Uptown King Street cycle lanes are open!
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The raised bike lanes along King Street are now open and ready for use. These new bike lanes have been marked with cycling symbols and no parking signs have been installed along the corridor. Residents are reminded to not park on these new cycling lanes. The city will be enforcing the no-parking bylaw along the new streetscape now that the bike lanes are complete and open for cycling.
While the bike lanes are open and ready for use, work will continue on the cycling crossings at the intersections and are scheduled to be completed in August when the final layer of road paving is placed. Green paint will be used to identify these cycling crossings to motorists and will further define the bike lanes when complete. These new cycling crossings are based on a relatively new design treatment called a ‘protected intersection’ and will be the first in the Waterloo Region and the Province. The benefits of the protected intersection design at King Street and Erb Street include:
- shorter crossing distances for cyclists and pedestrians;
- continued separation for cyclists (versus having to merge back into traffic);
- safer refuge for cyclists to wait at the signals for the lights to change;
- off-set crossing locations which provide more time for motorists turning to react and stop when a cyclist/ pedestrian is crossing the street (similar to the crosswalk design at University and King);
- more visibility for cyclists/pedestrians as the refuge area is further ahead from vehicles stopped at the light (motorists can look to their side as opposed to over their shoulder) and;
- a meandering approach for cyclists entering the intersection which encourages cyclists to slow down before crossing the street.
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Navigating pedestrian crossings
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The Cities of Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge, along with the Region of Waterloo have, through Bike Waterloo Region (BikeWR), developed a
short video
to show how to identify and safely navigate a pedestrian crossover as a motorist, cyclist, or pedestrian.
BikeWR aims to provide information about local bicycle-related events and resources in the Waterloo Region. Through their website, you'll find events, bike maps, information about bike clubs and lots of safety tips and more.
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The bike valet service will be available during the following hours at the Jazz Festival:
- Friday, July 20 between 5:45 and 10:30 p.m.
- Saturday, July 21 between 12 noon and 10:30 p.m.
- Sunday, July 22 between 10:30 and 4:30 p.m.
Leave your car at home and ride on down to the festival!
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Lots of events happened around the city during Bike Month in June including Open Streets, UW Bike Fest, Waterloo Brethren Mennonite Church bike education and Optimist Club bike rodeos at Winston Churchill and Holy Rosary schools.
On June 4, during Cycle2School Day, students from all four high schools and two middle schools in Waterloo were encouraged to ride their bikes to school. Over 120 bikes were counted and tagged by city staff,
Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region staff and
MEC (Kitchener store) staff. Students exchanged their tags for a prize pack and were entered in a draw for a $50 gift card from MEC.
On June 20, Claire's Ride to the Square took place. During the mayor's annual Council of the Day contest each of the eight selected grade five students were asked for an idea on how they would improve their community. This year, Ward 6 Councillor of the Day, Claire de Koning from Keatsway Public School had her idea enacted by council. Claire suggested a fun event in the public square where kids could bring their bikes and decorate them, fix them up and just get into the spirit of cycling in the city. Volunteers from Waterloo Region Police Service Auxillary, City of Waterloo Bylaw and Waterloo Advisory Committee on Active Transportation guided the group from Keatsway Public School to the Waterloo Public Square. At the Square, students decorated their bikes (with lots of bright, colourful, reflective stickers and tape), played games and participated in a cycling fix-it station, compliments of
King Street Cycles to ensure students are riding safe and secure. The riding group are shown below.
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Dropbike is coming to Waterloo Region!
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Dropbike Inc. will be placing 100 to 200 bikes at several havens (or locations) in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. This is a 12-18 month pilot project with the Region of Waterloo which is expected to be in place later this summer. Details regarding the haven locations are still being worked out, but the intent is to have Dropbikes available according to expected demand (i.e., around LRT stations and transit hubs and commercial and retail areas). Dropbikes sell annual or monthly memberships for frequent users, but also provide credit card rentals on an hourly basis.
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Spurline Trail's Union Street crossing - an update
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Last year, the city conducted a study of the Spurline Trail's Union Street crossing to better understand the current crossing conditions. In the last newsletter, we stated that a recommendation would be made to address any challenges identified through the review process in the late Spring of 2018. Unfortunately, there have been delays in this process and recommendations are now expected to be made public this Fall, 2018. Stay tuned!
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Noon to 5 p.m. - music and art activities along the central promenade
5 to 9 p.m. - Have a picnic in the park and meet at the bandshell for a sing-a-long movie,
Grease
!
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Stay tuned for specific times and location
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Back to School
Please look out for increased traffic, students, cyclists and pedestrians
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2 - 3 p.m. at the new twinned bridge
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Stay tuned for the next edition of Cycling in the City.
Coming your way Fall 2018.
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Sign up for updates
about arts and culture, recreation and active living, cycling and other city news and stories.
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Cycling in the City is published four times a year to keep residents informed about new active transportation projects and initiatives, new cycling infrastructure, safety and education programs and more. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail
cyclingwaterloo@waterloo.ca
. If you’re reading Cycling in the City as a non-subscriber, visit our subscription page to
register
for future editions.
The City of Waterloo is committed to providing accessible formats and communications support for persons with disabilities. If another format would work better for you, please let us know by calling 519-747-8731 or by e-mailing us at
communications@waterloo.ca
.
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