STOP! Is this Hamilton's first bike-traffic light?

Some nice new cycling infrastructure in Ward One, including improved physically separated two-way bike lane over highway 403 (Ministry of Transportation Ontario), and a new extension of the two-way cycling lanes west of Macklin to Paradise (with a further extension to come in the spring) courtesy the City of Hamilton and Ward One councillor Brian McHattie (also some credit must go to McHattie for using a participatory budget process for his ward which identified cycling lanes as a priority).

The above photo reveals the first bike-specific traffic light in the city, newly installed to address the two way bike traffic on a one-way street. 

The other innovation is the raised bike lane with a newly relocated bus stop. A sign and pavement markings warn cyclists to yield to pedestrians who will cross the cycling lane to board and disembark the bus. 

Bike Boon

"one-way streets are among the biggest barriers for a lot of cyclists. Even confident riders like himself can find it daunting to make a left turn off Main Street, where multiple lanes of traffic make it impossible to signal your way across the road."

One sweet ride

Ditching four wheels for two keeps these Hamiltonians green and serene — not just on Earth Day, but year-round

Kenneth Moyle says his morning commute isn’t long enough. Sometimes, to drag it out, he leaves his Westdale home and heads downtown for coffee, before going in to work at McMaster University. Related Stories

City establishing Dundurn bike lanes

The city will make room for bike lanes on Dundurn North between York and King West next week.

Moyle, 44, credits his mode of transportation for his unorthodox views. It’s shiny and cherry-red, with plenty of room for a briefcase, groceries or even a case of beer. It has an all-leather seat and it rides like a dream.

Did I mention it’s a bicycle?

“People find out you commute by bike, and they think of a tree-hugging, granola-crunching, carbon-offsetting hippie,” Moyle says over coffee at My Dog Joe.

He certainly proves that’s not the case. Moyle looks like the world’s most stylish English professor (he’s actually an analyst) — proof positive that you don’t need a Spandex bodysuit to be a cyclist. His dark-wash Levis are rolled once at the ankle above leather boots from R.M. Williams. He wears a houndstooth sportcoat with a dress shirt and striped wool tie. He carries a Toscane leather briefcase.

Yes, he rides a bike year-round, but there’s also an SUV in his driveway. It’s just that he prefers to pedal the three-kilometre round trip (which he rides twice a day, as he goes home for lunch) between work and home.

A lifelong biker, he made the move from fair weather (since 2006) to year-round commuter cyclist in 2010. Before that, his mountain bike was fine through spring, summer and fall, but the exposed chain often rusted. The bike’s sporty style encouraged him to ride like he was racing, and the crouched position left his wrists and neck exposed to the cold.

It was after a 2009 trip to Montreal, when he used that city’s BIXI bikes, that he made the move to his current ride — a delivery bike from Dutch manufacturer Batavus. Like the BIXI, its upright position and foot-forward geometry make for a comfortable, leisurely ride. The built-in racks allow for plenty of panniers, baskets and bags. The fully enclosed chain means no rusting and no greasy pant legs.

In the past two years, there have only been four or five days when weather conditions (including his nemesis — icy ruts) have forced him to leave the bike at home.

Otherwise, Hamilton is a city ripe for the riding. With very few hills, besides the Escarpment, it should be a biking no-brainer, but Moyle feels the one-way streets are among the biggest barriers for a lot of cyclists. Even confident riders like himself can find it daunting to make a left turn off Main Street, where multiple lanes of traffic make it impossible to signal your way across the road.

Myke Hutchings agrees. King Street is the most logical path from his Gage Park home to Jackson Square (where he works as a case manager for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board), but he detours to Cumberland Street, then follows the Stinson Street bike lane, before cutting back up to King.

Hutchings, 38, started riding to work for health reasons. Bored by gyms, but determined to fit exercise into his daily routine, he bought a Pashley adult tricycle in 2011. He opted for the three-wheeler for better balance and stability, but he’s found the bike offers something else — interaction with his surroundings. A trike isn’t something you see everyday, so it gets lot of looks, which often leads to conversations with strangers. He takes his camera with him every morning. He sees parts of the city he’d never noticed before. And though his morning ride only lasts 20 minutes, he’s found it makes him more laid-back all day.

“I’ve slowed down and become more relaxed,” he says. “It used to be about getting from point A to point B. Now the journey is enjoyable as well.”

Dundurn Road Diet with Bike Lanes

Tourism Hamilton released this statement on their Facebook page today: 

Next week, Hamilton’s Public Works Department will install bicycle lanes on Dundurn Street North between York Boulevard and King Street West, bringing the City’s total on-street cycling network to 130kms.

Currently, Dundurn Street has two auto lanes northbound and one auto lane southbound. When the new bike lanes are installed, this configuration will be modified to one auto lane in each direction with separate bike lanes in each direction.

The bike lanes on Dundurn North will connect to the well-established bike lanes on York Boulevard by Dundurn Castle, a connection through Victoria Park towards downtown Hamilton, and the popular cycling connection over Hwy. 403 to Westdale and McMaster University.

"This represents another key link in the Ward One and city-wide cycling system,” said Councillor Brian McHattie. “This link will encourage more folks to leave their car at home when traveling for short trips in west Hamilton. The next step is to work with Fortinos/Loblaws to connect the Dundurn bike lanes. My goal is to see the Ward One cycling system in place by 2014.”

This project builds on the existing bike lane network on Dundurn Street South, which connects to the recently extended Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail via Glenside Avenue, the existing Chedoke Radial Rail Trail up the escarpment and signed cycling routes on Herkimer Street and Charlton Avenue.

Not There Yet...

Some observations based on the "Bike Friendly" article from the Hamilton Spectator, January 9, 2012 (copied below).

"delayed" - while it's understandable that delays with specific projects will occur, the big delay not mentioned is the potential 40-year timeline to implement the cycling network based on city council spending.
"$300,000 per year" has been the amount annually budgeted for cycling since well before the updated Shifting Gears Cycling Plan, and has had years where this amount was cancelled (most notably in 2003 during World Cycling Championship in Hamilton). This rate would mean the cycling network would have trouble being completed even in the long 40 year time frame quoted. The city would need to spend $1.25 million a year to complete only the urban portion, or $2.5 million to complete the urban and rural plan in 40 years.
"Patchwork, disconnected" is an ongoing complaint with bike lanes ending abruptly and leaving cyclists to contend with multiple lanes of vehicles including transport trucks.
"high speed traffic" is one of the unaddressed problems in the city, and traffic calming, like two-way traffic on what are now fast and wide one way streets, should be implemented sooner rather than later to make streets safer for all users.
"better parking facilities" - nothing says you're not welcome like a lack of bike parking at key destinations.
"separated infrastructure...along major roads" - while other cities like Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto are moving toward physically separated lanes to encourage more people to cycle, there is nothing in Hamilton's cycling plan acknowledging this latest innovation. Major roads have not been included in the Shifting Gears cycling plan and cyclists feel this is to keep cars moving as fast as possible while relegating bicycles to back streets along disjointed routes.
"new lanes currently planned" - the list given here are lower city streets primarily west of downtown; are other city wards getting lanes, or are they getting cancelled?

Official Opening of Rail Trail extension over Highway 403

Councillor McHattie's office is extending an invitation to cyclists to attend the official opening of the new rail trail extension from Kirkendall to West Hamilton, past the railyard and over Hwy 403. A formal ceremony to celebrate the opening happens Wednesday, October 26 at 10 a.m. on the west side of the railyard at Stroud - so show up to celebrate cycling style!

Note that the city is still waiting for a decision from the Niagara Escarpment Commission about the cycling path link between Studholme and Glenside, across the Chedoke Golf Course.

Smooth Ride for West Enders Tomorrow

The extension of the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail is being paved today, and will make for a smooth ride for west end commuters tomorrow.

This significant and long-awaited cycling link is nearing completion, with lighting and landscaping and some fencing to follow the paving.

They city will maintain the trail all year, removing snow in winter, which will make this a popular trail for cyclists, hikers and joggers.

Built on an abandoned CP rail line, the trail extends from Studholme Road in the east, to the Main West Fortinos plaza and the Hamilton to Brantford trail head at Ewan Road to the west (Project #3 on TLC's Shifting Gears Cycling Master Plan map: click here to view) providing a safe, car-free crossing over highway 403.

A link to Glenside Avenue through the Chedoke Golf Course will further strengthen this connection linking South West Hamilton to neighbourhoods south of McMaster University, and into Dundas. 

Congratulations to the city staff and councillor Brian McHattie for seeing this through to its conclusion.

east mountain trail trouble

Trail Loop fight heads to tribunal TheSpec.com - BreakingNews - Trail Loop fight heads to tribunal tomorrow morning

Eric McGuinness

STONEY CREEK — Peko Roic argues that putting asphalt along the Mountain Brow behind his home isn’t the right way to compensate for putting a highway down the Red Hill Valley.

He leads a small group trying to stop the City of Hamilton and Hamilton Conservation Authority from building the first phase of the East Mountain Trail Loop, intended to help replace 70 hectares of green space lost to construction of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

Roic thought the three-metre-wide trail would follow the Bruce Trail, which runs close to the brow, not through woods further south, skirting his property on Ashbury Lane, off Paramount Drive west of Felker’s Falls.

He feels the trail will lead to loss of privacy, late-night noise and vandalism.

“What we are opposed to the most is that it’s going to be asphalt,” he said in an interview. “If the surface was granular, we wouldn’t necessarily have a problem with that.”

The dispute is important because construction of the 10-kilometre, multimillion-dollar, multi-purpose trail was to have started this fall. It’s now stalled until the matter is settled.

The homeowners are using a wrinkle in the law to appeal a development permit issued to the city by the Niagara Escarpment Commission for portions of the trail through Paramount Park and at the top of Red Hill Valley, even though the section past their homes is owned by the conservation authority.

“”It makes dealing with this case awkward,” says commission planner Martin Killian, explaining that municipalities need a permit to build trails on escarpment land, while conservation authorities are exempt.

Sandy Bell, manager of design and development for the authority, said last week it was “making adjustments to the alignment to bring neighbours on side,” but Roic said no deal was reached at a Wednesday-night meeting.

The parties are to appear before Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the council chambers at the Stoney Creek Municipal Service Centre, 777 Hwy. 8, to continue a preliminary hearing that began in October. If the matter isn’t resolved, a full hearing is scheduled to begin Jan. 19.

emcguinness@thespec.com
905-526-4650

http://www.thespec.com/

lake lanes

No media showed up to the official opening of the extended Waterfront Trail linking Confederation Park with Niagara Region, but the weather was great, and alternative transportation staff Daryl Bender (pictured, left) and Hart Solomon, head of traffic department (right) were there to officiate for a small assemblage of cycling citizens, including Councilors Bob Bratina (ward 2, downtown) and Maria Pearson (ward 10, the area with the cycling improvement being celebrated).

"North Service Road - a well defined cycling route, comprised of a combination of on-street bike routes, on-street painted bike lanes, and off-road multi-use pathways, between Confederation Park and Fifty Point Conservation Area"

Sure enough, enjoy the lake breeze!

catching up with some trail development

*CATCH News – **June 15, 2008***

*Major west end trail expansion*

A major addition to the walking and cycling trail system in west Hamilton will provide a direct link between the the Kirkendall neighbourhood and the Dundas Valley. A proposal www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/89EB732E-73CA-4A95-8DFA-E5D3E1F5DE6B/0/Jun16PW08068.pdf to purchase and lease nearly two kilometres of CP rail line goes to the public works committee tomorrow morning (June 16).

The agreement would see the city purchase a 900 metre right of way from the Fortino’s property on Main West to Stroud Avenue, and sign a 20-year lease for an additional 820 metres across the 403 connecting Stroud to Studholme Avenue. A final 350 metre section of trail would run along the north edge of Chedoke Golf Course.

An existing rough and narrow path along the rail line has been used informally by cyclists for several years as an off-road route across the 403, but that practice has had no legal sanction. That would be replaced by a 5 metre wide paved path, with a narrower section along the golf course.

The city already has an agreement that links Fortino’s with the Ewen Road terminus of the popular Hamilton Conservation Authority rail trail that extends into the Dundas Valley and on to Brantford, Paris and Cambridge forming a 90-kilometre off-road trail system. At the other end, the new trail would link with the radial line path up the escarpment from Chedoke to Mohawk Road.

The agreement requires an independent appraisal of the property being sold, but there is already agreement between CP and the city that the purchase price won’t exceed $725,000 – an amount the staff report http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/89EB732E-73CA-4A95-8DFA-E5D3E1F5DE6B/0/Jun16PW08068.pdf says is “significantly less” than the potential value of the land. The city will provide CP with a charitable tax receipt for any additional value and will name CP as the sponsor of the resulting trail.

Some of the property may be contaminated so the report warns that “the offer to purchase will be contingent on the outcome of the site investigations, and if unexpected conditions are found, this may require abandoning of the project, renegotiation or alternate action.”

However, provincial regulations exempt trail projects from some cleanup requirements since there is usually little or no disturbance of potentially contaminated soils. Staff note that some excavation may be necessary if a decision is made to install lighting along portions of the trail, so they are recommending soil testing before the deal is finalized.

Funds for the purchase were approved in last year’s capital budget. A one-time payment of $150,000 for the 20-year lease would be covered by the annual cycling budget.

Staff say the golf course section – which would require “some relocation of golf tees” – has been worked out with neighbours by ward councillor Brian McHattie.

“Staff and councillor McHattie met with the neighbours , the consultant and a representative of Hamilton Police Service on site last summer and the proposed layout was satisfactory to them,” notes the report, “although the police specifically suggested that for maximum safety the path through the golf course not lighted to discourage night-time use.”

While giving city residents direct access to the recreational trails in the Dundas Valley and beyond, the new route will also provide commuter cycling links with the university and the Innovation Park research development planned for Longwood Road.

“The trail is the missing link in a circular route which connects to trails at the top of the escarpment and provides a safe riding environment and excellent scenery and perspective of the centre of Hamilton”, notes the staff report. “Recreational cycling is a key intermediate step to encourage citizens to consider cycling as a commuting mode.”


CATCH (Citizens at City Hall) updates use transcripts and/or public documents to highlight information about Hamilton civic affairs that is not generally available in the mass media. Detailed reports of City Hall meetings can be reviewed at www.hamiltoncatch.org http://www.hamiltoncatch.org/. You can receive all CATCH free updates by sending an email to info@HamiltonCATCH.org .

ups and downs

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Ted Brellisford, the Hamilton Spectator

Step up ... to a new view TheSpec.com - Local - Step up ... to a new view

Dana Brown
The Hamilton Spectator, (Jun 9, 2008)

The long-awaited east Mountain stairs are finally open.

Despite opposition and delays, metal steps leading from the Escarpment Rail Trail to Mountain Brow Boulevard are cemented into the landscape.

"It's long overdue," said cyclist Jay Jespersen, 31, out for a ride during yesterday's blazing heat.

The steps are located about 300 metres east of the lower set, which run from the trail to Kimberly Drive near the Kenilworth Traffic Circle.

Although Jespersen likes having the new steps as a point of access to the Mountain, he would've liked to have seen the stairs continue farther down.

"It'd just be nice to have a straight run up," he said.

Construction on the steps started last fall after the province gave the city the go-ahead in the spring.

Area residents opposed to the stairs were unhappy with the Niagara Escarpment Commission's decision to allow construction and took their appeal to the Environmental Review Tribunal.

The tribunal approved the project, but because of a technical error in documents, the final decision was bumped up to then minister of natural resources David Ramsay.

Residents were concerned the stairs would bring an undesirable element and destroy a treed section of the escarpment.

Wendy Darby, wife of residents' spokesperson Grant Darby, said so far there haven't been any huge issues with the stairs.

"Now that they're here, we'll probably use them," she said.

Darby said there has been an increase in the number of parked cars in front of the couple's home and she has seen a number of youths hanging around the stairs.

She also suggested that, given the traffic changes and increased pedestrian traffic, a proper pedestrian crosswalk at the corner of Mountain Brow and Margate Avenue would be a good idea.

Before the metal steps were built, residents relied on Uli's Steps, a homemade construction of 145 stairs, to get down to the rail trail. A second homemade set continues down to near the Rosedale pool.

Rita Leonard, 47, still uses Uli's Steps although she has also been using the new stairs since they opened.

"These ones are a little bit more challenging," she said, noting that the metal construction seems steeper.

The city is planning an official opening for the stairs for June 25.

dbrown@thespec.com

905-526-4629

http://thespec.com/News/Local/article/382992