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By Capitalist (anonymous) | Posted October 07, 2013 at 17:17:57
"Traffic volumes on lower city streets are low and falling, and all the lane capacity that is currently dedicated to automobile lanes could be much better used to build a continuous network of bike lanes and wider, safer, more comfortable sidewalks."
Ryan, I wish that you would post the source for the numbers in that table. I find some of the declines to be highly suspect. My guess is that the 2000 numbers versus the 2010 numbers were not taken at the same time or where not averaged over a longer period of time. Better use of time series data would help.
In any event, even if these numbers are correct that doesn't mean that ""Traffic volumes on lower city streets are low.." or that we should invest in bike lanes or safer, wider sidewalks. Just what is so unsafe about the sidewalks we have now? And I say that as an avid walker of streets in Hamilton.
I agree that we need to convert some of these one-way streets to two-way esp. King and Main (I made this point on this site several times).
However, we don't need bike lanes. People don't use them. There have been bike lanes on West 5th between Mohawk and Limeridge for years and I have never seen anybody use them (I live in the area). Nor have I seen people use the bike lanes they put in near the Meadowlands in Ancaster.
People bike largely for pleasure and they can do that in parks or sidewalks or they can ride on the roads in that lanes that we currently have (it should be safer since volumes are down so much according to your numbers, wouldn't it?)
Canada is a cold climate and we live in a city with an escarpment where people are constantly going up and down. This makes biking an unattractive option in Hamilton specifically. But for some reason that doesn't stop you from lobbying for the use of taxpayer dollars to build bike lines that will not be used and will be a waste of money.
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