Car Centric to Bicycle Centric

      I found an interesting paragraph in one of my textbooks from school, concerning the difference(s) that bicycles make in the city setting.

"An excellent study by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler at Rutgers University analyzed the reasons for these wide disparities among countries. They note that "extensive cycling rights-of-way in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany are complemented by ample bike parking, full integration with public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and motorists." These countries, they point out, "make driving expensive as well as inconvenient in central cities through a host of taxes and restrictions on car ownership, use and parking... It is co-ordinated implementation of this multi-faceted, mututally reinforcing set of policies that best explains the success of these three countries in promoting cycling." And it is the lack of these policies they note, that explains "the marginal status of cycling in the UK and USA."

     An excellent point is made in regards to giving bicycles right-of-way, instead of giving it to cars. Here in Fredericton, almost always, right-of-way is given to cars. Could we change this ideology while this city is still young? It is a possibility that in the near future, bicycles will begin to overpower cars in terms of quantity. Eventually, Fredericton will have to adapt to this massive change and I'm afraid not many are going to like it.
     The excerpt mentions "ample bike parking, full integration with public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and motorists." I have to admit, Fredericton has conquered the first two. What is mostly needed in this city is the "training of both cyclists and motorists." I cannot count how many times per week I am cut off or completely ignored by cars, or how many times I see bicycles on the sidewalk or riding dangerously on the street. A massive campaign is needed to fix this dilemma.
     In cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Berlin, they make driving "expensive and inconvenient." This being said, encourages the use of cycling or just plain walking. If we lose three parking spaces in downtown Fredericton, there is always a massive uproar. Is it necessarily a bad thing? God forbid you have to take the bus or walk.
     Finally, the last sentence mentions that cycling is not mainstream in North American society. In cities, cycling is not feasible due to urban sprawl and car centric streets.

"If you plan only for cars, then drivers will feel like the King of the Road. This reinfoces the attitude that the bicycle is backward and used only by the poor. But if you plan for bicycles, it changes the public attitude."

New Brunswick Day

     Ah, it is nice to finally have a holiday where you can have an entire day to yourself. I spent the afternoon having a picnic on The Green watching people do their thing. Whether it be going for a holiday stroll, cycling or pushing their kids in strollers. Then there's the sensation of the lush grass tickling your toes and the quiet rush of the river a few metres away. It seems everyone was out enjoy this beautiful summer day!

     There has been some debate between the cyclists, joggers and the casual strollers on whether to pave the trail that winds its way through The Green. I guess they came up with a compromise to pave up to the Carleton Street Pedway. Even if it is just a short distance from the Light House to the pedway, it's better than getting a punctured tire to massive rocks! Hopefully this encourages cyclists to use the pedway instead of running across a four lane highway.

     There are some rare things to see in Fredericton, like a deer running through the Provincial Legislature. Even more rare, is to see a bike rack full of bikes! It is always so heart warming to see so many people taking an alternative to visit a park, or just downtown in general. 

     What better day than to chose a provincial holiday to protest shale gas drilling (hydro fracking) in our lovely province. Literally thousands of people showed up to protest and it was such an awesome sight to see so many people that do not want this controversial drilling method in our province. I totally forgot this protest was happening, until I was cycling by on Queen Street that I saw people swamped the legislature lawn. Honestly, I would have picked a better day, since none of the politicians were in office... Please check out the New Brunswickers Concerned About Shale Gas facebook page, and make sure to like it!

     Also make sure to like my facebook page and follow me on twitter. I am currently working on a contest and updates will be posted via twitter and facebook!

City to Install More Bike Lanes - Daily Gleaner

The City of Fredericton will install another 23 kilometres of bicycle lanes in the capital city this year and 29 km of bike routes by October, says city traffic engineer Darren Charters.

That means by 2012, the focus will be to complete the remaining bits of street network available to cyclists in the city as recommended by a consultant who wrote a master plan for trails and bikeways.

"We are really developing our on-street network in the city. We get a lot of great support from council, the public and even the press on this," Charters said.

"I know some other cities in the province are getting tortured over what they're doing with bike lanes. We really appreciate the support we do get from everybody, especially the public. We get really good input from the public."

Still, he told the city's transportation committee Thursday there continues to be confusion in Fredericton about the different types of bicycle lanes the city is installing.

More public education is needed, he said.

The city will erect signs identifying streets as bicycle routes, but there won't be any pavement markings designating special lanes or prohibited parking areas.

Regent Street, which is a main artery from the south to north sides of the St. John River, is a signed-only bicycle route.

That means cyclists can use it but won't get any special treatment from a traffic standpoint.

Both drivers and cyclists have to share the road, and cyclists have to obey the rules of road, Charters said.

The city has two categories of bike lanes - designated and marked-only bicycle lanes.

A marked bicycle lane is one where a striped white border marks the width out from the curb area where a bicyclist may ride, but parking may still be permitted in those areas, so it's bicyclists beware as they use those.

The city has a third type of bicycle lane that it calls a reserved bicycle lane.

The signs for those lanes bear a diamond, which signifies no parking is permitted in those lanes.

"It's the 3-D: diamond, dedicated, don't park," Charters said of the rule of thumb on reserved bicycle lanes.

The rule citywide is to share the road with cyclists.

Transportation committee chairman Coun. Bruce Grandy said the public continues to be confused about how bicycle lanes work.

He suggested painting the no-parking signs on the ground in the bicycle lanes with the diamonds to avoid public confusion.

Traffic engineers in communities across the country follow International Transportation Association of Canada guidelines to have consistent signing countrywide, Charters said.

Coun. Steven Hicks said he's also had calls from people because the don't-park logo on the reserved bike lanes has arrows pointing outward each way, so some drivers are under the impression that there's no parking permitted at all on either side of the street.

When a bike lane is installed on a street, it may be that parking is removed from both sides or only from the side where the reserved bike lane is.

Check the signs, Charters said.

He said parking wouldn't be permitted in bicycle lanes in high-traffic areas or on truck routes.

The following is a list of where bicycle lanes will be installed this year and where parking is restricted:

* Brookside Drive. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Main Street to Route 105.

* Forest Hill Road. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Canterbury to Kimble drives.

* Irvine Street. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Nobel to Gibson streets.

* Kimble Drive. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Stoneybrook Crescent to Barrett Court.

* McEvoy Street. Parking is restricted on both sides of the street from Noble Street to MacLaren Avenue.

* MacLaren Avenue. Parking is restricted on the south side of the street from Cliffe to Gibson streets.

* Noble Street. Parking is restricted on the east side of the street from Gulliver Drive to Irvine Street.

* Royal Road. Parking is restricted on the east side of the street from Sunset Drive to the Royal Road School.

* Rookwood Avenue. Parking is restricted on the west side of the street from Saunders Street to Woodstock Road.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1425731

Bicycle Infrastructure Ain't Cheap

     Good news everyone! I have found a map, outlined in the Active Transportation Trailway Master Plan and Brookside, Royal, MacLaren, Hanwell and Rookwood are all outlined for a planned bicycle route. If only I can get definite answers from a reputable source, but judging by what I found on the map, they are most likely going to be bike lanes.

     It's funny- these bike lanes have only been around for a month, but cyclists have already adapted to using them, yet they are not even official. It just goes to show, if you paint a few lines on the street that look like a bike lane, cyclists will use them.  I have also noticed the increase of bicycles on the trails and bike lanes this year. Either it is because of the nice weather, a green dream come true or even due to the Princess Margaret Bridge closure. I hope when the bridge re-opens on September 5th, that we don't fall into old habits, but keep up this new habit.

(Bike lane with bicycle marker)

     You may think it is relatively cheap to build and sustain a bicycle culture, but it is actually quite expensive! Cities like Copenhagen or Montréal must invest millions, just to keep current infrastructure up to par. Here are some facts about the bicycle revolution here in Fredericton:

• For every kilometre of bike lane, it costs roughly $20, 000 to paint both sides of the road. 
• To erect signs costs $150 per sign and there are eight signs needed per kilometre.
• To construct a brand new trail costs $150, 000 per kilometre with a paved surface.
• A steel pedestrian bridge over Route 8 from Skyline Acres to UNB would cost almost $1.3 million.
• Asphalt trails are needed for high traffic areas such as The Green, Lincoln, Valley and Northside Trails. The asphalt will last roughly 15 years with yearly maintenance. It costs $45, 000 to pave each kilometre.
• A bridge over the Carleton Street piers would cost almost $3.8 million plus pier refurbishments!
• Almost 2, 200 people cross the Bill Thorpe Bridge each day! Impressive, considering the size of the city.
• 70 kilometres of the city trail system lays on old railway bed, saving us millions in construction costs.

(Crushed gravel surface trail | Bridge over the Little Nashwaak)

Fredericton Faults

     There hasn't been a major earth quake in Fredericton in over twenty-five years, and I suppose the next one will take out the Princess Margaret Bridge. According to Google Maps, it doesn't exist anymore. I'm not here to talk about fault lines or what causes our earth to rumble. (Sorry, I had chili for lunch.) Currently, there are a few ridiculous by-laws for some of the bicycle lanes here in Fredericton. On Douglas Avenue for instance, you are allowed to park in the West-bound lane, where as it is forbidden on the South-bound lane. This law is in effect 24/7 and absolutely does not make the slightest bit of sense. I do admit I was wrong about some of the parking issues, but this by-law would make sense if it was a ban from 7am to 8pm, not 24/7. A bike lane is there to help separate a bicycle from vehicle traffic, not force the cyclist to merge into traffic every 500 metres.

     On York Street, parking is banned on both sides of the street except for the North-bound lane on Sundays. At least this by-law is more reasonable, but it will shock a cyclist not paying attention going 50km/h and finding themselves flying through the back window of a car. Either a car, or a drain will send you flying. You can see in the bottom centre of the image there is a storm drain. The sun is high in the sky, so it hard to tell just how much of a dip there is, but I measured it, and it's anywhere from 2-3 inches! That's a lot if you're on a road bike. I understand it's for drainage reasons, so I advise to go to the left it- but that's common sense.

     The past few days, we've been lucky to have sunny, gorgeous weather! I couldn't resist to go out and have a picnic on The Green and people watch. There was the usual casual strollers, people on their way to or from work, and a dad teaching his daughter how to ride a bike- which is always nice to see. I took this next picture early afternoon during the heat of the day, so there are not too many people around. Just a few people like me enjoying the shade.

     I finally got around to cycling around Devon to check out the MacLaren Avenue 'bike lane'. I am a bit baffled why there is a bike lane only 500 metres from the paved, segregated path. Maybe it's for the children going to school or to encourage density, especially since the new construction of Hillcrest Subdivision. (I think that's the name?) Whatever the reasoning, the addition of more bike lanes will encourage more and more people to chose alternatives.

     I hope everyone gets a chance to get out of the house tonight. Please feel free to send me pictures of your adventures or issues that you stumble upon.

Mystery Bike Lane in Fredericton

It is awesome to see so many cyclists taking advantage of the city’s infrastructure this summer. In an hour, I counted thirty cyclists wizzing down York Street’s bicycle lane. Thirty may not sound like a lot, but in a car-centred city, this is a great number for a city trying to encourage better green habits. I noticed that Montgomery Street has a bicycle lane, but it is only from Smythe to York Street. I’m guessing it has existed for a while as the lines are slightly faded. I've even heard that Goodine Street in Lincoln has one? (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I found an article from 2009 stating a future bike lane on Smythe Street, but two years have passed since then and I have not seen any advancements other than "take care for cyclists/Attention aux cyclists" sign. I wonder if there are any other unnoticed bike lanes in Freddy Beach?

The city has taken another step of being green by using water soluble latex based paint for the road markings. The only down side is that the lines wear down faster than the previous oil based paint. Luckily, bicycles and pedestrians take little effect on the trail markings and they still look fresh from last year. As you have seen from previous pictures of the trail system, the following is a picture of a bridge crossing the Brunswick/Waterloo/University intersection. I will admit, this intersection on road level is quite confusing to anyone who has never used it before. Thankfully, you ignore that as you ride above cars stuck in rush hour!

For many of us who use the many bike racks downtown,  here is an updated map featuring the parking locations. Please let me know if you would like to see other areas of the city that have such facilities!

Sorry my blogs haven't been very eventful lately, but I still have a flu and I am bed ridden until it is gone! I plan on going out tomorrow and discovering anything new that is happening that I have missed. Stay tuned!