Mayoral candidate, Rocco Rossi promised to 'review' and 'remove' bike lanes on major arterials: "common sense and safety tell me that bike lanes and arterial roads do not mix."
What if Rocco Rossi became mayor, overrode the advice of Transportation Services and put in his own version of bike lanes? This is what I imagine would result.
Rip out bike lanes on Dundas Street East, despite local objections and replace with "safe" alternative
Cyclists aren't safe on Harbord. Take out the bike lane and replace with this plan
[img_assist|nid=3791|title=Rossi's "Harbord bike lane"|desc=You don't mind having to weave up and down, coming to work 30 minutes later, do you?|link=node|align=center|width=500|height=290]
People would have to be crazy to cross the bridge in a bike lane! Send them through Riverdale Park
[img_assist|nid=3792|title=Rossi's "Bloor Viaduct bike lane"|desc=Who needs the Bloor Viaduct bike lane when you can go up and down the steep hills in Riverdale park? It'll only take you 4x as long.|link=node|align=center|width=500|height=323]
Comments
mark. (not verified)
Brilliant! And this doesn't
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 12:35Brilliant! And this doesn't account for having to go up and down hills...
MattAlexander (not verified)
Cute
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 13:18Cute, but not really helpful. Now he knows what NOT to propose. Should have just let him draw his own ridiculous maps.
I love how this guy is positioning himself as the mayor who will save the city money... by proposing to undo work that has already been paid for. What an idiot.
locutas_of_spragge
Let's see...
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 16:03the problems with Mr. Rossi's proposal include the following:
1) It won't work,
2) It wouldn't make cyclists safer if it did work,
3) It wouldn't move heavy motorized traffic any more quickly if it did work.
locutas_of_spragge
We don't have to imagine...
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 17:41we've actually addressed this before. When merchants expressed concern about parking on Annette, I and others floated a proposal to divert cycle traffic from Jane to Runnymede on Ardagh St. and St. John's Road. In the end, city staff concluded the proposal would not work.
Now, in this specific situation we had three advantages Rossi's proposals would not have. First, the majority of cyclists using bike lanes come up or down Jane St., so a fork wouuld not have inconvenienced many cyclists. We have traffic lights already at three of the four intersections where bikes would have had to turn. And with all that, we still had no way to make bike lanes on residential streets work. If Mr. Rossi really thinks he can build a whole network of bicycle lanes on residential streets, his campaign needs to get some competent researchers.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
SO that is what stupidity looks like
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 18:28haha, this Rossi guy should shut his big pie hole until he gets a clue, what an embarrassment.
Those maps are priceless.... hahaha, could you imagine? I'm surprised the bike lanes don't just go in circles around the block!
Simon Carr (not verified)
Yeesh
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 18:39We have quite the motley crew of candidates to pick from coming up.
Obviously this bike lane issue is one of Rossi's "battle of the bridge" plays. Weird; Miller had the island bridge as one of his core issues originally, and since Miller got elected it seems like Rossi thinks having dozens of scattershot hot-button issues is a sure win.
I've heard it proposed a couple of times that Rossi is a secret plot by the Smitherman campaign to fragment and confuse the right-wing neocon vote, which makes me chuckle because wether it is or not, that's probably the impact it will have.
Silvio (not verified)
Look at the bright side
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 23:31If Rossi is elected and implements his moronic bike lane plan he will build more KM of bike lanes in one year than the great pretender David Miller built during his seven disappointing years as mayor.
chephy (not verified)
Whenever someone uses the
Sun, 03/07/2010 - 02:04Whenever someone uses the words "common sense" I want to bang my head against a wall. Better yet, bet HIS or HER head against the bloody wall. Usually this means the person using these words is as clueless about the issue, as anyone could be.
I hope this Rossi dude is exposed for the moron that he is and forever disappears from our political scene. But then most people are morons and like fellow morons, so perhaps not... Would that ever be a good time to move out of Toronto if that freak gets elected!
The Pedaller (not verified)
The Blame Lane
Sun, 03/07/2010 - 10:21Rossi lacks the credibility and the ability to craft his own platform so he is forming like mold around the perceived problems of today. If that wasn't bad enough, he has turned to fabricating solutions that have no practical purpose other than to further the divisive rhetoric that exists around "the war on cars".
hamish (not verified)
embracing the obvious...
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 09:57Our Bike Plan is already compromised and inferior by avoiding most of the major carterials - and both progressives and conservatives etc. on Council are ducking the issue of Bloor bike lanes, which is the obvious spot for a good route. Maybe the hook should be nearly-free expansion of the pressed subway - if we could manage the repainting of Bloor for bike safety, and this draws 3% of the subway's ridership, that's a real deal for new capacity on this Bloor/Danforth line.
It's unnerving to think that maybe Mr. Pantalone is the only likely higher-profile champion of better biking - including on Bloor. Most of the existing core Councillors are fairly feeble in boosting Bloor biking, and Mr. Kyle Rae promised!! Bloor bike lanes last election, only to have Bloor in Yorkville rebuilt one metre too narrow of easy bike lanes - and with that space being wasted in a wide splash zone....
Direct does equal respect - but our Bike Plan isn't that good in that regard is it? Thanks for putting the topics out there Herb...
Yvonne (not verified)
Thank you
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 10:48Well done Herb - this is a great illustration of his foolish and ill-conceived position on bike lanes. I will be re posting!
Sandford (not verified)
Here's a thought!
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 15:18How about bike lanes on both the turd brown and cherry red lines!??? Problem solved everyone is happy and all the votes are yours! ha ha ha.
hamish (not verified)
the west end "fixes" aren't all too much different really
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 17:30It occurred to me later, that what the CIty is proposing/doing for improving the South of Bloor and west of Bathurst cycling isn't all that much different than the looping routes portrayed - though many cyclists consulted wanted direct routes, the City didn't bother with them. Let's hope that the proposals for the rush hour sharrows do make a real difference, but the two-in-one curb lane on either Queen or King would be the true fix..
Rachael (not verified)
Not safer...
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 19:27I'm pretty sure cyclists will continue to ride along the more direct routes where the bike lanes exist now, even if new bike lanes are made - making it even more unsafe than it is now.
Seymore Bikes
Get Shorty
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 23:01To suggest that the city opted for tangled pretzel shaped bike lanes is over looking the fact that the Bike Plan is a Network. It is more challenging to put bike lanes on main streets, but saying that the city "didn't bother" is short sighted.
geoffrey
re: Get Shorty
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 11:42It isn't that "the City" didn't bother. It is that the majority of councillors are cowards and servants of the automobile lobby. For the better part City of Toronto employees eat and breathe the motor mantra and deeply believe the propaganda launched by the motor vehicle industry. Yes, the Bike "Plan", viewed in its entirety appears focused on moving bicyclists into curb gutters and onto side streets where no one will hear them scream when they are squished under the wheels of motoring rage-aholics.
A "Bike Plan" should be about providing a safe means for bicyclists to traverse the ENTIRE city by direct means. If done correctly it has been demonstrated this can increase ridership and in fact reduce the city's transportation costs substantially as the needed infrastructure costs a fraction to construct and maintain as that required by motor vehicles.
Rossi DOES have a point aside from the one on the top of his head. The bike plan needs updating. Going ahead with what is in the bike "Plan" is vital but more carterials MUST be remade as complete streets. Neglecting the requirements for pedestrian and bicyclist safety cannot continue.
'Nuff said?
Alan (not verified)
IQ
Fri, 03/12/2010 - 12:18You don't need a high IQ to be elected into politics.