So far, Quebec is the only Canadian province that has updated its legislation to allow wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike and roll routes and low-speed roads.
Alright, I see the disconnect here. You’re talking about rural bike lanes as well as park paths. I’m talking about city bike lanes where you have about 12 meters to work with before you’re up against buildings on both sides half the time.
In that context, there’s only so much you can do to widen lanes, and usually that’s only possible by removing lanes for other modes of transit.
Frankly speaking, bike lanes of other areas have to go based on different standards as they exist for different purposes, so I’ve been isolating entirely to typical city streets.
Most of the sidewalks plus bike lanes in Toronto at least tend to only add up to about five meters in width at most, with plenty being only three meters wide together (two for the sidewalk, and one for the bike lane), with streets being between one or two lanes for the most part, excluding certain major streets.
In this context, it’s crazy to think about bikes and wheelchairs sharing space together. And to be frank, even if the space was double that, I think the difference in typical speed makes such considerations still crazy. Just because some mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs are physically able to go as fast as a slow bike, doesn’t mean that it’s safe for them to share space.
If you can somehow make bike paths on the roads at least four meters wide, then sure, we can talk about that. But I’ve never seen such a thing anywhere in my city. Anything wider than 1.5 meters is simply doesn’t exist, and that is far too narrow to allow both forms of travel to share space safely.
That’s the real problem: we aren’t prioritizing the non-car user experience.
Why do we have to make any concessions when it comes to cyclists, pedestrians, or the disabled communities? The default should be to prioritize and accommodate them first, then public transport, then cars.
We are doing things ass backwards here in Ontario.
This I wholeheartedly agree with. The benefits of alternative transit solutions are countless, not to mention that they all reduce traffic in the first place, one of the biggest complaints of Ontarians.
And frankly, many of Toronto’s mayors and councils have been pushing this and been making real progress. Unfortunately a particular premier decided that he knew better and should have the power to redesign the city and its roads, rather than the people elected specifically to do that job.
Alright, I see the disconnect here. You’re talking about rural bike lanes as well as park paths. I’m talking about city bike lanes where you have about 12 meters to work with before you’re up against buildings on both sides half the time.
In that context, there’s only so much you can do to widen lanes, and usually that’s only possible by removing lanes for other modes of transit.
Frankly speaking, bike lanes of other areas have to go based on different standards as they exist for different purposes, so I’ve been isolating entirely to typical city streets.
Most of the sidewalks plus bike lanes in Toronto at least tend to only add up to about five meters in width at most, with plenty being only three meters wide together (two for the sidewalk, and one for the bike lane), with streets being between one or two lanes for the most part, excluding certain major streets.
In this context, it’s crazy to think about bikes and wheelchairs sharing space together. And to be frank, even if the space was double that, I think the difference in typical speed makes such considerations still crazy. Just because some mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs are physically able to go as fast as a slow bike, doesn’t mean that it’s safe for them to share space.
If you can somehow make bike paths on the roads at least four meters wide, then sure, we can talk about that. But I’ve never seen such a thing anywhere in my city. Anything wider than 1.5 meters is simply doesn’t exist, and that is far too narrow to allow both forms of travel to share space safely.
That’s the real problem: we aren’t prioritizing the non-car user experience.
Why do we have to make any concessions when it comes to cyclists, pedestrians, or the disabled communities? The default should be to prioritize and accommodate them first, then public transport, then cars.
We are doing things ass backwards here in Ontario.
This I wholeheartedly agree with. The benefits of alternative transit solutions are countless, not to mention that they all reduce traffic in the first place, one of the biggest complaints of Ontarians.
And frankly, many of Toronto’s mayors and councils have been pushing this and been making real progress. Unfortunately a particular premier decided that he knew better and should have the power to redesign the city and its roads, rather than the people elected specifically to do that job.