Bike Plan: Annette St. and Dupont St.
Over the last few weeks, I have had some communications with Adam Giambrone and his staff. They informed me about the Dupont St. bike lanes that are being planned, and announced it publicly on Wednesday evening at a meeting of the South Junction Triangle Residents Association.
According to Chris Gallop (Adam Giambrone's constituency assistant), the current timeline for implementation is: "The report is going to the Works Committee next Tuesday, City Council at the end of the month, and if approved they should be installed by approximately the end of the summer."
Here is the map (PDF) of the proposed Annette and Dupont St. bike lanes, including the on-street parking configurations.
More background and design details about Annette, St., Dupont St., Pharmacy Rd. (Scarborough), and others can be found in this document (PDF) too.
I also just received this email from the City's Bike Plan people this afternoon:
The Transportation Services report which, among other bikeways, recommends bicycle lanes along Annette Street between Runnymede Road and Dundas Street West, and along Dupont Street between Dundas Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, will be considered by the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at Toronto City Hall, Committee Room 1. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am. The report, referenced as PW16.2, can be accessed via the following link:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/pw/agendas/2008-06-04-pw16-ar.pdf
If you wish to make a deputation on this item, contact the committee secretary, Ros Dyers, at rdyers@toronto.ca or 416-392-8018 before noon on Tuesday, June, 3, 2008. For more information on making a deputation please go to the following link: http://www.toronto.ca/city_council/deputation.htm
If you want to help support the installation of these bike lanes, please make sure you write to the following people before noon on Tuesday, and reference agenda item PW 16.2.:
- Ros Dyers (Public Works and Infrastructure Committee Secretary): rdyers@toronto.ca
- Adam Giambrone (Ward 18 Concillor): councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca
- Gord Perks (Ward 14 Councillor): Councillor_Perks@toronto.ca
- Bill Saundercook (Ward 13 Councillor): councillor_saundercook@toronto.ca
Comments
AnnieD
Underpass?
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 10:17Does anyone have any details on how the underpass and Dupont/Dundas/Annette intersection will be handled? Physical barriers would be nice, at least at the underpass. I'd heard Montreal used poles that can be removed for plowing in the winter.
BrianH (not verified)
Dupont/Dundas/Annette underpass
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 15:16One problem with seasonally removable barriers is their removal would seem to indicate the closing of the lane for the season, which could drag on from October to May if Public Works chose to.
I'd prefer no barriers but proper maintenance and support, including plowing in winter and ticketing of illegal parkers year round (especially in winter.) We lost much of the College Street lanes for months this year - I'd like to see that avoided.
Luke Siragusa
Re: Underpass?
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 11:19For the curious this photo depicts Montreal's approach to bike lanes. The dual direction bikeways are...um...let's say, counterintuitive -- left turns were interesting. Clearly visible are the seasonally installed green posts.
AnnieD
I was thinking more along
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 15:46I was thinking more along the lines of "remove the barriers/plow the lanes/replace the barriers", but maybe that's too much to ask for. Alternatively, have the city invest in little bikelane plows. I hold faint hope that ticketing of illegal parking will ever happen to the extent needed to keep bike lanes clear of cars and safe for cyclists - heck, during our very brief TTC strike, there were two cop cars parked in the College bike lane - one East and one West of St. Georges. Maybe I'm being a little cynical here, but I don't think anything short of concrete or frequent metal posts will keep cars out of bikelanes.
vic
Dupont/Annette/Dundas intersection
Mon, 06/02/2008 - 10:49I haven't seen any design documents about this intersection yet. It's one of my biggest concerns with this whole bike lane.
Eastbound from Annette to Dupont isn't such a big deal....but I'm worried about riding westbound from Dupont to Annette.
Westbound: The current configuration has two lanes of traffic. The left lane is a left turn towards Annette St. Right lane is a left turn to Annette AND straight-thru lane to Dundas St. westbound. If you just stick in a bike lane, any cyclist that wants to proceed from Dupont to Annette in the bike lane will have to watch for traffic going straight across to Dundas.
Not sure what the best solution here is. Advanced green for cyclists? Bike box?
My other concern is that between the underpass and the main intersection, there's a place where you can turn left to get up to Dundas St. south/eastbound. Sometimes this causes a bit of a traffic backup....and I can just imagine motorists pulling around into the bike lane to get around this.
In all honesty, I think I actually kind of prefer the existing layout of that whole underpass / bridge over the possible scenarios. Unless they change things in a more drastic way.... I think the simplest solution for now might be to just keep the existing westbound lanes, but have VERY OBVIOUS and FREQUENT sharrows in the MIDDLE of the right lane.
Eastbound...yes...put in the bike lane right through. And unless they really screw something up with the implementation, I like the idea of these bike lanes overall.
As for Montreal's bike lanes.... I also disliked those. I stayed with a friend who I believe lived just around the corner from the one in Luke's photo. That one was a particularly bad example. It didn't actually stop motorists from parking in the lane, it doesn't take away the door-zone risk, you get pedestrians walking in it or using it as a waiting area to cross the street, it was a litter-collection pit, turns and intersections are much worse, and it just plain felt cramped for space.
vic
My Dupont/Annette letter
Mon, 06/02/2008 - 14:01Here's the letter/deputation I sent in today. Tuesday at noon is the deadline to get your letters in.
-Vic
To: Ros Dyers (Secretary, Public Works and Infrastructure Committee)
Adam Giambrone (City Councillor, Ward 18)
Gord Perks (City Councillr, Ward 14)
Bill Suandercook (City Councillor, Ward 13)
Adrian Heaps (City Councillor, Ward 35 and chair of Toronto
Cycling Committee)
Glenn De Baeremaeker (City Councillor, Ward 38 and chair of
Public Works Committee)
Shelley Carroll (City Councillor, Ward 33, member of Public
Works Committee)
Mark Grimes (City Councillor, Ward 6, member of Public Works Committee)
Chin Lee (City Councillor, Ward 41, member of Public Works Committee)
John Parker (City Councillor, Ward 26, member of Public Works Committee)
Members of the Public Works committee and councillors,
I am a ward 18 resident and homeowner, living at 58 Symington Ave. I
am also a cyclist, pedestrian, and TTC rider.
I am writing to you in full support of the Dupont St. and Annette St.
bike lanes, and would also like to share some other suggestions and
commentary about them.
A few general comments:
On my daily commute out to Mississauga, I usually start off with
riding westbound along Dupont St. and Annette St. This is an
excellent cycling route that avoids some of the Bloor St. hills and
traffic, as well as the Dundas St. traffic, trucks, and dooring
hazards. It's also a great place to stop and shop on my way home, or
pick up a weekend lunch.
I often see many other cyclists riding here: Commuters, children
riding to and from school or parks, parents with their kids in bike
trailers, people riding to the libraries, and shoppers with baskets
full of groceries. These bike lanes will provide an important
connection on the bikeway network, linking the Humber River, Runnymede
Rd. bike lanes, High Park Ave. bike route, West Toronto Railpath, and
the future Lansdowne Ave. bike lanes. This seems like a perfectly
reasonable place to give cyclists some more priority, even at the
expense of some motor vehicle parking. It will also alleviate some of
the issues with sidewalk cycling.
Dupont / Annette / Dundas intersection and railway underpass:
However, I do have one major concern with the bike lanes. In the
documentation that The City has posted online, there are no details
about how the Dupont/Dundas/Annette intersection will be designed.
Many cyclists already pass through here as an east-west route, and
when bike lanes are installed on Dupont and Annette, the cyclist
traffic will increase. An eastbound bike lane through the
intersection and the railway underpass should be OK, but I am worried
what may happen with a westbound bike lane.
Westbound: The current configuration has two lanes of traffic. The
left lane is a left turn towards Annette St. The right lane is a left
turn to Annette St. AND straight-through lane to Dundas St.
north/westbound. If you just stick in a bike lane, any cyclist that
wants to proceed from Dupont to Annette in the bike lane will have to
watch for traffic going straight across to Dundas. Not sure what the
best solution here is. Advanced green for cyclists? Bike box?
Sharrows and signage that show cyclists proper lane positioning for a
connection to Annette St.?
My other concern is that between the underpass and the main
intersection, there's a place where you can turn left to get up to
Dundas St. south/eastbound. Sometimes this causes a bit of a traffic
backup, and I can just imagine motorists pulling around into the bike
lane to pass, thereby endangering cyclists in the bike lane.
A proper re-design and implementation of this intersection will be
extremely important. Bike lanes may in fact make things more
dangerous if not done properly, especially when the numbers of
less-experienced cyclists riding through here increases.
Door Zones:
Another important design issue and potential flaw with the existing
proposal is that when these bike lanes are installed next to motor
vehicle parking spaces, the cyclists end up riding in the "door zone".
This can be extremely dangerous, especially to less-experienced
cyclists who may be lulled into thinking that they are safe just
because they are in a bike lane. Please try to make these bike lanes
as wide as possible, and as far away from the car doors as possible,
perhaps even with a buffer area. The last thing we need on Dupont St.
or Annette St. is another cyclist injured or killed by an opening car
door, like what happened recently on Eglinton Ave.
Bicycle Parking:
It seems there is a lack of decent bicycle parking along some parts of
Dupont St. Please use this opportunity to install more bike racks to
accommodate the increased number of cyclists. Extra bike parking also
replaces some of the lost motor vehicle parking spaces. Perhaps
on-street bike parking areas can be considered as well.
West of Runnymede:
Lastly, I wanted to oppose the decision to not implement the Annette
St. bike lanes west of Runnymede Rd. St. Johns Rd. is not a
reasonable alternative, as it seems to be slower, less direct, and
does not actually go to the same destinations as Annette St. When I
shop on Annette St. or ride to the Humber River, I don't ride on St.
Johns Rd.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments. I hope you
move forward with the decision to implement the Dupont St. and Annette
St. bike lanes, and consider the best designs possible. If you have
any questions, please contact me.
BJH (not verified)
Confused about St John's Rd
Mon, 06/02/2008 - 22:22I ride St John's regularly (since I'm coming south on Runnymede from St Clair) and I really don't think there is enough room on St Johns Rd unless they remove resident's parking. And that won't fly. Realistically, it isn't the kind of road that will benefit from bike lanes, either.
Sigh. Another letter off to Saundercook, to be ignored yet again.
AnnieD
Thanks for posting your letter, Vic
Tue, 06/03/2008 - 10:41I've used it as a model for my own letter, reinforcing the points you've made. Although I don't live in the area, my son did attend Annette PS one year and would have liked to bike to school had there been a safe way to do so, so that's the angle I'm going to take. I know I'm seriously last minute on this one (June is a crazy month), but it's worth taking the time to do because the issues you (and I) raise are important for all bikelanes, underpasses, and complex intersections, and not just these ones. Repetition, repetition, repetition - and after a few years of saying it enough, it does eventually sink in.
Are all councillor email addresses of the form councillor_lastname@toronto.ca?
vic
Annette/Dupont letters
Tue, 06/03/2008 - 10:51Hi Annie,
Thanks for sending a letter too. It's not too late for anyone else as well. Even if you can't write a long, detailed letter, I think a supportive letter will help.
Here's the list of email addresses I sent to:
rdyers@toronto.ca
councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca
councillor_saundercook@toronto.ca
councillor_perks@toronto.ca
councillor_heaps@toronto.ca
councillor_debaeremaeker@toronto.ca
councillor_carroll@toronto.ca
councillor_grimes@toronto.ca
councillor_parker@toronto.ca
councillor_lee@toronto.ca
More contacts: http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp
-Vic
AnnieD
Re: Annette/Dupont letters
Tue, 06/03/2008 - 11:49Phew, got it out with 13 minutes to spare! Thanks for the email list, that helped.
To those who don't have time to write a letter of their own, what people have done in the past in the other area in which I'm involved, when they haven't been able to write their own letters, is send a message with a copy of the letter I have written along with a note saying "I support all the statements made in the enclosed letter." So if you like Vic's letter, then go ahead and send it with a ditto.
vic
Annette - World19
Wed, 06/04/2008 - 11:16The World19 website has a good collection of comments from people in the local community who support the bike lanes. Only one dissenter so far.
http://www.world19.com/bike_comments.htm
You can send your comments to them, and they can add them to the website (anonymously).
-Vic
John Leeson (not verified)
Update from today's PWIC meeting
Wed, 06/04/2008 - 12:48Just heard that the Committee approved the lanes from Lansdowne to Runnymede, and did not accept the diverted route from Runnymede to Jane, but instead is sending it back to staff, Saundercook -- and public consulatation. Let's hope this time the public gets heard, and collectively we get a solution that works.
Thanks Vic for the comments and link to our website above. Some new comments are still coming in, so I'll keep posting them later tonight.
John Leeson
(world19)