Calgary Cycling Paths & Infrastructure - Page 2

kw5150 · #21 Posted **Nov 27, 2009, 7:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkL

Can we at least all agree that we hate joggers?

Yes, we hate joggers that jog 4-8 wide accross.

MasterG · #22 Posted **Nov 27, 2009, 7:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strongbow

...fixed that for ya there....I'm part of the workout group that assembles there at 5:00am during the weekdays and holy moley there are some fast moving cyclists that come down that hill, even with the ice....a few weeks ago some friends of mine had a biker cut the corner into their lane doing about 40kmh and plow into the front of their jetta, they lost the grille, hood and windshield, he got an ambulance ride out of it...

wow that sucks, im not surprised it happened though. Visability is pretty low in that valley. Its amazing the speed that some of those bikers take the turns this time of year, when the ice is all over the place

Canterra · #23 Posted **Nov 27, 2009, 7:59 PM**

I like going down there after a fresh snowfall before they clear it.
The snow slows you down so you don't have to brake much.

glam · #24 Posted **Nov 27, 2009, 8:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strongbow

...fixed that for ya there....I'm part of the workout group that assembles there at 5:00am during the weekdays and holy moley there are some fast moving cyclists that come down that hill, even with the ice....a few weeks ago some friends of mine had a biker cut the corner into their lane doing about 40kmh and plow into the front of their jetta, they lost the grille, hood and windshield, he got an ambulance ride out of it...

Wow, I passed by this accident just as the cops arrived that morning. I had a later start that day. Yes, that was a horribly risky and pointless thing to do, bomb down on the wrong side of the road. Were your friends able to recoup their costs from the guy's insurance?

I've had my share of encounters with the bootcampers on Edworthy, when I used to go in a lot earlier (pre-kids) than I do now. It was nice to see the groups begin to adopt more lighting as time went on, as there were a number of times when there people with logs and chains and what not were coming up the entire width of the road! I'll admit that I'm usually trucking down there too, but I'm lit up like a christmas tree and slow down a lot when I see people coming up from below.

DavidKuitunen · #25 Posted **Nov 27, 2009, 8:55 PM**

I went for a soggy ride today. Here are some pictures i took in Hillhurst, and East Village.

New bike lane from 14th to 19th Street on 5th Ave NW. It's amazing what a little bit of road paint and a few signs can do to improve a bike ride.
Some guy was driving in the bike lane right behind me for almost two blocks before he realized it was a bike lane. Some people amaze me.

The new curbs on 19th Street. Smooth sailing all the way up the hill :-)

New bike locks in East Village. It'll be nice when the bow river pathway comes out here and the underpass to Victoria park is complete.

Wentworth · #26 Posted **Nov 28, 2009, 2:52 AM**

^ Is the fixie yours? Can't imagine trying to climb up Bow Trail with that!

niwell · #27 Posted **Nov 28, 2009, 3:43 AM**

People ride fixies in Calgary? I'm still in awe of anyone biking north in Toronto that does that. In Calgary it would be in any direction out of downtown. Hills + fixies don't mix well.

Also, that's a wide bike lane. Nice.

DavidKuitunen · #28 Posted **Nov 28, 2009, 9:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wentworth

^ Is the fixie yours? Can't imagine trying to climb up Bow Trail with that!

Ya it's mine. I don't usually leave downtown with it though. I stay in the flat part of Calgary. It's pretty challenging getting up and down hills, but it's a good work out.

thager · #29 Posted **Nov 29, 2009, 2:23 AM**

heres a link to the pathway map pdf .

http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/...thways_map.pdf

Strongbow · #30 Posted **Nov 30, 2009, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by glam

Wow, I passed by this accident just as the cops arrived that morning. I had a later start that day. Yes, that was a horribly risky and pointless thing to do, bomb down on the wrong side of the road. Were your friends able to recoup their costs from the guy's insurance?

I've had my share of encounters with the bootcampers on Edworthy, when I used to go in a lot earlier (pre-kids) than I do now. It was nice to see the groups begin to adopt more lighting as time went on, as there were a number of times when there people with logs and chains and what not were coming up the entire width of the road! I'll admit that I'm usually trucking down there too, but I'm lit up like a christmas tree and slow down a lot when I see people coming up from below.

....lighting is one of our mandatory pieces of equipment, years ago we weren't quite as prepared....and we're a lot more conscious of the bikes so staying to the side is taught early on to the newbs in the course....it's a happier world when we all play together well in the same sandbox...

Wooster · #31 Posted **Nov 30, 2009, 9:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

People ride fixies in Calgary? I'm still in awe of anyone biking north in Toronto that does that. In Calgary it would be in any direction out of downtown. Hills + fixies don't mix well.

Also, that's a wide bike lane. Nice.

In Toronto, fixed gear is a hipster fashion statement, but it should be an old delapitated bike with a basket on it. User must be wearing ironic attire.

DavidKuitunen · #32 Posted **Dec 1, 2009, 2:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wooster

In Toronto, fixed gear is a hipster fashion statement, but it should be an old delapitated bike with a basket on it. User must be wearing ironic attire.

Ya and you have to have a deathwish to be cool like these guys...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0AFpq6jFok

glam · #33 Posted **Dec 1, 2009, 5:56 PM**

I know a number of guys who ride fixie in Calgary, and even year-round. Some ride up the hills everyday (including this 50ish year-old guy who I ride with occasionally) who lives out in Springbank Hill or they play bike polo on them, etc. These guys are nuts. It's a daily reminder that my legs are weak and my cardio sucks

The majority that I know have either been commuting for decades, or they used to race, etc.

I haven't encountered the urban hipster types on them but the commuters I know that ride them do it for the exercise, and because the bike is lighter, less moving parts to break down, and it makes it look like much less of a theft target to the average Joe - esp in downtown.

Nice bike by the way!

DizzyEdge · #34 Posted **Dec 1, 2009, 8:34 PM**

I dunno, it is a nice bike, but bikes with no brakes still make me

kw5150 · #35 Posted **Dec 17, 2009, 4:51 PM**

Lets not lose this thread.......

DavidKuitunen · #36 Posted **Dec 17, 2009, 10:50 PM**

good call

here's a link to the eastvillage riverwalk just for fun. http://www.calgarymlc.ca/rivers_proj...verwalk_video/
And also the Riverwalk Master Plan PDF http://www.calgarymlc.ca/_uploads/ca...l_may_2008.pdf

outoftheice · #37 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 4:19 AM**

When I was in Paris last year I discovered that they had automated bike rental kiosks all through the centre of the city. Each kiosk had space for six of seven bikes and was equipped with a credit card payment machine. You were able to rent the bike for however long you wanted with the rate set at $X per Y minutes. The great thing was that you were able to return the bikes to any kiosk and not just the one that you rented from. It is my understanding that Montreal has a similar system down in the old city.

I think the City and the Calgary Municipal Land Corp should partner with a similar set-up along the river walk. I was thinking if they were to install kiosks at Millennium Park, Sunnyside LRT Station, Eau Claire Market, the new river-walk plaza at the Simmons Building, the south parking lot of the Zoo, the proposed Ramsay SE LRT station and Erlton/Stampede LRT station that the program would be a big success. It would be great for tourists and Calgarians alike to take transit downtown and explore the new river-walk or some of the key attractions in downtown on bikes.

The key questions are, would the program be a success? Can it be made to be cost-neutral or even profitable? And would the taxpayers (and really when it comes down to it, the local media) who said no to pedestrian bridges be willing to accept spending money on the initial start-up costs?

Jimby · #38 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 4:27 AM**

Montreal has Bixi

http://montreal.bixi.com

outoftheice · #39 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 4:58 AM**

Is Bixi owned/operated by the City of Montreal?? This is exactly what I think Calgary needs downtown, with stations placed in the locations I suggested. Why isn't this being done here?? To me, it just makes sense!!

DavidKuitunen · #40 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 7:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by outoftheice

Is Bixi owned/operated by the City of Montreal?? This is exactly what I think Calgary needs downtown, with stations placed in the locations I suggested. Why isn't this being done here?? To me, it just makes sense!!

Bixi operates in London, Ottawa, and Boston as well. Calgary has so much potential because of our extensive pathway system. We're lacking in on street cycling lanes, and traffic calming.