Canadian Urbanism Uncovered
Read more articles by Matthew Blackett
Seattle is taking steps to try and protect cyclists from bring hit by car doors by installing a series of signs near parking spots. The signs are currently in the testing stage with the city asking cyclists and drivers to complete a survey.
These signs would be excellent in Toronto along busy streets. I’d want to see them really big, too.
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12 comments
Great info and image, and yes, we need them here.
Later last week the police did a good job of reacting to one door prize on Bloor near Spadina; a local store worker said the day prior there was another one. It’s a nasty and almost always preventable problem, though lights help folks.
NO … Not more signs. Even non-advertising signs are clutter.
And as a cyclist, I have every desired not be door-ed, and I’m all for measures that make it less likely.
However, 1 more sign that no one will read accomplishes nothing.
Most people ignore no left-turn signs, many park in very clearly marked bike lanes, others actually go the wrong way on 1-way streets!
In a world with a sign and a warning for everything, none seem important enough to read. They all fade into the background.
There should not be signs that say:
1) Don’t be an idiot
2) Don’t break the law
3) Don’t be violent
4) Don’t be rude
5) Watch where your going
6) Don’t stare at the sun too long
7) Don’t sing Karoke is you sound like that terrible guy from American Idol
You can’t cover every dumb or dangerous thing people do with yet another sign, nor, if you could, would it be likely to change anything.
***
Let’s stick to straight forward changes.
1)Proper driver education, particularly during driver training courses, and the licensing exam about driver/cyclist issues.
2) More, and wider bike lanes so that there is room for someone to accidently open a door and a cyclist can avoid them without getting into an accident.
3) Less on-street parking, less conflict
4} Use different coloured paving for bike lanes it seems to have a positve effect, its more noticiable than just another sign.
In most places, dooring is one of the easiest types of bike collision to avoid. Even if bumbling motorists don’t look where they’re opening their doors, cyclists can easily avoid the problem by not riding in the door zones.
Unfortunately, many of our bike lanes are built in places that encourage cyclists to ride dangerously close to parked cars. In other places, we have to snake our way between a streetcar track, a long pavement crack, and parked cars. This is a matter of infrastructure though….not signs.
I agree with Kevin that putting up more signs all over the place probably won’t make a huge difference.
Kevin, brilliant. Just on more thing:
5) Some enforcement by the police we pay dearly for.
Maybe someone should invent a device that makes the driver turn their head before opening the door.
Kevin is right on target about more driver/public education as opposed to more signs. As both a TTC driver…. and cyclist, I see a fair amount of poor driver behaviour (usually three right-hand turns per day in front of my bus, bad, but I digress). Most drivers are good…. most of the time. But everyone has an equal opportunity to be an idiot and most will be an idiot at some time, especially when distracted by cell phones, when they’re hungry or tired and otherwise less than sub-optimal.
I agree with almost all of you. I posted simply to show that cities have different ways of showing their concern for cyclists.
As for Toronto, I suggest we use these simply becuz the City has shown a lack of interest in cyclists’ safety and/ore building bike lanes. All the suggestions above are good but take a lot of committment and money and the City has not taking these steps even when people are being forced out of their cars by skyrocketing fuel prices.
Signs are not the solution but adding them would be better than doing nothing, which is the MO for city council.
Matthew, nothing like ‘calling a spade a spade’: “the City has shown a lack of interest in cyclists’ safety”. It is just that, nothing less, perhaps more: gross negligence. One thing will change it and one thing only (since much else has been tried): lawsuits.
‘velochicdunord’, as a TTC driver AND cyclist, I think you ought to be given a column to share your unique and no doubt informative experience.
I too am impressed to read of a TTC bus driver and a cyclist being one and the same person.
It’s a pleasure to read you here as much of my cycling motivation came from not wanting to deal with streetcar waits and mystery delays and indifferent drivers. Glad to see you here.
PS – How does that whole “yield for ttc vehicles” policy work? I have had a few streetcar drivers launch their 80 foot long vehicles into my path at intersections and I’ve wondered whether they consider forcing a cyclist to brake, their version of “you need to yield.” I know if I was in a car they wouldn’t suddenly drive into my lane. I usually avoid dropping my bike in front of the tracks to have a word with the driver by recalling that great Star Trek mantra “the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few” and by knowing I’ll get to my destination before he does. What’s your take on this velochicdunord’?
PPS – Just so I don’t get into too much trouble for being off-topic I should note in the city’s defence that taxi’s now sport a similar sticker in their windows and I’ve had more than one cabby stop me from getting out of the road/cyclist side of the cab.
At some point we are going to have to ban the four-wheeled single-occupant vehicle, full-stop. The time has passed to ban it during rush hours. Imagine what that would do for traffic-flow and safety.
Never mind, let’s build the Front Street Extension!
Dear cranky portuguese man on College St this morning,
Just because you didn’t shoulder check nor signal your intention to pull through the bike lane into a parking space doesn’t give you any excuse to get mad at me for having the gall to be in your way. Thanks for only delaying my ride to work instead of permanently delaying me by way of death.
Stay classy,
Wes.
yup, there’s a systemic liability as the City has been really negligent in ensuring basic safety for cyclists.
The “warm” spell did more to clear the bike lanes than the city did as one eg.
Yes, we can bring some problems back onto ourselves, and some of us are somewhat dangerous passholes to pedestrians and transit users, but for the most part, we’re just riding our bikes. And bikes are good.