the session will be announced on the Parliament website (upcoming plenary sessions).
After the referral debate, the proposal will be taken to a parliamentary committee. After the committee submits its report, the process will continue in a plenary session.
The statutory amendments are intended to take effect on 1 May 2025.

Source

 

[reinventingthewheel]

Interesting details out of the City’s Congestion Management Plan - 2025 Update
(link)

Part of the main report dissected by DSC here. I’ve picked out some bits from the report’s attachments:

Roll out strategy on implementation of peak hour delivery restrictions (E 11.1)

City Council had requested that the General Manager, Transportation Services develop a strategy for the implementation of peak hour delivery restrictions. Although it may make sense on the surface to restrict deliveries during peak hours of the day, it would also lead to a number of issues and challenges for many shippers and receivers as outlined in the points below:

• While restricting delivery trucks during peak hours might ease traffic congestion temporarily, it would lead to a surge in truck activity before and after the restricted period. Some areas might experience bottlenecks if multiple trucks attempt to deliver goods at the same time when restrictions lift.
• Many businesses rely on timely deliveries, especially restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers. Restrictions could disrupt their supply chains, leading to inventory shortages. Also, small businesses with limited storage space may struggle to stock up in advance.
• For some businesses forced to receive deliveries overnight or early morning, they may be required to hire additional staff, leading to higher operational costs, creating a financial hardship.
• For some delivery companies, they may have to adjust their schedules, increasing costs that would ultimately be passed on to businesses and consumers.
• Implementing and enforcing such restrictions would require additional resources, such as monitoring and penalties, which could strain city budgets.

For the above reasons, it is recommended that peak hour restrictions not be pursued.

Instead, a more measured approach, where an off-peak delivery program be explored with shippers and businesses on a voluntary basis.

Strategy to promote and encourage more road usage on Monday and Friday (IE 11.1)

Of the many metrics followed by Transportation Services to gain an understanding of congestion within the City, the Strategic Regional Research Alliance produces a monthly report called the 'Occupancy Index' that depicts as a percentage the number of employees returning to the office to the number of employees who would normally come into their offices pre-COVID (See Attachment 3).

Their data suggests that the amount of people coming in to work during the week varies from 48 percent (i.e. as typically seen on Fridays) up to 87 percent (as typically seen on Wednesdays) with an overall average weekly of 75 percent. Now that the Smart Commute team has joined Transportation Services, they will be developing a plan to start promoting Monday to Friday road usage from within the City of Toronto first and then leveraging their consultant to bring this plan to key downtown employers.

City responses to Toronto Region Board of Trade’s congestion report:

TRBoT: Price lane closures to incentivize faster, better construction.

CoT: (In addition to new fees effective April 1, 2025) While City staff recognize that the full costs of broader social and economic impacts are likely greater than the lane closure and traffic management recovery fees we also recognize that fees are ultimately passed on by the road occupiers to their end consumers. The level of fees therefore needs to achieve a balance between helping manage the length of time of road occupation and not negatively impacting other key provincial and city goals such as more housing, and affordable housing, provision.

TRBoT: Enhance enforcement on major arterials

CoT: The City has created an internal working group comprising of Toronto Police - Parking Enforcement, TTC and Toronto Parking Enforcement to collaborate on efforts to try to accelerate efforts on all congestion related infractions (e.g. Don't Block the box, illegal blocking bike lanes, illegally passing streetcars and illegal parking in general on critical corridors during peak hours). The City will be engaging with the province on any legislative changes necessary to implement these new programs.

TRBoT: Rebalance the complete streets objectives for priority connector roads

CoT: Moving bike lanes to secondary roads/side streets is not feasible and increases the risk of collisions on arterial streets. The City remains committed to safely and efficiently moving all modes of traffic through the City.

TRBoT: Re-engineer traffic flow at the Gardiner-Harbour nexus (ie. separating traffic streams eastbound at York St similar to same at Jarvis)

CoT: The City is open to the idea of conducting a feasibility study into the possibility for implementing this solution however, recognizing that modelling will be required to assess the impacts to all of the adjacent and side streets.

 

[Northern Light]

In respect of the above noted report, I thought the most interesting bit was the one the City seemed inclined to pursue; which was the changes to Harbour Street.

@reaperexpress would be a good one to weigh in on this.

 

[reinventingthewheel]

In respect of the above noted report, I thought the most interesting bit was the one the City seemed inclined to pursue; which was the changes to Harbour Street.

View attachment 641588

@reaperexpress would be a good one to weigh in on this.

Yep, agreed. It was technically double posted in the report; the part you mentioned and as a response to the TRBoT Congestion Report, which I shared at the bottom of my post.

 

[reaperexpress]

In respect of the above noted report, I thought the most interesting bit was the one the City seemed inclined to pursue; which was the changes to Harbour Street.

View attachment 641588

@reaperexpress would be a good one to weigh in on this.

Unless the weaving between the intersections is actually decreasing the intersection capacity, resolving the weaving won't affect intersection capacity and therefore will not relieve congestion.

It is a common misconception that delays translate to congestion. That is false, it's demand and capacity that determine congestion. In fact, delays to motor traffic that don't affect network capacity technically reduce congestion by discouraging people from driving.

That said, forbidding turns typically increases capacity so that would presumably help regardless of the weaving.

 

[Mind_the_gap]

Kind of getting sick of people inadvertently making "Michigan Lefts" everywhere around where I live...

Don't want to wait for your allowed left turn (+ LPI sometimes) - do a right, and then a U-turn.

They speed through my local plaza, to save a minute or two.