Eastern Ave Bike Lanes: 'They Don't Go Anywhere!'

2014/08/27 7:26pm

A politician who is running for Councillor in Ward 30 has made a video¹ (shot about right here) about how the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes 'Don't go Anywhere'

Eastern Ave Bike Lanes: 'They Don't Go Anywhere!'


As the video says, "Well, actually they go to the Contraflow Lane on Logan Ave which gets you further westbound via the Lower Don Recreation Trail which gets you to Queen's Quay"
.. and access to the East Downtown, the Financial District and the Fashion District and Queen West and Parkdale.

(Beware the crossing at Cherry St/LSB, which is a high speed chicane and then wait for a spot and RUN! Then beware the ongoing construction on Queen's Quay all the way to Bathurst.)

But point taken. Eastern Avenue past Logan leads to the Eastern Avenue Bridge just past Broadview - which is partly an off-ramp for the DVP southbound - and is also constructed just like a 400 series highway ramp - so wide lanes and a very high speed traffic. Plus it has an off-ramp for north bound DVP off the eastbound lanes of the bridge at the eastern end of it; plus it has merging lanes at it's apex which connect it to Adelaide eastbound, and to Richmond westbound.

I don't see a way that it can be fixed (made a Complete Street).

So, candidates that want to be Councillor of Ward 30 need to be asked the question:

Should we extend the Bike Lanes on Eastern over to Broadview? Do we build a cyclist's pedestrian bridge off the end of Sunlight Park Road over to Corktown Common (that would connect to the planned Richmond/Adelaide cycling corridor)?

And because the approaches to that route are private property owned by First Gulf, part of the Leaver site - do we then therefore have to go with a short-term fix until that development package is sorted out, and put Bike Lanes on Broadview?

At a minimum, to create a sort-of-OK bike-commute-route network - we need Bike Lanes on Broadview up to the Dundas Bike Lanes.

Or do we face the facts and tear down the Eastern Avenue Bridge, and start over?

Hard Choices. Will these realities help move the conversation forward that often doesn't go anywhere around real cycling infrastructure - transportation issues in general - in the GTA?

I hope so.


¹Youtube Channel - Liz West - A Better Network of Bike Lanes - http://youtu.be/r14kfe-mZsw




NOTE:
The Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes go from Leslie to Logan - that's twelve neighbourhood blocks (not four); and - if we separated the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes form the traffic lanes - it would connect Bruce Junior Public School and Morse Street Jr Public School to the neighbourhoods.



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