Bike Lane Buzz

Hello,

Thank you for providing a comment on the bicycle lanes. In 2016 we had a Trails Master Plan created in order to help the Town prioritize projects which will expand our trail network. Based on the Master Plan we have a few locations on Big Bay Point which suggest we install sharrows (shared roadways). Due to multiple constraints we are only able to implement a certain number of trail connections every year. Please bare with us as we continue to work on implementing the various trail connections suggested in the Master Plan.

Please take a look at the 2016 Trails Master Plan under the following link for more information: https://innisfil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2016.11.30_Trails_Master_Plan_Final.pdf

Hi there!

Thank you for your interest in the Bike Lanes that were painted this past summer/ fall. The bicycle lane on one side of the roadway is found closer to the centre of the roadway to accommodate a parking lane. Now that the pavement markings have been completed we hope this is easier to understand.

Hello,

The Town has not completed a Risk Assessment where Bike Lanes are adjacent to Travel Lanes however, the Town recognizes that a buffer on both sides of the bike lane would be preferred. Based on available width along a street for parking lanes, travel lanes, and bike lanes, we are often forced to choose between buffers with parked cars and buffers with traveling cars due to space constraints. Some factors that helped us make this decision include:

• OTM Book 18, our most complete local guidance for bikeway design, identified the need for a 0.5-1.0m buffer for bike lanes adjacent to parking, while the need for the buffer to traveled lanes is dependent on roadway class, speed and volume.
• We try to follow research about cyclist injuries and risk to maker sure they are designed for injury prevention. Several cities have studied cycling collisions and dooring (cyclist being hit by a driver opening the door of a parked car) is a high risk and frequent collision type. For example, the City of Vancouver found that dooring collisions make up for 15.2% of bike collisions where as a Motor Vehicle and Bicycle use collided while travelling in the same direction makes up for 5.7%. Based on this information it was found that dooring collisions are 3X as common as collision between drivers and cyclists travelling in the same direction along a corridor. We know that parked cars present a significant risk so the buffer is critical in these locations. 

Hello,

Thank you for showing interest in the bicycle lane project! You are correct, in 2019 the pavement markings applied were not as specified and were applied in temperatures below the paint manufacturers recommendations. Roadway paint typically requires temperatures above 10 Degrees C to cure properly to the roadway. The paint applied in 2019 was applied in conditions where it was not able to cure properly and caused the paint to come off the roadway prematurely.  Based on the experience from 2019 the Town did more research to ensure the pavement markings are done properly in 2020 which has caused construction to only begin in August of 2020.

Wherever feasible, the Town recognizes a buffer on both sides would be preferred. Based on the available width along a street for parking lanes, travel lanes and bike lanes, the design is often forced to choose between buffers with parked cars and buffers with travelling cars due to space constraints. 

Some factors that help us make these decisions in these instances include:

• Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) Book 18, our most complete local guidance for bikeway design. OTM Book 18 identifies the need for a 0.5 - 1.0m buffer for bike lanes adjacent parking lanes, while the need for the buffer to traveled lanes is dependent on roadway class, speed and volume.
• Much municipal research indicates that most cyclist injuries are due to cyclists and vehicle doors colliding. The risk to make sure we are designing for injury prevention is higher for these types of collisions. Several cities have studied cycling collisions and dooring (cyclist being hit by a driver opening the door of a parked car) is a high-risk and frequent collision type. For example, the City of Vancouver found that dooring collisions were 3 times as common as collision between drivers and cyclists travelling in the same direction along a corridor. We know that parked cars present a significant risk so the buffer is critical in these locations.

We really appreciate your feedback. 

The Town considered the trade-off between availability/quantity of on-street parking and proximity to end destinations. For example, along a typical residential street that might have houses on one side (like Webster near Nevils), there would be more parking capacity available if you kept the parking lane on the east side of the road because there are fewer driveways and intersections. However, most people want to access the west side, so in this case we went with the west side given that we do not think parking capacity is a major concern here. This is also true near Webster Park. There are more residential properties on the opposite side of the street so we envisioned that more people would be parking for access to these residential homes. 

If there is a high frequency of people driving to the park, we do not think it would be inappropriate to revisit that side of the street for the parking in the future, it just impacts the overall consistency of the corridor (i.e. switching the bike lane to the other side at the intersection).  

During our Consultant’s site visit there appeared to be more demand on the residential side over a longer period of time, however, there is room for consideration and if the bicycle lanes pilot project is adopted as a long term project, the Town will revisit this item and reassess. 

In the meantime, the Town will engage the Consultant to assess the intersection of Webster Blvd and Robin's Gate with it's proximity to Webster Park to determine if it meets the warrants for a crossing. 

We very much appreciate your feedback.

Hello There, 

Thank you for the feedback.

Regarding Big Bay Point Road, the Trails Master Plan recommends the following:

From 13^th Line to West Street – paved shoulder (by 2031)

From West Street to 30^th  – a sharrow which is a line painting exercise with a bicycle lane symbol. I believe these works are all partially funded by Development Charges as well. 

The update to the Town's Transportation Master Plan is scheduled to begin taking place in 2021. Throughout this process, Town Staff will be engaging the public in various ways in order to gain valuable feedback just as you have offered above. 

Thank you for the feedback. 

Multiple user types of road right of ways are most definitely considered and implemented where applicable, even if it's for future use in newer developments. It is a bit trickier trying to accommodate these types of initiatives in well established neighbourhoods with limited width in road cross sections - though we consider it where feasible.  The Town agrees that investing in various opportunities to improve all levels of health is a strategic priority. Again, thank you for the feedback, it is very valuable to receive all types of feedback. 

Hello There, 

Thank you for the feedback. Both Jans Blvd and Webster Blvd are Collector Roads, their primary function being connections to other Collector/Arterial Roads. 

Though parking on road offers many residents the convenience of having more parking spots available than what their typical driveway accommodates,  additional parking on the road hinders snow plow operations and creates many hiding places for children and pedestrians alike. 

The width of the above roads were designed to accommodate multiple types of users.  Parking has been maintained on one side of the road for the convenience of residents who live nearby and bicycle lanes are being installed to help facilitate other Town strategic goals. 

Town Staff recognize that the line painting that was placed in 2019 was very confusing. This was because it was done incorrectly.  Town Staff have put additional precautions in place to ensure the project goes much smoother this time around. 

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the Town with your comments. The Town will be looking into having the lines corrected/ repainted in spring/ summer of 2020.