Raise the Hammer

Hi Charles; There are standards in the Ontario Traffic Council's Ontario Traffic Manual Book 18, which is the guideline for cycling infrastructure design in Ontario that was released last year. In the section regarding intersection treatments, it does list a continuum of treatments ranging from "no markings" to full length, high-visibility paint through the intersections. Given the traffic speeds and the number of turning movements, we were hopeful that the City would choose to go with best practices, but instead the exact opposite occured, and the intersections became the one part of an otherwise world-class piece of infrastructure that did not meet or exceed expected standards.

When we had our meetings with City Staff when the designs were being put into place, I told staff that the intersection markings were ABSOLUTELY VITAL to this project. Those intersections where Cannon meets a grossly overbuilt 4-lane one way southbound road were the ones that gave me nightmares - just so much opportunity for conflict, and the pavement markings were a simple way to remind drivers to look before they make their left-hand turn. In the original design, the markings through the intersections basically looked like closer together sharrows - chevrons going through the intersection. It was a compromise, but one that we, as Yes We Cannon representatives, accepted in order to see the project come to fruition. At no time did we ever agree that the pavement marking should be removed from the design, nor would we have ever suggested that. We weren't consulted when they were removed from the design, and we've been asking about them since the lanes were installed because we feel that they're a vital piece to keep cyclists visible in the places where they are the most vulnerable. Staff and the consultants have been great during this entire process, but this is a sore spot, and one that needs to be rectified and brought up to a standard that is higher than the absolute bare minimum. We owe cyclists, and drivers, better than that on Cannon.