Online Petition for Bike lanes at McMaster - MacInsiders - Student-run McMaster University Help Forum

~*Sara*~

This petition has been going around for a while and it would be great if we could all show our support for a safer campus.

Description of the petition:
Due to the new construction from McMaster to add a divider island on University Ave, (mislabeled as King St West on Google Maps) it is essential that safety of pedestrians and cyclists is taken into account. These changes drastically affect pedestrian and bike routes which pass through University Ave.

Those who travel to the bus shelter, hospital and across campus find that this change in infrastructure could cause difficulties with safety and transport. In addition, there will be limited access to travel on University Ave, excluding motorized vehicle.

The roads are designed for automobiles only; this could cause cyclists to be forced to travel on sidewalks causing problems for pedestrians.

Here is a visual representation of the proposed plans for those who have not had a chance to observe these plans:

http://i.imgur.com/PS7S3.png

Thus, we propose a very simply and novel solution:

1.) A bike lane at the shoulder of the roads, or whichever seems most rational
2.) The bike lane merge into a pedestrian/cyclist friendly cross walk to reduce pedestrian travel time and less destruction of the flowers to be planned in the islands.

It is of everyone's best interest to take this matter into hand and any measures taken to accommodate these needs is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

The undersigned

To sign the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mcmasterbikelane/

zango · 08-25-2011 at 04:04 PM

I saw the construction the other day and honestly thought this myself. Pretty inconvenient for cyclists and pedestrians with that new median there.

jhan523 · 08-25-2011 at 04:11 PM

What was the purpose for the median and who is paying for it?

Desiguy · 08-25-2011 at 04:13 PM

I hope this is a well thought and proposed plan; not an idea that just popped into mind. I encourage the rights of promoting the idea... however one should also consider the amount of people whom
B) Do not want a separate lane for cyclists
C) Who do not care (are zombies)

The point is that a lane for cyclists will have a huge impact on McMaster... not just transportation but rather aesthetics, function and easiness.

For instance we might have people who want to talk to a pedestrian (while being on a bike themselves).
Or adhering to traffic rules as they are literally squished between two lanes.

There are other stuff... I just hope other people bring about the ramifications. Personally, I like the initiative.... but non-cyclists should have a say too....

I was hoping more for a poll or something.
PEACE! : )

julianface · 08-25-2011 at 05:00 PM

Just use the whole lane. Not worthy of a petition people just hate change, as a cyclist I don't see the importance of a bike lane on a 20 km/h road

zango · 08-25-2011 at 05:10 PM

When there's a pissed off bus driver up your ass you'll understand.

RyanC · 08-25-2011 at 05:11 PM

Useless petition.. just ride on the road as you are a vehicle, like you would/should have been doing all along. Sigh.

mahmoosh · 08-25-2011 at 07:03 PM

Quote:

What was the purpose for the median and who is paying for it?

The university essentially and I don't want to assume who is, but it feels like it's coming from our pockets. They want to place flowers in the median, which will NOT help people cross and create a window of destruction, for people who want to just go through it.

I think more frequent cross walks in between these medians is the best option (two or three cross walks rather than the one in the middle of university ave)

Quote:

There are other stuff... I just hope other people bring about the ramifications. Personally, I like the initiative.... but non-cyclists should have a say too....

I was hoping more for a poll or something.
PEACE! : )

Yeah, great points. There definitely should be some discourse before a major change like a huge median takes place, even make the roads bigger and still having the median can work without bike lanes. However, that requires longer construction a more expensive method than drawing lines and making the median smaller.

Cliu91 · 08-25-2011 at 07:54 PM

That divider is ****ing stupid.

jhan523 · 08-25-2011 at 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahmoosh

The university essentially and I don't want to assume who is, but it feels like it's coming from our pockets. They want to place flowers in the median, which will NOT help people cross and create a window of destruction, for people who want to just go through it.

I think more frequent cross walks in between these medians is the best option (two or three cross walks rather than the one in the middle of university ave)

Wow, what a waste of money from a university which is trying to get out of debt :\

collinbf · 08-25-2011 at 08:34 PM

If someone wanted bike lanes they should have filed the petition before construction began, that divider only leaves enough space for one vehicle on either side. There's simply no room for a bike lane.

Also buses come every 15 minutes and it will take you less than a minute to bike that distance. And if there is a bus coming one way, you could just go on the other side.

britb · 08-25-2011 at 08:39 PM

So I'm confused... isn't the area behind the student centre and up past BSB/UH/HH/road towards Keyes Pedestrian only (except mac vehicles)? Why do we need a divider on what's essentially a dead-end?

/or am I missing something?

RyanC · 08-25-2011 at 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by collinbf

If someone wanted bike lanes they should have filed the petition before construction began, that divider only leaves enough space for one vehicle on either side. There's simply no room for a bike lane.

Also buses come every 15 minutes and it will take you less than a minute to bike that distance. And if there is a bus coming one way, you could just go on the other side.

Its my understanding that most of this construction was a surprise to most people.

collinbf · 08-25-2011 at 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by britb

So I'm confused... isn't the area behind the student centre and up past BSB/UH/HH/road towards Keyes Pedestrian only (except mac vehicles)? Why do we need a divider on what's essentially a dead-end?

/or am I missing something?

Most likely for decoration. Or to make students cross at the cross walks, to stop people from running in front of the buses.

jhan523 · 08-25-2011 at 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by britb

So I'm confused... isn't the area behind the student centre and up past BSB/UH/HH/road towards Keyes Pedestrian only (except mac vehicles)? Why do we need a divider on what's essentially a dead-end?

/or am I missing something?

That's not the road where they are putting a divider. It's on University Ave, the road that divides BSB+JHE from Divinity+LSB.

Source: The map which was provided in the original post.