hawc said:
You know what I truly think....

I think you don't need bikes lanes to cycle safely in Toronto.

I know that's sheer blasphemy these days, but I started commuting by bicycle in Toronto to school when I was 12 and I'm still riding to work by bicycle every day in my 50s!

I love cycling. I raced competitively for a decade and I am a through and through cyclist. And I've done it all as Toronto has grown and expanded my whole life.

I think bicycle lanes make things worse for cyclists.

They're crowded with other cyclists, and e-bikers and skateboarders and joggers etc. I hate riding in them.

I think think they give motorists an excuse to show cyclists even less respect if they're ever on a road without bike lanes and tell them to 'Get off my road, get in your bike lane.'

I think bikes lanes are a disaster for everyone. Except those who's real goal was to take away a lane of traffic and slow everything WAY down. Like from 60km/h to 30km/h etc.

Unfortunately, there has now been a new generation that have grown up with only bike lanes and cars are terrifying to them and if a delivery truck so much as parks in their bike lane they literally think they're taking their life in their hands by venture out into a live lane of traffic to pass it. So instead they call parking enforcement and make a TikTok video about it.

It's ridiculous.

Cars and cyclists existed on city streets for decades without bike lanes and I truly do not believe cyclists are safer with the bike lanes.

There I said it. Now you can all scream "BLASPHEMER!!"
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You are SO wrong it is hard to have a rational discussion with you so I won't bother. Maybe stick to your (great) photos?
 
hawc said:
You know what I truly think....

I think you don't need bikes lanes to cycle safely in Toronto.

I know that's sheer blasphemy these days, but I started commuting by bicycle in Toronto to school when I was 12 and I'm still riding to work by bicycle every day in my 50s!

I love cycling. I raced competitively for a decade and I am a through and through cyclist. And I've done it all as Toronto has grown and expanded my whole life.

I think bicycle lanes make things worse for cyclists.

They're crowded with other cyclists, and e-bikers and skateboarders and joggers etc. I hate riding in them.

I think think they give motorists an excuse to show cyclists even less respect if they're ever on a road without bike lanes and tell them to 'Get off my road, get in your bike lane.'

I think bikes lanes are a disaster for everyone. Except those who's real goal was to take away a lane of traffic and slow everything WAY down. Like from 60km/h to 30km/h etc.

Unfortunately, there has now been a new generation that have grown up with only bike lanes and cars are terrifying to them and if a delivery truck so much as parks in their bike lane they literally think they're taking their life in their hands by venture out into a live lane of traffic to pass it. So instead they call parking enforcement and make a TikTok video about it.

It's ridiculous.

Cars and cyclists existed on city streets for decades without bike lanes and I truly do not believe cyclists are safer with the bike lanes.

There I said it. Now you can all scream "BLASPHEMER!!"
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I think we're getting away from the point, (and the thread) as this doesn't address the fact that you think the city is conspiring to make drivers miserable. 😉 But I mostly agree with you here. I WISH we didn't need bike lanes. If we actually de-prioritized cars in the way we design our streets, then in many cases we wouldn't need bike lanes, except for high-traffic roads. The Netherlands is a great example and a leader in this, in which many of their cities' urban cores have roads without signalized intersections, without sidewalks, or delineation for all the various transportation types. Because they've de-prioritized the private automobile in their urban environment, it's created a safe environment for everyone regardless of mode of mobility. If anything you're really making my case for me.

They're crowded with other cyclists, and e-bikers and skateboarders and joggers etc. I hate riding in them.
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Oh no, the horrors of sharing space with other people. 🙄

This however...

I think think they give motorists an excuse to show cyclists even less respect if they're ever on a road without bike lanes and tell them to 'Get off my road, get in your bike lane.'
Click to expand...

...is an extremely problematic way of thinking. What makes anyone entitled to show cyclists 'even less respect'? They're human beings, they're your neighbours.

Unfortunately, there has now been a new generation that have grown up with only bike lanes and cars are terrifying to them and if a delivery truck so much as parks in their bike lane they literally think they're taking their life in their hands by venture out into a live lane of traffic to pass it. So instead they call parking enforcement and make a TikTok video about it.

It's ridiculous.
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^ Yea because cyclists are literally dying on the streets? Is it ok for people to die just because they were trying to get to work or home to their families? Personally I don't think that's acceptable, but I guess that's just me. The fact that it even bothers you that they even have the audacity to speak out about it, says a lot.

At the end of the day, I think (hope) you mean well, but this POV isn't it. I encourage you to engage with the city more outside of the car, and maybe you can start to understand the reality of what many people go through.

To get back on topic, the success of the revitalization of the lower don lands, hinges completely on adequate transit. In this case, the LRT. The city would be negligent to allow housing to be built prior to the LRT being extended to serve these neighbourhoods. Though based on past history (ahem Liberty Village) I don't have high hopes the city will get it right.
 
porto said:
This doesn't address the fact that you think the city is conspiring to make drivers miserable. 😉 But I mostly agree with you here.
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Listen, we can choose whichever word we want but what I've witnessed these last 10 years is the City doing all it can to DISCOURAGE driving.

Nobody could truthfully say the City is actively trying to make Toronto a more pleasant place to drive.

It gets worse and worse each year and that's by design.

So you weirdos have won! 👏 😉
 
It gets worse every year because we have more people every year, and have done very little to prepare our network to cope with that - so they all come with cars. Driving will get worse in Toronto this year, and next year, and every year after that, unless we give people ways to get around without cars. That's the only way out of the trap.

Anyways, I'm a guy in my 40s who has biked around Toronto for two and a half decades. I feel safe driving in mixed traffic, though have had the odd close call. But there is no way I'm biking in mixed traffic with my son on the back seat, unless it's a truly quiet residential street. Without bike lanes to close to my destination, if transit is not convenient, I'll be in the car adding to traffic. Like tons of other parents.
 
hawc said:
Listen, we can choose whichever word we want but what I've witnessed these last 10 years is the City doing all it can to DISCOURAGE driving.

Nobody could truthfully say the City is actively trying to make Toronto a more pleasant place to drive.

It gets worse and worse each year and that's by design.

So you weirdos have won! 👏 😉
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Lived here 12 years, haven't biked once and drive daily for work.

The worsening conditions of congestion are due very little to design of the roads. If that's the grand conspiracy the city is terrible at that too.

Throwing insults around on a forum is wild behaviour for someone in their 50s. We can be better.

Now, let's talk about the Lower Don Redevelopment!
 
evandyk said:
It gets worse every year because we have more people every year, and have done very little to prepare our network to cope with that - so they all come with cars. Driving will get worse in Toronto this year, and next year, and every year after that, unless we give people ways to get around without cars. That's the only way out of the trap.

Anyways, I'm a guy in my 40s who has biked around Toronto for two and a half decades. I feel safe driving in mixed traffic, though have had the odd close call. But there is no way I'm biking in mixed traffic with my son on the back seat, unless it's a truly quiet residential street. Without bike lanes to close to my destination, if transit is not convenient, I'll be in the car adding to traffic. Like tons of other parents.
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One little thing: as the city densifies and mixed-use becomes more common I imagine that residents will more options closer to home/work that will cut down on longer journeys for activities.
 
rdaner said:
One little thing: as the city densifies and mixed-use becomes more common I imagine that residents will more options closer to home/work that will cut down on longer journeys for activities.
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That's the idea, but if the city keeps putting up thousands of units at places that are poorly served by transit (east bayfront, Dupont and Dufferin, Liberty Village...) people aren't going to be living without cars.
 
A few balcony shots taken during yesterday evening's short yet intense wind storm. Let there be dust ...
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I remember filming a rave scene outside that Pinewood warehouse many years ago. Looks very different there now!

Belushi's Toilet - Rave Warehouse.png


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Belushi's Toilet (2018)

In a future not far away, a group of friends puts both their bonds and their sanity at risk to create a perfect new drug after the war on drugs ends.
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