It's so good to see Ottawa taking intersection design seriously. This is an amazing improvement. Matt hinted at it, but one thing that's missing in a lot of these designs is the bicycle signal. An important part of the design of a protected intersection is a dedicated signal for bicycles, so that cyclists can get a green light before cars, and get a head start, which makes them more visible. These intersections should also *not* allow right turn on red for motorists (it seems like some of these intersections in Ottawa have this). Finally, another thing Matt hinted at is more advanced signal timing. In the Netherlands, signal timing is much more advance than just "all green one direction, all green in the other direction." So often when you make that left turn as a cyclist, you get a green light as soon as possible, even before you reach the other side, and don't have to stop. In short, the effectiveness of the protected intersection is much more than the "look" of the protected islands. London, Ontario has done this poorly, for example, because they put in the corner islands, but ignored everything else. Ottawa's implementation isn't perfect, but it's a *huge* step forward, and I have a lot more faith in them getting it right if Matt Pinder is consulting with them. Nicely done, Ottawa!

@fortitudethedogwalker6273

2 жыл бұрын

Besides the signal for bikes, would Barcelona style super blocks in new development be realistic?

@mkkm945

2 жыл бұрын

This isn't a Not Just Bikes comment without a dig at London, Ontario, or should I say "Fake" London.

@thegrowl2210

2 жыл бұрын

I don’t understand why these new design guides need creating. Literally just copy the CROW manual.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

@@thegrowl2210 have you read the CROW manual? While it lays out the principles quite well it doesn’t provide a whole lot of detail for the design of protected intersections. The Ottawa guide has just about every bit of information anyone could expect to need.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

A comment from NJB that’s generally positive? Someone must be getting into the holiday spirit ;)

@2:15 is how my friend Ben Den Ouden died, he was the first person I met in high school who was outrageous and shamelessly himself and he had a big impact on me. It makes you realize what a tragedy every one of these deaths is, I think about him most days because he's that one friend that died way too young with so much talent. If we can put just a little bit more thought and concrete into an intersection and avoid a few of these a year, it seems worth it.

@OhTheUrbanity

2 жыл бұрын

For what it's worth, I think that's how we'd describe you so he must have rubbed off.

@dirtyfilthystinky

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry :( sounds like he was a great guy.

What I like about this Dutch design is how right turns are safe & fluid, and left turns are super easy to understand. A lot of left turn "solutions" basically require previous knowledge about that intersection and how to approach it. On these you never have to leave your bike lane, and you can even do a U-turn. What I hate about this Dutch design is how it's never used anywhere in my city.

I’ve always loved protected intersections. The argument I’ve heard against them is that they make snow removal harder. But Ottawa being the north american leader disprove this idea

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

Yep - myth busted! They certainly take more effort to clear, but so does widening a road to six lanes.

@rickb3078

2 жыл бұрын

@@pindermf exactly that. People ignore / forget the cost of all these super wide roads and streets. Grading, building, storm drains, maintenance, traffic lights are expensive, replacement, etc etc. cost of snow removal is not significant at upgraded intersections.

@JasonMcCarrell

2 жыл бұрын

I talked to someone involved in snow removal in the city and they told me all kinds of neat things, including that they haven't figure out how to logistically do snow removal on some routes, like Laurier, where the bike lane is like a physical gutter that's challenging to get to. It made me respect raised bike lanes more. Still the problems I was told about sounded very solvable, and I think they want to solve them! So I'm excited for the future. I just wish I didn't live in Chinatown, one of the most neglected areas of downtown.

@Robbedem

2 жыл бұрын

@@JasonMcCarrell The best solution is a dedicated machine for snow removal that fits on bike lanes.

@PCDelorian

2 жыл бұрын

Its a silly argument anyway because its a "but sometimes" argument, even in Canada 3/4 of the year it isn't snowing.

Beautiful. We need these in Toronto. The world needs them everywhere. Great report! Thanks.

@OhTheUrbanity

2 жыл бұрын

Appreciated!

@exotic80

Жыл бұрын

they do! but the only one I know of is terribly implemented, as someone whos used the intersection both through uber, as a pedestrian and as cyclist, they somehow made it worse for everyone, its on evelyn wiggins drive. 3 out of 4 of my uber drivers have gone into the cycling lane, I warned the last one. The changes make it more confusing to go through as a pedestrian. And as a cyclist, it follows the vehicle light timing instead of the pedestrian timing because there wasnt space a for full pedestrian platform after the cycling path ,and since theres no actual crossover when on the intersection its useless. The cycling area, although nice and large, doesnt seem to actually be built for cyclists, and going through or right is fine but turning left is unwieldy. anyway, im annoyed cause they made the intersection worse.

Imo protected intersections are the most important part of cycling infrastructure. As a cyclist who doesn't mind riding in mixed traffic, the only place that I'm genuinely nervous of is intersections, especially wide, high speed ones. In fact I think protected intersections should be built before the lanes.

I have heard the term "protected intersection" before, but never quite grasped what that meant. Thanks for the explanation in this video!

@dutchman7623

2 жыл бұрын

Advanced position for waiting bicycles and pedestrians, so drivers can see them. Cutting up the crossing with an island, look to the left while going to the island, look to the right when doing the second part, for both cyclists and pedestrians.

@TheSpaceBrosShow

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, same. This video does a fantastic job outlining why exactly they work and in turn, are so important.

@sanderboers586

2 жыл бұрын

If you want, you could check out Not Just Bike's video on protected intersections in the netherlands :) maybe that has something in it.

I hope someday that cities across Canada hire Dutch planners and Traffic engineers to design our streets and roads for us.

@dylanc9174

2 жыл бұрын

I think it would be nice if we did our own work. Maybe we could improve on their design.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

There are firms who are really good at this, but if we want to broadly adopt them we need to build that capacity in our municipal staff and local consultants too. Maybe City of Ottawa staff will start consulting to other North American cities on the side ;)

@rickb3078

2 жыл бұрын

I think there is enough material on best practices out there, from countries across the globe. City planners in the Canada / USA will have a pretty good idea on what to do and what not do for multimodal transportation. I think the main roadblock is political. People who will simply never want to bike baulk at anything that might (stressing “might”) inconvenience them now or in the future, perceived or real. It’s a slow process to change that mindset. It will need to gain more momentum. Luckily the mindset is shifting bit by bit. People should also be made aware of the cost of building streets and roads so oversized. Cost of grading, building maintenance, storm water solutions, accidents due to speeding, snow removal, replacement etc etc. People always complain about taxes. Explain the financial benefits of reducing the size of lanes and use the freed up space for other transport modes.

@mathieufournier5265

2 жыл бұрын

The same way Canada hired mountain experts from Switzerland to chart the Rockies in the West back in the days. This is an excellent idea!

@cbjm4568

2 жыл бұрын

Same... swear the people in my town that design bike lanes have never ridden on before. So many of then are there just to take the bike off the road and then theres signs up and features in place to get the cyclist off the bike and walk

This may sound like hyperbole but this may be the most important advancement in cycling in NA. Bike lanes/tracks are great but conflict points such as intersections are far more important to cyclist safety and comfort. I have been learning about Dutch cycling design since I was a teenager but I thought I might never see it so close to home. This makes me feel very hopeful.

About your comment at the end. It's actually better to have proper cyclist friendly intersections than protected bike lanes because as you mentionned in the video. Most accidents(at least lethal ones) happen at intersections.

@lonestarr1490

2 жыл бұрын

But if you reach a point where you have to choose one over the other (instead of having both), then something has gone wrong along the way already.

@PCDelorian

2 жыл бұрын

@@lonestarr1490 True, but they are expensive to implement so one needs to be prioritised.

@paulebroderick

2 жыл бұрын

@@lonestarr1490 In the UK we have smaller road widths than in North America, often major distributor roads are only 6m wide for traffic in both directions. This means that often putting in protected cycle lanes will not allow space to move aside for emergency vehicles - these areas often use painted cycle lanes and “advance stop lines” for cyclists, but protected intersections sounds like a positive improvement whilst still allowing space for vehicles to pull in to the cycle lane (where safe to do so) to allow emergency vehicles to pass.

@SharienGaming

2 жыл бұрын

@@PCDelorian if you are already building protected bikelanes - extending that protection to intersections (where the protected lane has to be built anyway) is not a significant increase in cost... when it is framed as one or the other, you can bet something will be dropped for no good reason

@TwinShards

2 жыл бұрын

Keyword: Share the road. If there's many accident with cyclist at intersection usually both are oblivious to their surrounding. First, some drivers do not take care to verify if any cyclist are incoming or are too dumb to make the proper checks to turn safely. Secondly, some cyclist are too stupid to think about Potential danger, aka a car at an intersection. Most of the time BOTH must have done something wrong. And the story repeat itself when it's a truck giving itself a wide turn plus an idiot car/cyclist making their way between the sidewalk and the truck turning. Regardless if the truck is signaling or not, their blind spot is huge on their passenger side so it's your duty to stay behind their trailer and wait and see what's the trucker's next move, moving straight through or turning. I've seen many video of cars getting their car crush between the sidewalk and the truck's trailer. And if that driver would have been a cyclist he would have done the same stupid mistake. Road designs is not the problem. Dumb peoples are the problem.

These kinds of developments and a seemingly better attitude towards density make me excited about the future of this city.

Always great to see Ottawa taking the lead on urban design. Ottawa, unfortunately, gained most of its design momentum when land was plentiful and cheap, so sprawling suburbs (this is why Ottawa “feels small” but is about one million), and car-centred navigation. It’s encouraging that changes are happening and coming to the nations capital!

@carfreeneoliberalgeorgisty5102

2 жыл бұрын

One thing I hope that Ottawa starts to do a better job on is architecture. Toronto and Montreal are both home to neighbourhoods full of beautiful Victorian and Edwardian era rowhouses, semi detached homes, and the famous Montréal plexes. Ottawa has some of this too but a lot of the city is either filled with bland suburban buildings or ugly brutalist architecture like the DND building or Ottawa city hall. I might sound like a NIMBY here but fine grained architecture built incrementally over many generations give neighbourhoods a sense of place and character.

Start using a different colour asphalt for bike lanes instead of just regular asphalt and paint.

@paulebroderick

2 жыл бұрын

Super expensive

@rendomstranger8698

2 жыл бұрын

@@paulebroderick Sure, rust from iron scraps is super expensive. Oh wait, no it isn't. Plenty of other things you can add that also aren't expensive in the slightest. In fact, I'm pretty sure the average garbage dump has half a dozen option at minimum to colour asphalt.

@paulebroderick

2 жыл бұрын

@@SamKernot Compared to Standard black asphalt - red asphalt (with a dye) is about 60% more expensive, with the red stone is about 430% more expensive, blue asphalt is about 525% more expensive. (This is for 10mm SMA Road surfacing in the UK)

@FarfettilLejl

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly! Rather than complaining that people don't notice the cycle paths 6:16 :D

Ottawa still has a LONG way to go though. I'm in the east end, and the only way to go toward the downtown is to use a painted bike gutter along a busy (80 km/h) road with a relatively steep, long hill. There's no other way to bike downtown or to the nearest train station (there's a new station being built, but that involves competing with cars on a stretch that's just as bad, and includes a highway on-ramp). The city has said there'll be a MUP built, but the time frame for that is about 10 more years. Ottawa may be leading in the downtown and a couple of other areas, such as the St. Laurent intersection in the video, but once you get further out they're not much different from any other North American city.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

Change doesn't happen all at once. The Dutch took decades to retrofit their streets. The hopeful message is that the changes are in motion and will continue to scale up in the coming years.

Good job Ottowa! This should be the bare minimum for all new bike infra going forward across NA!

We need stuff like this in Mississauga, our Multi-Use paths are great but the intersections are largely unchanged, I think something like this will make cycling safer and way more appealing, especially since there will be the novelty of shiny new infrastructure that people will want to try out

@seanshen8325

2 жыл бұрын

compare to downtown TRT, Hamilton or even North York, Mississauga did really bad on walkability

@coastaku1954

2 жыл бұрын

@@seanshen8325 Can you really blame us? We were built on the concession road grid and we’re being planned during the 60s and 70s when the car was king. Wrong place at the wrong time

@ryuuseiSoul

2 жыл бұрын

Mississauga traffic is terrible now. They seem to be quite addicted to car dependency and like building wider and straighter stroads.

@ryuuseiSoul

2 жыл бұрын

@@coastaku1954 Plus a mayor who had a conflict of interest with her son being a home developer being in power for several decades, leading to a ton of single-family homes and very little mixed-use areas or middle housing being built.

@coastaku1954

2 жыл бұрын

@@ryuuseiSoul We haven’t really built any roads outside of developments in a while

Woot! It's too bad my town is too small and rural to consider this type of infrastructure but when it eventually makes its way to London and St.Thomas there might be a chance. Thanks for the up date and for the effort and quality you put into your videos!

@breenseaturtlegaming9990

2 жыл бұрын

All my cities infrastructure is painted lanes

@IanDresarie

2 жыл бұрын

I assume you mean Fake London? :)

@Hugo-in9jt

2 жыл бұрын

My small home town of 15.000 people has this kind of infrastructure for the one 50km/h street it has, all other streets are traffic calmed to only allow 30 km/h. This makes cycling save in the whole town. Size of a town should not really have to matter when it comes to save infrastructure

@lorrygoth

2 жыл бұрын

@@IanDresarie You are correct.

@EnjoyFirefighting

2 жыл бұрын

@@lorrygoth how large is your town (size and population)?

The most important issue us that the right turn phase by the car/truck has to be separated from the phase were cyclists go striaght ahead. Pulling the stop line ahead only helps those already waiting at the intersection

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

Don’t forget the design also helps left and right turn movements for cyclists, even if phasing is protected.

This is really encouraging to see. We could do with these in the UK too. The main challenge we have is lack of road space, but there's still so much we could learn from the Dutch.

@lafamillecarrington

2 жыл бұрын

Cambridge has just installed one (at a roundabout, rather than traffic lights), so maybe the UK will catch up.

@frankhooper7871

2 жыл бұрын

I think the main challenge here in the UK is the resistance of the car-centric majority still. Anything that inconveniences motorists raises indignation.

@mdhazeldine

2 жыл бұрын

@@frankhooper7871 That's the same in most of the western world, especially the US and Canada but you have to start somewhere don't you

@mdhazeldine

2 жыл бұрын

@@lafamillecarrington Yeah, I saw that one. Good start. Long way to go.

@misterflibble9799

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, we tend to get a lot of something that councils seem to think is a "good enough" version of this - shared-use pavements, where all road crossings are subordinate to motor traffic. After all - the cyclists are off the road, so it should be safe, right?

Now this is actually good, well-thought design for bikes! It's intuitive, almost like a roundabout just for bikes, albeit you have to wait for signals sometimes. It's also not insanely intrusive, not any more so than your average bike lane. I really hope that this design becomes more widely used, because intersections are indeed overlooked during bike infrastructure projects despite being the bigger issue in my opinion.

I live about 500 m from the Donald and St. Laurent intersection and it has really made me realize how impactful these relatively small changes make, even as a driver. The traffic lights are completely different than typical intersections (you aren't allowed to turn right on red, there is a specific light for turning AFTER the pedestrian and cycling signals have started) and it requires drivers to be patient and much more aware of pedestrians and cyclists crossing. I'm stoked to get better infrastruture in the future!

Great video. It's nice to hear a good news story about Ottawa infrastructure for once. I went car free two years ago and I've certainly appreciated many of these new intersections. It's heartening to know there are plans for more and that we've got some good heads working at the city on this file.

Ottawa's come a long way, I remember seeing the very first protected bike lanes pop up back when I studied at Carleton in 2014/15. To think they have dutch style intersections now is just mad, unthinkable back when I was there. Really curious to see what the future holds for Ottawa, I hope to be able to cycle across the city when I visit again!

Nice to see Ottawa is in the lead for building safe cycling infrastructure in North America

0:22 Signs telling cyclists to dismount and walk. Imagine how upset motorists would be if they had to get out of their cars and push. In fact, that makes more sense since cars in intersections are where most collisions occur. Think Humbolt.

@thebigmacd

2 жыл бұрын

In London, Ontario we have an amazing 43km multiuser path along the river called the Thames Valley Parkway. We can cycle it from end to end without interacting with car traffic whatsoever, except for one or two locations where it crosses fairly small roads...and they want bicyclists to dismount. C'mon, designers...

No way! I was just in the book 18 training that Matt was running! So awesome to see him here on KZread, he seemed like a really smart and genuine guy!

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

Well thanks! Seems like KZread is the way to reach just about everyone these days. Hope you enjoyed the training!

Well done Ottawa! I can't tell you how many times I've had to slow down/stop at intersections to avoid getting a "right hook" or "left hook" from drivers. You're absolutely right, these intersections will save lives! Now, let's see them in more cities across the country.

Matt just looks so excited to be talking about this stuff. Love the passion!

the good thing is that we all come to the same conclusion. yes, improving infrastructure improves riding bikes !

Great topic and great video. Nice to see Ottawa taking the lead.

Oh hey, a shout-out to Fremont! The boom in bicycle infra here has been amazing

It looks very similar to a Dutch design and as a Dutchman it is great to see/hear the diffences it makes as it is for me something normal but out there a big thing. And I read through the comments people wanting to have Dutch engineers to come over and do their city jobs... but that is not how it works 😅 Dutch city designers can teach you so you can learn. But it is up to you how you use that knowledge to design your city and explore/push new boundaries. It takes time and it is not fixed overnight. The end result is more than you have hoped for.

Just made my first visit to Ottawa, and had to explore, study, and learn about these. Good processes.

These are starting to appear in the UK too, where they're being called CYCLOPS junctions; CYCLe Optimised Protected Signals.

@FranziskaNagel445

2 жыл бұрын

I just love UKs dedication to name their junctions after animals and mystical beasts.

All it takes is one model city for others to become convinced and see that it cán work in North America too. Well done Ottawa! Way to go!

im not from ottawa but so proud of what they are doing! Keep it up :)

Amazing video yet again! Keep up the good work 👍🙃

In Phoenix AZ along the grand canal bikeway at every intersection you'll find a tunnel under ground. Lots of fun and much better than a bridge because you get momentum going down the tunnel to help you get up the other side. The children enjoy them as well.

There was one recently installed somewhere in North Vancouver, BC. It’s great to see these pop up everywhere

This is a brilliant video!! The explanation of the intersection design was very clear since you showed them on a diagram at the same time.

Fall offs happen a lot at intersections ( junctions) in UK because the paths have sudden dropped curbs, tight turns, traffic lights, pavement clutter, and weird cambers. Then add hedges and bad weather, it's like its designed to make you tip over. I'm a confident rider but it's caught me out before. I was stuck under my bike against a bollard, drivers got out of their cars to lift the bike off me! The best car to fall off in front of is a learner, they pay more attention, drive slowly and have the instructor sitting next to them as back up on the brakes.

Wow, these are amazing!!

Gosh your channel is so good!

C'mon Toronto, what are you waiting for? This is amazing!

Guy is so happy to talk about this haha love it. These designs are great we should have these every where!

I really like this style where you talked with someone who's working in the field and gave a bit of an insight to how things work, also very much appreciated the link to Ottowa's design doc that was mentioned. You guys are doing such great work, another AMAZING video!

Ok, some questions I have: I heard that Ottawa has been experimenting with different designs, but why do this when the dutch have already proven safe designs. Is this because the engineers are not aware of the crow manual? Or, is it not possibly to just simply “copy-paste” the Dutch designs? If so, are there certain characteristics of North American roads that make this challenging? How is this overcome?

@ssj3gohan456

2 жыл бұрын

So, as a dutch person with way too much interest in this topic but no formal education on the topic: while Dutch designers have formalized a lot of these features already in the CROW manual, each intersection is still its own design, even in the Netherlands. Outside of 30km/h zones and roundabouts, it is very rare to find two intersections that are identical even across bigger cities. Likewise, Ottawa is in a very different climate and Canadian signaling is quite different as well, so all that has to be accounted for. Long story short: the basic principles are universal, but the implementation still requires care and thought for the different criteria presented at every intersection.

@gearguts70

2 жыл бұрын

There are a few ways that a localized design guide helps: 1. The local guide will account for small differences in local laws, maintenance equipment, climate, etc. For example, in Ontario one of our bicycle signals legally has to be on the far side of the intersection, whereas in the Netherlands both bicycle signals are usually near side. 2. The creation of the guidance document helps with "buy-in" that you wouldn't get by just referencing a Guide from the Netherlands. Its also difficult to reference a foreign design guide for the project agreements of large-scale contracts.

This is so good, the us needs to start taking notes

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 looks so happy talking about bikes!! ♥♥ Great video!

A couple of years ago I was in Ottawa fir a few months and rode my bike almost every single day. Some districts are already great for cyclists, others still have a lot of work ahead. I am happy they are streamlining things with the new guide!

3. Another amazing feature of this type of intersection is that because it forces cars to take the turns at such a sharp angle it also forces the cars to drive much slower, so if collisions do happen the speeds are so low that injury or death are much less likely.

@MrBirdnose

2 жыл бұрын

That's a good point, although now I wonder if semi trucks have trouble making the sharp turn.

@Arjay404

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrBirdnose At least in the Netherlands these normal protected intersections aren't built where you would expect many semi trucks If there is a intersection with heavy traffic then they are modified in such a way that the protecting island between the cars and bikes is made in such a way that trucks can invade part of the island without much issues to them, but still uncomfortable for regular vehicles. This is usually done by angling or slopping the island. Look at this video for different designs where trucks and bikes interact kzread.info/dash/bejne/iqSFr8mbdK22n84.html pay attention to the island style starting at 1:23 the black and white checkerboard design.

Wow, this is amazing!

I good to finally see a forward thinking city in North America! Now, if only Montreal could get rid of it's stroads, remodel intersections and realize that there are so many areas not served by the existing patchwork of bike lanes!

This warms my Dutch bicycle heart... Way to go Ottowa

Edmonton has all these green lanes everywhere in Downtown. This video explains so much how they work

While the parts of Ottawa I frequent don't have these, the ones I have ridden are a delight, even on what would otherwise be a nasty, nasty stroad. I'm a nut, so I don't mind riding in normal lanes, but these really make my friends more comfortable off the sidewalks :). Excited to try some of these out this winter, big ups to the city staff.

I love this, this is so much better than the painted bicycle gutters we mostly have in Hamburg. Those things suck, every intersection bears the possibility of getting right hooked because people just don't look/don't care.

This is so inspiring!

This makes me so happy!

We need this kind of intersection design in Winnipeg.

Outstanding! Here's to more well-thought intersections-

I've been waiting for intersections to receive more attention in North America. Can't wait for the next fight on the local Facebook group about bikes when I can bust this out

Это великолепное и очень понятное видео о таком важнейшем элементе в велоинфрастуктуре. Самое интересное, что они построены по базовым принципам моей езды на велосипеде в городе - проезжать далее стоп линии и пересекать перекрёсток в два этапа. Мне бы очень хотелось, чтобы такие безопасные вело перекрёстки появились у меня в городе Казань, Россия. У нас очень похожий климат и мы чуть ли не города-побратимы с Оттавой.

I think what would be nice to incorporate for the crosswalk is the continuous sidewalk that acts as a speed bump as well. You can do different gradients based on the foot traffic or speed zone. High foot traffic or low speed zones should be flush with the side walk while low foot traffic will be at road level.

great video

I wish that Chicago would do this. Chicago seems to think that splotches of paint = "protected bike lanes". On the other hand, Aurora, IL installed a terrific bike lane that connects both ends if the Fox River Trail an the Virgil Gilman Trail.

This is interesting. I saw a few of these in Portland Oregon this week, way out in the east side I don't frequently go to, but I didn't know what the deal was. Toward the city-center, and North area where I live, there are separate signals for bikes in a few places. The way it happens is that cars get a no-right-turn signal when the bike lane they'd be crossing has a green light, and then bicyclists get a red light when cars have a green turn light. Having a set-back stop line for cars, with a bike-waiting area that takes up the entire car lane between the car's stop line and the intersection is also pretty standard in central Portland.

One city in America I would strongly you look at a Springfield Missouri they're bike friendly but they came a long way from being unbike friendly but they still got a lot of way to go especially look at the greenway trail the Galloway trail her loops around a expressway Way now so they were using old road to turn into a a multi-path

I recall seeing a survey that determined protected intersections where slightly better at getting more people to bike then protected bike lanes.

Looks great.

I know there's a big contingent who poopoo the idea of forcing bikes to wait at two pedestrian signals instead of taking a full left turn in the intersection "like the vehicles we are". However I've had enough right and left hook close calls to say I'd much rather take this.

It's a good start!

I was really wondering if you were gonna address how many intersections are protected on streets without bike lanes. Right now I would say it's okay to get around on a bike, but still not good. Vanier/McArthur/StLawrence/Donald/Montreal area is a great example of the area that has some small sections that are excellent, but large areas that are almost impassable on a bike.

While great achievement in terms of safety for Ottowa, it's quite clear that this design puts cars first, and makes cyclists closer to pedestrians in terms of intersection movement. I wonder what pedestrian + cyclist first, car second, approach to intersection design would look like. Even in the Netherlands, city design was a car first in the 1970-s and is getting (slowly) redesigned, but the car still consumes most space with most design considerations given to cars too.

@adnanomeragic9597

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, big agree. They're too narrow of a path. While the stroads next to them are huge, with multiple lanes. I can easily bike 20mph, but i'm not going to do that on a stroad, nor one of these flimsy, narrow bike lanes. There needs to be safe room to pass, or to maneuver out of any danger like debris.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

If you're local to Ottawa I would encourage you to stand at Donald-St Laurent for 15 minutes and watch. The intersection is surprisingly orderly for having so much going on. The Dutch also have large intersections (traffic does need to go somewhere), but I agree we could certainly have less of them.

@fortitudethedogwalker6273

2 жыл бұрын

Would Barcelona style “Super Blocks” address your concern?

0:50 this is fantastic. And it demonstrates these intersections don’t just protect bikes they protect those needing mobility assistance. The person crossing in a mobility scooter feels safe knowing the white truck can clearly see them.

Meanwhile in Illinois, bike lanes provide a handy place to store snow all winter.

oh man, I hope those will continue into the more "suburb-y" areas, as well! that would make cycling much more accessible for suburbanites! I'd love to see that happen in the greater Toronto area suburbs!

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

There’s even more potential for these in the suburbs where there’s usually a lot of “real estate” available at intersections. If York Region or another municipality adopted these the results would be huge. Only a matter of time!

My town implemented an example of this type of intersection down the street from me, and I cross it multiple times a day on my bike, while walking the dog, and while running. [Oh. Sometimes I drive!] American motorists are not used to this type of design (it is the only one in town) and I have seen drivers make a variety of mistakes (in one case resulting in a flat tire) by barrelling through the bike/ped infrastructure. As long as these intersection designs are so rare, we will continue to see confusion. But they are a good start.

go ottowa! We are in desperate need of protected intersections in the US.

They should take another leaf out of the Netherlands' book and paint all bike lanes and paths one consistent colour, so it's clear to cyclists and other road users alike where cyclists are expected.

The protected intersection on Merivale and Dynes honestly left me feeling less safe when travelling south. Instead of merging smoothly into traffic just before the intersection, where there’s good odds the cars are waiting at the light, you’re now merging more awkwardly and after the intersection, so the cars are moving faster and it’s tricky to see them with the angle they are behind you. I really hope they can add more bike lane there in future so it’s less awkward. (Also, the north bound part is a mess of signs saying there isn’t a bike line and faded road paint saying there is…)

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

That one isn’t too effective on the main road for the reason you’ve mentioned. Once cycle tracks are built to connect to it though you won’t have to merge into traffic.

Cambridge UK is also trialling these bike junctions (just outside Addenbrooke's, the main hospital in the city! Are they expecting teething problems?), and I would echo the comment about it taking time for everyone to get used to these new junctions. This is particularly true for the first implementation of this cycling infrastructure. Cambridge has a lot of cycle lanes or paths coloured red (It seems to be a thin layer of coloured tarmac), as these wear, the road surface becomes horribly uneven: I hope this isn't the case with the green Ottawa cycle lanes!

“Walk your bike” signs on the multi use trail. Oh the Urbanity!: inconvenient and a challenge to equitable mobility. Me: Urban cyclocross.

1:33, if they made an island in the middle of that green path, with a shield for the cars with " pass on the right ( with an arrow), the cars can not cut the curve and so it is much safer. Regards from the Netherlands. I am Dutch.

I think the reason people can get confused is that unlike the Netherlands or a lot of places in Europe, a generation hasn’t been built into something. Once a generation is used to to something, other generations will also catch on.

This might be a bit selfish, but as someone who works in the suburb of Kanata (which employs a lot of middle class tech workers). I'd love to see you do a review of the infrastructure plan for Ottawa's Kanata North ward. It promises to allow for more cycling friendly options, which are important for the massive amount of driving people that currently don't want to change.

Hoping this will be more common going forward. About half the time I do the two stage left on a sidewalk cause it's that or risk getting hit moving into the left turn lane.

BRB gonna send this video to the City of Winnipeg

I saw an intersection like this being built near Lasalle metro today (I didn't catch exactly where, sorry). I was confused by the design; why were they putting 4 oval-shaped concrete blocks at each corner, which faced away from the direction of travel?? Now I understand!! It looked exactly like in this video (still udner construction, no paint or anything yet). Thanks for educating me, glad I came across this older video of yours!

what's that pink thing at 6:03? looks like one of those micro-cars from Amsterdam that the guy from Not Just Bikes once mentioned on his channel 6:50 "Don't forget to *_Bike_* and Subscribe" hahaha good one 😁

6:24 Also hint, the dutch dont make all the bike paths pink because they like the pink colour. It makes it more visible and people dont mistake it as much for other modes of car infrastructure.

@hendman4083

2 жыл бұрын

When they first started using a different colored asphalt for bike paths, the dutch picked red because it was the cheapest solution. It seems blue is the best option in terms visibility, especially for colorblind people.

I love Ottawa, genuinely considering moving there if my bf decides he isn't okay with living on a different continent

Protected lanes without protected intersections cause right hooks. We desperately require protected intersections here in Toronto. I refuse to ride in protected lanes without them. I will never trust that a turning driver has seen me (always pass on outside.)

Ask Matt why the Ottawa intersection design guidelines didn't make it into OTM Book 18! 😉 I'm glad we're starting to change though. These changes will snowball into better bike lane design province wide. This is how the Dutch got their bicycle lanes. Incremental improvements in specific spots leading to success and being adopted nation wide. Dutch bicycle infra wasn't great when it first started, but over time it improved significantly. I can't wait until bicycle infra I'd as basic and expected as sidewalks.

@pindermf

2 жыл бұрын

I’m training other professionals on Book 18 now and every time I say, “for much much more detail on this topic, Ottawa has a great guide”. And I’m always sure to remind people of Ottawa’s 3m annual snowfall :)

@PSNDonutDude

2 жыл бұрын

@@pindermf oh I know, I opened it as soon as you linked it :D

The more I’ve watched these urban planning videos, the more I’ve realized how dangerous right-hand turns are. And I think it’s going to be hard to get that minor convenience changed because of how much Americans love convenience, especially when driving.

Very impressive design upgrade. So many intersections in North America have been given no thought at all.

Great! 👍🏾😎

Meanwhile in Germany it’s pretty much the norm to have bike lanes run _inbetween_ straight and turn lanes. Seeing that even a NA city is getting further ahead makes me just wish we had people like him planning our infrastructure, instead of the car lobby lol

@SharienGaming

2 жыл бұрын

oof yeah ive seen a couple like that... i wouldnt call it the norm, but they are more common than they have any right to be... you can bet that lanes like that are where im going on the sidewalk... im trying to get somewhere, not commit suicide...

One thing I have to say about Ottawa's infrastructure is the fact that while the intersection is a fair bit safer, the area leading to the intersection is still a painted bicycle gutter. A small concrete barrier placed just over where the painted line currently is would make it quite a but safer very quickly. Edit: all that being said, this is still leaps and bounds ahead of Edmonton (where I'm from) and I can't wait to see if our new mayor will follow Ottawa's example.

To reduce confusion of who goes where, bicycle lanes should have a different distinct colour (like the burgundy/maroon colour in the NLD).