Cycling

Road Guy Rob examines a highway reconstruction project that rebuilt a highway through town. Raised medians were installed to separate the opposing lanes. He discusses two types of raised medians looking at how they are built, what they do and how they can be used to add safety features for pedestrians and cyclists.

Here is another video from Road Guy Rob. This time he observes that crossing the street on your bike should be easy and safe.  There are stop lights to help you, but they also invite cars onto your bike route.  Engineers in Tucson, Arizona solve this dilemma with two special signals just for bicycles: Toucans and BikeHAWKs.

Six small towns in British Columbia have been singled out for their leadership in Active Transportation. Burns Lake, Duncan, Gibsons, Nelson, Powell River and Rossland were examined for their efforts in promoting Active Transportation. The resulting report aims to assist other communities to improve Active Transportation within their boundaries by explaining the success of the six.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers is a North American body that develops technical resources including standards and recommended practices used in our road designs. One of their newest resources aims to assist transportation professionals in the planning, design, and operation of bicycle traffic signals. It is available to the public as well, so if you are curious about what could be done to develop the cycling route you use, the site offers plenty of information.

Jennifer Harvey was riding her bicycle southbound on Ontario street entering the roundabout at Athlete's Way in Vancouver.  As she entered, she noted a car ahead of her that was stopped but had the backup lights on. Ms. Harvey did not decide to stop until the car began to back up, but by then it was too late, the car collided with her.

This video is shared from the Protected Intersections for Bicyclists website. The author, Nick Falbo, explains that the concepts presented in the video are exploratory and experimental, but judging from the material provided on the site it might be more accurate if the words "in North America" were added. This appears to follow the standard Dutch design in a North American setting.

The case of Harris v Doe involves the hit and run of a cyclist, Lucian Harris, by an unknown driver. The collision took place at the intersection of Williams Street and Reece Avenue in Chilliwack. Mr. Harris was riding southbound intending to turn left from Williams onto Reece and was overtaken by a driver. Harris was struck when he began his left turn and the vehicle passed by him.

The August 14, 2021 edition of Global News Back on the Beat examines how the recent changes to ICBC coverage has resulted in significant difficulties for vulnerable road users, cyclists and pedestrians, if they are involved in a crash. John Daly speaks with David Hay QC, a personal injury lawyer and three cyclists who were hurt in a crash with a vehicle.

This one surprised me, research that shows it is actually safer for cyclists to slow down and go past a stop sign without stopping instead of coming to a full stop. The US state of Idaho's statute Title 49, Chapter 7 permits it, along with different behaviour at a red light. Cyclists are required to stop and yield, but may proceed on the red if it is safe to do.

Question: The City of Kelowna has a roundabout at the corner of Burtch Road and Guisachan Road that has been designed to merge the cycle lane into the sidewalk as it approached the intersection. I regularly walk in the area and am always hearing "On your left" or "On your right" from cyclists that expect me to get out of their way.