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AUTUMN
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EARLY WINTER
2016
In2013 theOntariogovernment came
out with Book 18 – TheOntario Traffic
Manual.Under theheading ‘SignedBi-
cycleRoutewith PavedShoulder’ there
isachart showing thedesiredmeasure-
mentof shoulderwidths for ruralbicycle
routes as1.5 to2.0metres (depending
on trafficvolume). I talked toa fellow rid-
ing a recumbent type trike on Grey
Road19.He saidhecannot ridea stan-
dard bike any more because of an ill-
ness that affects his balance. There are
onlya fewplaceswherehecan ridehis
trike because of the wheelbase of the
unit.CountyRoad19 inoneof them.He
feels that it is time for both local govern-
ments and the province toget together
andmakemore roadswithpavedshoul-
ders of 1.5 metres or more like Grey
Road 19. We live in a highly visible
tourist area and it is vital to accommo-
dateactive tourism.
When Grey County announced that
they were planning on re-building
County Roads 31 and 119, my friend
BillAbbottsmadeacreditablepresenta-
tion toGreyCountyTransportationpro-
moting the ideaofadding fullbike lanes
to those routes. At first therewas aneg-
ative reaction topartof thisproposalbe-
causeof adeep ravineandanexisting
narrow roadbed on one of the roads.
Since thenGrey Road31 has been re-
pavedwith fullbike lanesandRoad119
is slated tobe completed in2017also
withbike lanes. It looks likewearehead-
ing in the right direction.
Both the City of Owen Sound and the
Town of Blue Mountains are now ac-
tivelypursuing theadditionofbike lanes
when a new street project is proposed.
BlueMountains has added bike lanes
out to the soccer complex and Toma-
hawkGolfCourse.OwenSoundadded
bike lanes on both sides of 9th Street
East hill when that project was com-
pleted last year. Thecity isplanningad-
ditional bike lanes when they extend
20
th
AvenueE.aswellasotherprojects.
As some cyclingactivists have pointed
out…Bike lanesmakecyclists lessvisible
tomotorists and they (motorists) ignore
bicyclesonbike lanes.Soascyclistswe
must bemore observant andmore visi-
ble.Beawareandprepared forvehicles
cutting you off when theymake a right
turn in frontofyou.Wearbright clothing
andhave lightsboth frontand rear.Also,
paved shoulders can have debris such
as brokenglass or loosegravel to look
out for. As a cyclist youmust always be
alert and follow the rulesof the road.
For yearsnow I havebeenhearing rea-
sonswhywecan’t pave shoulders from
all levelsof government. It appears that
our local andcountygovernmentshave
comearound to the ideaof developing
an active transportation plan that in-
cludesbike lanes. TheMinistryof Trans-
portation is another story. As recent as
this last summer, the re-pavingof High-
way 26 in the The BlueMountains did
not includeonemetrepaved shoulders,
even though there is not agoodpaved
alternative.When I askedanMTO rep-
resentative, “What are theMinistry’s fu-
tureplans foraddingpavedshoulders in
theGeorgian Bay region?” I received
an official policy statement from their
headoffice statingamongother things,
“Theministry isworking toward identify-
ingaprovince-widenetworkandprovin-
cialbarriers to local cyclingnetworksas
away to improve cycling infrastructure
inOntario.”
I’mnot surewhat thismeansexactly,but
inourarea it seems tomeanstatusquo…
Continue making highways without
paved shoulders.
To me the argument is not just about
safer areas for cyclists to ride, but the
wider paved shoulders increase the life
of roadsandarealsosafer formotorve-
hicles too.Whenproposinga roadproj-
ect our planners, engineers and
politicians need tomake intelligent, in-
formed decisions on how wide those
roadwaysneed tobe.
|E|
Thank you to the following for assistance with this article:
Joanna Johnson, Pam Coulter, Ken Becking, JasonWeppler,
Patrick Hoy, AnnWest, Chris Laforest, Bill Abbotts,
ChristinaMartin.
REASONSFORHIGHWAYSHOULDERS...
Prepared byMichael Ronkin, Bicycle and Pedestrian ProgramManager &Members of the Prelimi-
nary Design Unit, Oregon Department of Transportation.
Thebenefitsof shoulders in three important areas: safety, ca-
pacityandmaintenance.Mostof thesebenefitsapply toboth
shoulderson rural highwaysand tomarked, on-streetbike lanes
onurban roadways.
SAFETY-highwayswithpavedshouldershave loweraccident
rates, aspavedshoulders:
•Providespace tomakeevasivemaneuvers
•Accommodatedrivererror
•Adda recoveryarea to regaincontrol of avehicle, aswell as
lateral clearance to roadsideobjectssuchasguardrail, signs
andpoles (highways requirea “clear zone,”andpavedshoulders
give thebest recoverablesurface)
•Providespace fordisabledvehicles tostopordriveslowly
•Provide increasedsightdistance for throughvehiclesand for
vehiclesentering the roadway (rural: incut sectionsorbrushy
areas; urban: inareaswithmanysightobstructions)
•Contribute todrivingeaseand reduceddriverstrain
•Reducepassingconflictsbetweenmotor vehiclesand
bicyclistsandpedestrians
•Make thecrossingpedestrianmorevisible tomotorists
•Provide forstormwaterdischarge farther from the travel
lanes, reducinghydroplaning, splashandspray to following
vehicles, pedestriansandbicyclists.
CAPACITY-highwayswithpavedshoulderscancarrymore
traffic, aspavedshoulders:
•Providemore intersectionandsafestoppingsightdistance
•Allow foreasierexiting from travel lanes tosidestreetsand
roads (alsoasafetybenefit)
•Providegreatereffective turning radius for trucks
•Providespace foroff-trackingof truck's rearwheels incurved
sections
•Providespace fordisabledvehicles,mail deliveryandbus
stops
•Providespace forbicyclists to rideat theirownpace
Maintenance -highwayswithpavedshouldersareeasier to
maintain, aspavedshoulders:
•Providestructural support to thepavement
•Dischargewater further from the travel lanes, reducing the
underminingof thebaseandsubgrade
•Providespace formaintenanceoperationsandsnowstorage
•Providespace forportablemaintenancesigns
•Facilitatepaintingof fog lines.
recreat ion
