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  Anger as cars clog new Simcoe St. bike lane (21 posts)

• SD-B59 said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/778222–anger-as-cars-clog-new-simcoe-st-bike-lane?bn=1

  Anger as cars clog new Simcoe St. bike lane

  There's a fresh new bike lane on Simcoe St. Just six months old, it was meant to calm the nerves of cyclists travelling the busy stretch under the GO lines and the Gardiner.

  Instead, it's a parking lot.

  As convention season heats up in Toronto, every major taxi company has cars sitting in the Simcoe St. bike lane, waiting to pick up fares from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

  On Wednesday, a uniformed police officer ushered taxis into the centre's parking lot. He didn't chastise them for clogging the bike lane, or for idling, which carries a fine of up to $5,000. When the Star asked him to clear the bike lane, he said he'd "call someone."

  Minutes ticked by. A cyclist stopped to make the same request. "I'm pissed off and frustrated," said the cyclist, Daniel Hall. On his way south to the ferry docks, Hall was attempting to use the lane for the first time. Instead, he found cars backed up all the way from Bremner Blvd. to Front St.

  The officer finally said he'd notified parking enforcement. While waiting for them to show up, the Star chatted with a few drivers. When told it was illegal to stand in a bike lane, some said, "No it's not," and others, "It's only for today."

  Beck and Royal taxi dispatchers said they'd get their cars to leave the lane, but no one did.

  Twenty minutes after the officer called for parking enforcement, no one had shown up. So, the Star called and was told a car would be sent out.

  Thirty-five minutes later, the lane was still full of idling cars.

• Joe T. said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Thanks to Tory Law and Duncan for breaking this story before anyone else!
  http://bikingtoronto.com/duncan/lower-simcoe-taxi-stand-wait-thats-a-bike-lane/

• Amy Cooney said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  This exact thing is happening on Vaughn Road – they put new bike lanes in a couple of summers ago and they immediately became parking spots! It's extremely frustrating and there doesn't seem to be any enforcement. Illegal parking has always been a bit of a problem on Vaughn Road but since the bike lanes were put in illegal parking has increased!
  It appears to be a lack of respect for the lane as an actual lane of traffic. There definitely needs to be some enforcement – motorists need to know there are consequences to parking illegally in a lane of traffic.

• Duncan H said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Here's more from the Toronto Star. It doesn't look like there's a solution to this, at least not one we'll see soon:

  http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/article/778663

  Traffic cops powerless to enforce bike lanes
  Keeping lanes clear may take higher fines and more ticketing power

  … three main obstacles for parking enforcement officers trying to enforce bike lanes.

  One, there’s no specific bylaw. Smith can’t track how many tickets are issued to cars sitting in a bike lane because such tickets are bundled with any others handed out for parking in a no-stopping zone.

  Next, the fine is too low. Last November, Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union made a presentation to the Toronto Police Services Board, asking for tougher enforcement around bike lanes.

  She wants the $60 fine for cars that cross a solid white line to enter a bike lane to be doubled to $120, which is closer to the $100-$150 fine charged for parking in a fire route or a handicapped space.

  “We’re told to stay as far right as possible, then we’re forced to swerve into traffic,” says Bambrick.

  Her suggestions were passed on to the city manager. Councillor Adam Vaughan, a police board member whose ward includes the convention centre, says council should be discussing a bike lane bylaw by the spring.

  “Ticketing is the only way to do it,” said Vaughan, who said the discussion would include the possibility of raising the fine.

  Smith also sees it as a major problem that parking enforcement officers are required to ask drivers to move before ticketing them. Most will just pull away if they see an officer approaching their illegally stopped car.

  The constable, who is on the Cycling Advisory Committee, thinks parking officers should have the power to immediately issue a ticket to any car parked illegally, and to have the ticket stick even if the car leaves. That’s a recommendation police have made several times to the province, which has said only that it will consider changing the “drive away” ticketing rules.

• James Schwartz said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I live on King street, and there is a no standing rule from 7-9AM and 4-6PM. If I look out my window and see a car block the right lane during these time slots, someone will enforce it almost immediately.

  I've seen police officers pull up behind the car and use the siren/horn to move the car along, I've seen parking officers hand out tickets, and I've even seen tow trucks pull up within minutes.

  Even if we are successful in doubling the fine, it still won't matter if nobody is there to enforce it.

  Until the Toronto Police (including parking bylaw officers) make it priority to enforce bike lane infractions, this will continue to happen. Unfortunately I can't see this happening until we have a critical mass of cyclists out there being impeded by these infractions.

• Joe T. said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  James – the same thing happens on the Danforth just after 4 pm every weekday.

  I've often seen people running out of stores (for block after block as I ride east) to avoid getting their car towed.

  The stretch of the Danforth between Broadview and Pape is awesome to bike when parking is allowed – traffic is (very) slow – and bikes and pedestrians start to dominate (especially during weekend evenings in the summer).

  I'd almost push for all-day parking on this stretch instead of bikelanes… something I'm sure we could get the local BIA behind.

• michael holloway said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  He he,
  Joe that reminds me of couriering in the core at 4:30; packages had to be off by 5:00 or you risked mail rooms and offices would be closed – you'd have to drop same days the next morning before 9:00. So that's the busiest time of the day for a courier, and as luck would have it all the core streets are a parking lot, and there you are whizzing about between lines of stopped cars, traffic lights are meaningless because of grid lock – ironic for the bike courier "operating on two hours sleep".

  An instance where apocalypse theory works.

  Michael Holloway

• James Schwartz said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I agree Joe, I find it more enjoyable to ride King or Queen street when cars are parked rather than at rush hour. At rush hour, cars fill the right lane and you either get stuck behind cars, or you need to squeeze past them (or some people go up on the sidewalk to get around the lineup of cars).

  After cycling in New York City last weekend, I have a new appreciation for cycling in Toronto. Sure, New York has installed a lot of new cycling infrastructure over the past 3 years, but as soon as you get off of the segregated bike lanes, you are on fast one-way streets with high-speed taxis.

  Taxis in New York are very aggressive and they leave very little space for other cars and cyclists. I definitely experienced more tension there than I do in Toronto. It's like riding along Richmond or Adelaide street when it's busy but cars are still driving very fast and aggressively. Then multiply the number of lanes by two, and then you will have New York City

• said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I find it suspect that the police say they're "powerless" to do something about this. Perhaps 'unwilling' or 'unable do to budget constraints' they're not powerless. Having thought about it, I believe the solution lies in putting up a barricade even if it's just temporary.

• Joe T. said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Even if they just verbally told the cabbies "you can not park here" would be better than "calling someone".

• Todd Tyrtle said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  According to Sgt. Tim Burrows (@trafficservices on twitter) apparently the officer was not allowed to leave his post. I can't argue that one way or the other – just passing that one on.

  Maybe we just do a quick DIY project there at, say, 4:00 AM. Get a few of these: http://www.decorprecast.com/images/specialtyProducts/specialty_lg/dekblok-scene.jpg, a few 4×4 posts, and build our own barrier. Either that, or do the "Guaranteed Bike Lane" (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinreis/sets/72157618698642097/) approach.

• Todd Tyrtle said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  James said: "Until the Toronto Police (including parking bylaw officers) make it priority to enforce bike lane infractions, this will continue to happen. Unfortunately I can't see this happening until we have a critical mass of cyclists out there being impeded by these infractions."
  —-
  I agree. I think we're unlikely to see any meaningful change on this or infrastructure in general until one of a few things happens:

  - Numbers of cyclists on the street get so high that their presence on streets without bike lanes already causes noticeable congestion such that drivers will be happy to get them out of the way by keeping them in a bike lane.

  - Attitudes towards cyclists change. Currently there's a lot of animosity by many towards us for a variety of reasons with varying degrees of validity (We've all rebutted these claims to one degree or another in various comment threads – no need to redo it here). Until we're viewed as what we are: parents, kids, students, workers, and citizens trying to get from one place to another, we'll be fighting an uphill battle. Nobody questions the idea of putting in a sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe. It is a given: there's a street, there will be a sidewalk because we have to keep the people walking safe. But at this point many folks just wish we'd go away more than they think we need to be looked after. Other than being a vocal law abiding parent and worker who happens to use a bike for much of his transportation, I'm not sure how to do that. I suspect de-coupling it from the idea of "leftist political agenda" would help (Mayor Bloomberg, a Republican managed that), and possibly even decoupling it from any sort of politics at all would help as well. Sure, it helps the environment (which is more a leftist cause than the right's cause), but it also helps keep health care costs down, reduces traffic (10,000 more cyclists means very likely 10,000 less cars clogging rush hour streets), increases energy independence, and revitalizes retail spaces all of which are non-partisan goals.

  The first one could happen quickly with a big enough increase in gas prices or another wildcat TTC strike, for example. The second one is a longer-term goal, i think. I don't see that happening overnight but over generations.

• Joe T. said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Agreed. The first one is definitely possible, considering current gas prices are already close to $1/litre. Low crude oil inventories plus an active hurricane season (which is being forecast) could push them up higher for sure.

  The last large increase in cyclists on Toronto roads that I noticed came after Hurricane Katrina when gas went up to about $1.30/litre.

  Money is a good motivator.

• Bikeroo said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  The radical in me has the urge to assemble a bunch of cyclists and "idle" our bikes on the north/south bound traffic lanes along Simcoe street. If it's ok to park a car in a bike lane it should be ok the park a bike in a "car" lane.

• Svend said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I'd be into that, Bikeroo!

  I think parking in bike lanes is an issue we'll have to force since the authorities aren't clear on the rules and don't see why it's a problem either.