Doug Ford made clear one of the obvious problems in understanding around active transportation recently, (kind of like he and his brother around streetcar 15 or so years ago- and it getting in the way, when it carried 3 times as many people). Yes, the outer reaches of the bike lanes were relatively empty, but the question that was not examined, where the actual flow limit for cars was experienced, did bikes move more people per meter of road space, than the cars that space would be created for, would in their space. A bike lane can look very empty and still carry more people as two very full lanes for cars, and what matters is the point where the bottleneck is actually experienced. Drive anywhere on a highway, and you will discover often the cause of you being at a stop is actually many km ahead of where you actually are at the time.
Toronto should be looking at creating and using 1 way streets to permit the creation of dedicated lanes for Streetcars and bikes. Having a streetcar going east on one street, west on another, in a dedicated lane, should be something that is seen as natural, not something that is only considered when we need to do diversions. Further it should not be hard to ban (and effectively block) turns across the tracks on those streets, and having the lane between the car and the sidewalk for bikes (bikes directional flow as streetcars) with the transit facing side of the lane, also used for platforms. If this was just done, Bathurst to Cherry, on Adelaide and Richmond, would it not provide a space for bikes and streetcars to flow swiftly through the slowest portion of core? Other side of Don, look at changes to Eastern and Queen, to allow design and speed? Use improved streetcar and well protected bike lanes - as part of the anchor for substantial development? Side note, one way street should also be easier to create support for improved signals timing and transit priority for streetcars. This for cyclists should also mean a greater chance of a smoother ride, flowing along with a streetcar, which even if it gets all the lights, stops every 500-700 meters would still make keeping up easy, as exceeding an average of 20 km/h for the streetcar would likely be met with Leaf's winning the cup type of jubilence .
Minor changes to design, would provide vastly improved movement and safety for cyclists, and transit users, while likely also improving the flow of traffic generally, as it would likely move more people to alternate modes than it would remove capacity for cars, through the critical bottleneck spaces.
I would note, the city has major holdings in parking, and while only about 15% of lots have attendants, sheds close to a lot attendant, would be a quick way to provide some secure bike parking in core, very few spaces would provide spaces for a lot of bikes.
I agree re using green p for bikes and they appear to be doing that. Think you have a lot of great ideas re streetcars though I think one ways are much less the panacea they sometimes appear to be!
Serious improvement requires stop spacing to be increased, at the least 500 meters... apart, and most 700. Also requires removing all track crossing turns from that street - and serious enforcement of no blocking intersections.
The real thing with using 1 ways, is removing lanes for cars, and using them for radically more space efficient transportation, like streetcars, and a willingness to reflect the same sort of priority for transit over cars in the signals, for those streets. One-way streets are only going to be really useful, if the streetcars can run without dealing with cars either in their lanes or crossing them. The only reason in my mind to focus on the one-ways, is because politically there is no way you are getting an exclusive lane today on King or Queen.
I think the hardest part here is getting both decision makers and average voters in Canada to branch out in terms of where in the world to learn from. If/when that happens, the rest will be easier.
As I said on Twitter/X, in Toronto and the GTA we have the bones and the bare architecture of a truly great Public Transit System. I feel where Toronto/GTA has got caught up, is we've tried to both-sides this - Gov'ts appealing and making plans for both Transit users AND Drivers. We have to SOMEHOW get more people out of cars, but it's a hard habit and behavior to break. Clearly the Ford Gov't is Pro-Driver and Pro-Car with many things they are doing - they are doing some good things with Public Transit as well, but really that needs to be put on Steroids, and all of the insane $Billions Ford wants to spend on unneeded Hwys and Fantasy Projects - needs to be poured into Public Transit!
I think you've got it slightly wrong. Even if the gov talks a lot about drivers they are spending like 3x more on transit. The amount being spent should deliver a total transformation (we will get a lot), but because of high cost will deliver less.
Convert Queen and King to pedestrian streets with transit and bike infrastructure. funnel more traffic through Adelaide and Richmond (and undo some of the poor decisions that're slowing cars down — both streets need right-turn lanes in addition to left-turn lanes because of the number of pedestrians).
Doug Ford made clear one of the obvious problems in understanding around active transportation recently, (kind of like he and his brother around streetcar 15 or so years ago- and it getting in the way, when it carried 3 times as many people). Yes, the outer reaches of the bike lanes were relatively empty, but the question that was not examined, where the actual flow limit for cars was experienced, did bikes move more people per meter of road space, than the cars that space would be created for, would in their space. A bike lane can look very empty and still carry more people as two very full lanes for cars, and what matters is the point where the bottleneck is actually experienced. Drive anywhere on a highway, and you will discover often the cause of you being at a stop is actually many km ahead of where you actually are at the time.
Toronto should be looking at creating and using 1 way streets to permit the creation of dedicated lanes for Streetcars and bikes. Having a streetcar going east on one street, west on another, in a dedicated lane, should be something that is seen as natural, not something that is only considered when we need to do diversions. Further it should not be hard to ban (and effectively block) turns across the tracks on those streets, and having the lane between the car and the sidewalk for bikes (bikes directional flow as streetcars) with the transit facing side of the lane, also used for platforms. If this was just done, Bathurst to Cherry, on Adelaide and Richmond, would it not provide a space for bikes and streetcars to flow swiftly through the slowest portion of core? Other side of Don, look at changes to Eastern and Queen, to allow design and speed? Use improved streetcar and well protected bike lanes - as part of the anchor for substantial development? Side note, one way street should also be easier to create support for improved signals timing and transit priority for streetcars. This for cyclists should also mean a greater chance of a smoother ride, flowing along with a streetcar, which even if it gets all the lights, stops every 500-700 meters would still make keeping up easy, as exceeding an average of 20 km/h for the streetcar would likely be met with Leaf's winning the cup type of jubilence .
Minor changes to design, would provide vastly improved movement and safety for cyclists, and transit users, while likely also improving the flow of traffic generally, as it would likely move more people to alternate modes than it would remove capacity for cars, through the critical bottleneck spaces.
I would note, the city has major holdings in parking, and while only about 15% of lots have attendants, sheds close to a lot attendant, would be a quick way to provide some secure bike parking in core, very few spaces would provide spaces for a lot of bikes.
I agree re using green p for bikes and they appear to be doing that. Think you have a lot of great ideas re streetcars though I think one ways are much less the panacea they sometimes appear to be!
Serious improvement requires stop spacing to be increased, at the least 500 meters... apart, and most 700. Also requires removing all track crossing turns from that street - and serious enforcement of no blocking intersections.
The real thing with using 1 ways, is removing lanes for cars, and using them for radically more space efficient transportation, like streetcars, and a willingness to reflect the same sort of priority for transit over cars in the signals, for those streets. One-way streets are only going to be really useful, if the streetcars can run without dealing with cars either in their lanes or crossing them. The only reason in my mind to focus on the one-ways, is because politically there is no way you are getting an exclusive lane today on King or Queen.
I think the hardest part here is getting both decision makers and average voters in Canada to branch out in terms of where in the world to learn from. If/when that happens, the rest will be easier.
I think the voters are already there honestly. Its all about government.
As I said on Twitter/X, in Toronto and the GTA we have the bones and the bare architecture of a truly great Public Transit System. I feel where Toronto/GTA has got caught up, is we've tried to both-sides this - Gov'ts appealing and making plans for both Transit users AND Drivers. We have to SOMEHOW get more people out of cars, but it's a hard habit and behavior to break. Clearly the Ford Gov't is Pro-Driver and Pro-Car with many things they are doing - they are doing some good things with Public Transit as well, but really that needs to be put on Steroids, and all of the insane $Billions Ford wants to spend on unneeded Hwys and Fantasy Projects - needs to be poured into Public Transit!
I think you've got it slightly wrong. Even if the gov talks a lot about drivers they are spending like 3x more on transit. The amount being spent should deliver a total transformation (we will get a lot), but because of high cost will deliver less.
Convert Queen and King to pedestrian streets with transit and bike infrastructure. funnel more traffic through Adelaide and Richmond (and undo some of the poor decisions that're slowing cars down — both streets need right-turn lanes in addition to left-turn lanes because of the number of pedestrians).
Perhaps! Though Richmond and Adelaide seem unlikely to move dramatically more cars. We just need to accept less.