When I was in Amsterdam …

When I was in Amsterdam (sorry, you're probably sick of hearing about bloody Amsterdam, but stay with me) I saw a great system for bike parking. In the commuter train station they have a huge underground bike parking facility for bike share bikes and private bikes. Commuters can get off the train, grab a bike without going outside and then ride out of the station up a ramp and right onto a system of protected bike paths. Amazing. Adding this to major train stations like Union and other GO stations would be nice. Currently bike parking is pitiful and not secure. No way would I park my bike there for the day. So i drive to the station when I take the GO train.

Also, some dedicated cycling infrastructure for inter-city riding would be spectacular. Riding 50-60 kms or more is not that hard if you don't need to dodge traffic. How about Hamilton to Toronto, or Hamilton to Niagara? The Waterfront Trail is ok... except where it isn't. Better signage and better connectivity is needed. I rode from Cobourg to Toronto last year and without my GPS-enabled phone there's no way i could have done it.

Finally, don't forget about the suburbs - i live in Scarborough and not many people ride here because of the almost total lack of bike lanes. Bike paths through parks and ravines are nice, but I don't work in a ravine. So I ride on city streets to get to work, and have to take a twisty indirect route to avoid main roads. More proper bike lanes is what I'm saying. in particular Kingston Road from Vic Park out to the border of Pickering could be a bike highway. Clubs use that route a lot on weekends and summer weeknights but there is an uneasy sharing of the road between bikes and cars. The road east of Birchmount gets steadily worse, condition-wise. New tarmac and some kind of official signage allowing bikes to take the curb lane on off peak times would make things safer for everyone. You don't even need physical separation here because bikes are only using it a lot during specific times / seasons.

ok? ok.

[Original Comment ID: 196343]