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submitted 1 year ago by baernhelm@feddit.de to c/toronto@lemmy.ca
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[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

Why not just install a roundabout?

[-] frostbiker@lemmy.ca 25 points 1 year ago

A roundabout does not protect people riding bicycles. This intersection is designed to make them more visible to drivers.

[-] NathanielThomas@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

You could still put an obstruction in the middle to prevent t-bone collisions while keeping the bike and pedestrian spaces.

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 year ago

Because roundabouts prioritize motorists, their safety, and convenience. Clearly the goal here is to improve pedestrian and cyclist survival and convenience.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Seems the opposite to me. I see in this picture what is essentially a roundabout but missing the central island, meaning people can drive straight through.

Roundabouts force motorists to slow down and can still provide a safe perimeter around the edge for pedestrians and bicyclists.

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This intersection forces drivers to slow down by having floating islands that narrow the lanes and force tighter turning radii. Drivers going straight through interact with pedestrians and cyclists less than drivers who are turning because this is a signaled intersection.

[-] Phrodo_00@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Have you crossed a roundabout by foot? The crosswalk is offset from the border of the road by like 5 meters, meaning it takes like twice as much to cross. The crosswalk is also not in the slowest part of the roundabout.

[-] Smk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Do you any data supporting this ? I really wonder what would be best for cyclists.

[-] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

Roundabouts need more space than a regular crossing and there are buildings on all four corners here.

[-] JimmyChanga@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

That's what mini roundabouts are for.

[-] Madex@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Imagine if they had to drive in the UK lol

[-] dkt@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

...at Bloor and St George? People walk here

[-] bwrsandman@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

These style of intersections were all over the place when I lived in the Netherlands and they make cycling circulation much more fluid and safe. Hopefully they synchronize the lights properly using induction loops on the asphalt.

Also, can we get those in Montreal on the REV? Left turns are deadly for cyclists and drivers sometimes have trouble turning right during rush hour.

[-] 200ok@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

the corner of Bloor and St. George will be completely revamped in the Dutch style — that is, with greater prioritization of cyclists and pedestrians.

[-] fresh@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

Nice. It’d be better if the bike lanes were a different colour.

[-] jcrm@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Agreed, I'd also like to see some bollards at the corners. With how I've seen drivers in this city behave, there's going to be people driving right over those curbs.

[-] 970372@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah just like the Dutch intersections. Which the article mentions they are based on.

[-] pec@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

In Canada street paint lasst ~2 years (it typically fades noticeably after the first winter) and during those 2 years it's obfuscated by snow 10% of the time.

[-] fresh@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

That’s because they’re driven on by cars. Pavement can last decades without potholes and only minimal repainting if it’s for pedestrians and bikes. That’s one of the reasons why car infrastructure is the most expensive transportation infrastructure possible. Cars are a huge drain on taxes.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Pavement can last decades without potholes and only minimal repainting if it’s for pedestrians and bikes.

I would have agreed, but you should see the state of affairs that some of our bike paths are in, and it didn't take decades for them to look like that. Our winters and the combination of salt + freeze/thaw cycles is what destroy asphalt.

Car's don't help, but they aren't the main problem, or else you'd see highways crumbling after a few weeks with almost 400,000 cars and trucks driving on them daily (i.e. HWY 401).

[-] fresh@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

There is a car-free island off of Toronto with pristine roads. Take a look at around the 2-minute mark of this Not Just Bikes video.

This is also why university campuses, which have tons of pedestrian pavement, aren't full of potholes every spring. Same with outdoor malls, amusement parks, and on and on. The freeze thaw doesn't help, but it isn't the main problem.

[-] pec@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I thinks the salt used for melting the ice, the high variations of temperature, the surface being wet non stop for weeks when the snow melts and the frequent snow plowing (which is a huge metal shovel that scraps the pavement) contributes a lot to the fading.

I fucking hate cars too and I agree with you they are completely inefficient. But paint on pavement in cities where the temperature is near 0°C a good part of the year is also inefficient.

[-] fresh@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I doubt the plowing is a big factor since we actually plow our bike lanes much less frequently than other cold countries like Finland and they paint their bike roads. Then again, you have a good point about paint being invisible because it gets covered in snow.

In Finland they use lamps above bike lanes to add colour and signage over the snow. I just think the gray asphalt makes it feel like the area is still for cars. That psychological effect is a huge part of good street design.

[-] pec@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

Pedestrians and bicyclists still have to wait 2 lights to turn left. Streets have been adapting to cars for around 80 years and it still not working

[-] Trekman10@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

Hope it's the first of many!

[-] Dearche@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

It's good, but still needs raised barriers. You can see on the graphic a truck driving right over into the cycling lane.

[-] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

"After worries about the first diverging diamond interchange"

Lol we've had these in Oklahoma for a fucking while... If we can handle it surely they can.

this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
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