WHO ARE WE? A recreational cycling club, with all levels of cyclists - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Durham Cycling Club Inc. … Town of Whitby... Cycling = active transportation, which needs; safer, better roads + an active voice for cycling community

WHO ARE WE? • A recreational cycling club, with all levels of cyclists • We sanction 4 rides per week , mostly in Durham Region – (each club cyclist sponsors a few rides yearly normally in their home town) • Rides are from 30 km up to 165 km in length • We are a cross section of Durham residents (up to 80 yrs.) • Our health and our lives are important to us • Cyclist are: hardy, healthy, we vote and pay taxes … • Many of our riders go beyond our Club rides, riding around the province and even around the world

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS? Page 1 of 2 • Lack of continuous bike lanes or paved shoulders Many just stop… (Anderson S of Conlin, Cochrane and Garrard at all major cross roads, McQuay/Jeffery… Henry South of 401…) Or worst, they just stop at a busy street with no clear or safe place to go …(McQuay/Rossland, MP on Garden at Consumers, Tom Edwards/Taunton and Thickson, etc.) • Very few safe passages over 401 - Henry St. is our best option, this has great potential to be a gem for Whitby … ( a common issue in Whitby and across Region ) … currently not great going SOUTH safely (on-street parking?) • Will new 407 be better? ( Getting hints it’s not… will Coronation Rd./Anderson 407 bridges have cycling lanes?... we've been told not …) …So SOON blocked from going safely NORTH to Brooklin • New Durham West Link – Taunton, Rossland, Dundas NOT cycling safe – the new link cuts Whitby/Ajax in ½ (W ill Taunton/Rossland/Dundas 407 bridges have cycling lanes?... … we've been told not …) …So SOON totally blocked from going WEST ( We in Whitby and Ajax really lacked some vison here… huge missed opportunity! see photo later )

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS? Page 2 of 2 • No bicycle friendly east/west routes across Durham (Whitby is poor at E-W routes) • Whitby has some poor road surfaces for cycling ( such as potholes, edge cracks, sealer, sand… but Whitby is not as bad as other Regional towns/cities we suggest making cycling route maintenance a priority) • Did you know catch basin covers can be very dangerous to cyclists? (badly raised/dropped, these are a killer on a bike – some on Garrard have been reported) • We have poor connections to Lake Front Trail, Green Belt, Trans Canada Trails, etc. for local riders – Speaking as a cycle tourist myself, the interconnection to these other trails will be critical to our c ycle tourism… (Little to no signage on or to these trails… signs will bring $’s into Whitby i.e. hotels/food/distance markers/bike shops)

WHAT ARE THE FRUSTRATIONS (…from our club members and local cyclists perspective…) • Apparent lack coordination between local and regional governments (Conlin Rd., Henry, 407) • Aggressive, rude, or dangerous motorists (Made worse by poor or lacking road marking/signage/lack of continuous lanes…) • Very slow progress across the region/town regarding creating cycling infrastructure • Other Ontario municipalities and regions are way ahead! (FYI Whitby is far from leading the pack in Durham)

WHAT WE SEE THAT WE LIKE… • Some glimmers of hope • Ajax is clearly in the lead in Durham Region (so tour Ajax and ask them) (Ajax leads at trails, roads, signage, continuation, they connect the dots …) • Whitby is considering “ share the road ” status… a great start ! (“but bronze is easy”) • Excellent Cycling Plans in Whitby • But it appears it’s not being followed, or just being ignored? • Progress is extremely slow (a local cyclists perspective) • Whitby plan is VERY good! (well done – worth the money) • 2009/2010 launch of Cycling Plan…. (Then…. “crickets”) • We “ hear the speak ” from the leadership • “cycle tourisms, healthy citizens, safety, alternative to cars”... • “Whitby is very lucky to have Greenbelt and Lake Front Trails!”

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS 1 of 2 • Implement the Whitby cycling plan (circa 2010) ( we’ve been waiting a long time ) • Continue existing key cycling lanes/shoulders across town (and continue across Municipalities don’t stop them at a town or municipal boarder…) (Examples Conlin Road – Whitby did it’s part, Oshawa, Clarington ?… Check Strava Heat Map…) • Existing Whitby cycling lanes - shorter term improve at crossroads (by adding cheap Virtual bicycle lanes - add Cycling logos, signs and dotted lines - see Kerrison, Magill, Delaney Drive or Audley Rd. , all in Ajax ) (use OTM Book 18 – symbols/signs tell drivers we can ride there and be aware.) • Existing Whitby cycling lanes - longer term at road rebuild time, create full cycle lanes (at major cross roads (see Audley in Ajax… think Anderson, Cochrane and Garrard at Dundas, Rossland and Taunton, plus Victoria/Henry)

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS 2 of 2 • Paved shoulders should be standard on all new country roads in Whitby (i.e. Ashburn, Conlin ) • Pave all gravel shoulders on cycling routes (think Anderson N. of Taunton, S. of Conlin) • Construct catch basins behind curb line like City of Guelph ( Guelph is a Silver rated cycling town) (on cycling routes make catch basins maintenance and do sand removal, as a priority) • Can 401 crossings be improved and 407 crossings be saved ? • Give us cycling friendly roads to connect to Brooklin and “ get out of town ” ( i.e. Ashburn, Coronation, Conlin etc. ) • Make safe routes to our northern neighbors… (Port Perry, Uxbridge and beyond…)

Connect the dots… (it’s all in Whitby Cycling plan) • Cycling routes connected to – Parks and schools – Path cycling/walking (Hydro Corridor and creeks) – Commuters ( the better it is the more you get ) – Shopping – Sport complexes ( Henry St./Iroquois Park) (Civic Center Dr. and Bassett Blvd/Whitby Civic) – Review Strava Heat Map… I will demo later if time permits – Review your existing Whitby plans, it has many great ideas! – Create cycling advisory committee of local cyclists - use TOR from Ajax, best cycling towns have them (a clue?) – Create E-W links – try to link Ajax to Whitby to Oshawa (Need some in north and central Whitby, but don’t lose what Brooklin has)

Our Shopping List 1. Establish a Whitby Cycle Advisory Committee or an Active Transportation committee – Needs to be linked at Regional level (maybe to Oshawa/Ajax?) – Meets often (i.e. Monthly) not yearly… with both Town officials and cycling residents – It should be made up of all different types of cyclists and levels of cycling ability – Must have teeth and a vision (407/E and W links, etc.) – This is what the more effective cycling municipalities and regions have done (Niagara, York, Waterloo, Ottawa…) 2. Give priority to cycling infrastructure that make key east-west and north-south connections across Whitby 3. Assign key town staff to execute plan, to coordinate and connect the dots … 4. Don’t mix cycling lanes and on-street parking 5. Consider creating safe, physically separated cycle track infrastructure on Whitby’s Henry Street to facilitate the use of cycling for transportation to GO station and local access to Water Front Trail. (This will support transportation (commuters) and recreation cyclists of all ability levels, children and inexperienced riders who might be interested in taking up cycling or active transportation) 6. Commit to minimum annual expenditure for cycling infrastructure X $/B% 7. Follow the Whitby Cycling Plan… 8. Speak to and copy Ajax – they are similar to Whitby (why reinvent the wheel  )

OTM Book 18 New in 2014, standards in cycling infrastructure (203 pages of engineering and cycling goodness)

The Very Good in Durham (samples only) Following OTM Book 18 standards… Ajax Kerrison Drive Ajax Hwy 2 Pickering next? Ajax Audley Rd.

The Good in Durham (samples only) … Just pave the shoulders … Whitby – Ashburn Rd . Clarington- Trulls Rd Whitby – Conlin Rd.

The Poor in Durham Whitby did its part, but Oshawa is falling short (samples only) Conlin Road is on the Durham Cycling Network Road Opportunity missed at UOIT… Conlin Rd. at UOIT Opportunity Lost… No Cycle lane Poor execution? Conlin/Harmony Rd. Conlin/Thornton Rd.

Missed opportunity (only a sample) Several culverts being installed for animals crossing under W Link, but NONE for people? 

Cycling related road maintenance (might save our lives… make it priority on Cycling routes) Catch basin … Edge cracks and tar… Sand…

Physically separated cycle track? Henry Street - To Whitby water front, Go Commuters and Parks Vancouver Toronto NYC Toronto Holland

Head to head compare Whitby vs Ajax (paint and signs) Whitby Ajax

Whitby Cycling Routes Intersection upgrades – short term/long term Short Term Longer term “paint and signs” “improve”

On street parking on cycling routes …do not mix well, they add big risks to cycling, but removing is risky politically… Oshawa Cochrane By-laws?! Oshawa Cochrane

Multi-purpose trails for cycling good option, but not perfect… need better signage and symbols Drivers perspective Cyclists/skateboard are riding at 8- 15 + Km/h on path… think engineering and planning MTO Book 18 5.4.1.2 Crossing Point Conflicts “sight lines” Garden path 1 second later Garden path

Whitby – we have been here already…. “CMS/Public Works Report, Item PW 34- 10” on July 9, 2010 (181 pages of planning and cycling/walking goodness)