Are rumble strips a good idea?

my first look at this idea and it seems like a really good one. It all comes down to the design and implementation of it though. The criteria that sticks in my head the most is that the rumble strips should be installed on the car lane side of the white line demarcating the bike lane. that way we get our full width of bike lane AND cars get their warning BEFORE they actually encroach on our space. My concerns are in winter, do they just fill up with snow and ice creating an extra slippery strip down the road? how deep are the ruts? worse than the potholes we already deal with? The good thing about the Lawrence bike lanes is that it sounds as if the city is finally installing them as they should..... repaving the road so the lanes are actually bikeable. What a crazy idea!

Great... progress...an idea that's actually doable and not extremely expensive...

Let's get ready to RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRumble!!

(translation" just get on with it)

Rumble strips were discussed at the last TCAC meeting when they were proposed as a means of keeping motorists from crossing into the bike lane at the western approach to the Bloor Viaduct.

The feedback from Dan Egan (Manager, Pedestrian Cycling Infrastructure) was that they posed safety risks for cyclists, as you have already pointed out. They also wear down and form holes when they are driven over fairly regularly, unlike the ones along the 401 that vehicles connect with less often. In the winter, the strips would fill with ice & snow with obvious hazards there.

I was a little disappointed to hear that rumble strips were not a good option, hopefully another solution exists.

There are camera regulated intersections that snap a picture of a vehicle that runs a red light, maybe there is some potential in that.

Great article Val

Rumble strips are essentially a bunch of small, regularly spaced potholes ... it will make it more difficult for cyclists in the bike lane to exit the lane (say, to make a left hand turn using the turning lane, avoid debris, etc).

I've actually gone down moving out of a bike lane with a pavement crack running right at the edge of the lane (going to make a left hand turn). I was amazed how little warning I had, and how quickly I went down.

Scared the beegeesus out of me!

As these rumble strips wear, fill with water and freeze (turning them into real potholes), the edge of the bike lane will simply deteriorate into broken pavement. And, we all know how long it takes this city to properly address broken pavement.

A solid no thanks from this rider!

Hey, thanks for your lack of support on rumble strips. It's amazing how people jump all over innovations like this. Perhaps if it was your idea you'd support it.

Biking includes falling down once in a while - get used to it or get off and take the bus. Stop blaming inert objects for what is essentially a natural characteristic of two wheels.

Better yet, get a tricycle and stop complaining.

Kudos to Tom for using his real name... no whinny wimp that guy. What's the point in being so passionate about your opinions if you're not willing to put your name on it.

Anon.

PS: asphalt with recycled glass content lasts longer. Reflectors would be even better.

I'm glad Dan Egan had enough sense to speak against the rumble strips. Just think of what would happen with all the snow we've been getting and which invariably takes up most of the bike lane. You'd have nowhere to ride at all, but right on the strip, or right next to it. Dangerous and inconvenient.

It amazes me sometimes that a city that consistently gets large amounts of snow every winter seems to put zero thought into how its projects are going to look when winter comes. Everything - roads, sidewalks, sewer grates, parking spaces and so on - seems to only be built for summertime. Winter? We dont' want to hear about no stinkin winter, we'll just pull a blanket over our heads and hibernate for six months...

Sure city staff lack both foresight and imagination, but really why should they bother. The folks to thank for lack of cycling infrastructure in this city are those folks who voted in two consecutive Harris governments, and supported Johnny Cretien's incessant downloading of expenses on the provinces and cities.

They, the voters, saw it more important that their RRSP grew, at expense of their city. And where are they (we) now - in a crappy city with a crappy investment portfolio.

Take a look at the Metrolinx reports on cuts to transit funding over these past two decades (down at times to zero) and you'll see that it will be a long time before metropolises recover and can even think about bikes or what something looks like in winter.

So, thank these people: your Mom, your grandma, probably a brother or two, your cousin and your next door neighbour. They are the ones who no doubt will be voting in a majority of anti-bike councillors in the next municipal election. They'll fall for their lies once again, no doubt.

On that note: What ever happened to Adam Vaughan and Gord Perks anyway...

Glad there is so much interest here - I was hoping that there would be more ideas and suggestions into alternatives. Surely we can harness the creative potential that resides within the cycling community.

Rumble strips seem like a good idea at first, but there are undeniable problems associated with putting them beside a bike lane.

I'm glad to see the rumble strips seem to be one additional threat we don't have to worry about on the road in the near future. One plan I'd like to see implemented is the installation of signs around the city that state simply "Cyclists can use the whole lane". The attitude of drivers that cyclists don't belong on the road leads to alot of aggression and the "buzzing" you occasionally see and other deliberate moves that put the cyclist at risk as a result of a driver's aggression. A clear reminder that yes we are allowed on the road would do more good for city cycling than 10 million bike lanes IMO and it would cost very very little to implement.