I spent a lovely weekend with friends in the Capital , here are a few observations from my walkabouts.
The new Pandora Avenue separated bike lane which opened on May 1:
Similar to Vancouver’s Dunsmuir and Hornby bike lanes it facilitates 2 way cyclist and skateboard travel along a one way arterial with restricted vehicular turns and corresponding traffic signals.
Entering Chinatown at its current Western terminus until the Johnson Street Bridge is completed. Notice the numerous destination bike racks for stopovers:
Map of the Pandora Avenue bike lane route:
More from the City of Victoria website here
I see the same “mistake” made with traffic signals as was made on the Hornby bike route. The “bike” light is mounted at vehicle height on the opposite side of the intersection and very hard to visually separate from the automotive signals. A tiny green or red bicycle isn’t particularly easy to see even for my mid-30s eyes, especially at night with the full-strength automotive traffic signals lit brightly. Even though I KNOW how the signals work I still find myself doing a false start when the cross traffic lights turn red since I’ve been trained to watch for those my whole life. Multi-phase signals with ambiguity lead to collisions where inevitably the cyclist will lose.
Seems most of the more experienced countries figured this out long ago – a quick google search of “Dutch cycling signals” shows nearside mounted signals at 8 feet off the ground or less, suitably scaled down to cyclist size much like we do with cycling stop signs etc here in Vancouver. I get that we have traffic engineering manuals that folks are trying to stick to but we’re acting like we’ve thought of this ourselves and we’re trying to make a go of it when there’s plenty of great proven installations out there already.
I have the same experience. When cycling I have to look across the street to see if I should go or not. The lights for the cycle lane are a bit smaller than the other ones so even harder to make out sometimes across the street.
It would be better if they were close to you. It could be that the traffic design laws here don’t allow that.
The BC Traffic Control signal manual is a provincial publication, designed to ensure standardization (and thus safety). The issue is that these manuals haven’t kept up with advancements such as bike signals. The manual states that signal heads must be on the far side of the intersection. There is a rule about an auxiliary signal head on the near side of an intersection, in the specific case of left turn signals. Having a similar rule for bike signals on the near side would make a lot of sense. The rules specifically state that:
“Signal heads are installed on signal poles and located in positions which are easily visible to motorists.”
We don’t just need an update to the Motor Vehicle Act, we need updates to highway design codes, which are applicable to all roads in BC. These rules need to consider all road users. We will know we are making progress when the MVA is renamed the Road Safety Act or something similar.
Two way cycle tracks should be used where ever possible. They are more flexible and social and contribute to a better cycling experience than being segregated across a busy road.
Progress!
I am an avid cyclists and have been biking within the city for over 20 years. I think the bi-directional bike lane on Pandora is a poor design for a one way street. Since it has been implemented I have used it several times and have had many close calls with cars turning right on their newly installed red lights. It is especially alarming if you are going against traffic towards a car turning head on into the bike lane.
I feel that I need to be more aware & vigilant on the bike path and do not trust that cars will obey the newly created traffic patterns. I am opposed to the City of Victoria adding more bi-directional bike lanes on Fort & Cook St. Fort already has a sufficient bike lane, that provides plenty of space for both cyclist & motorist.
Motorist and cyclist familiar with Victoria are all aware of the one way streets heading in and out of town. I think it’s confusing and dangerous to change the traffic pattern for only cyclist and not changing it for vehicles.
Two-way bike lanes seem to have been working quite well on one-way Dunsmuir and Hornby streets in downtown Vancouver for several years now, with far more density and vehicular + pedestrian traffic. Perhaps the design needs to be tweaked, including better signals and signage. It’s also a matter of drivers and cyclists getting used to the new paradigm.
Now if only the forces that be were as courageous about the light rail line proposed a while back for Douglas.