Cycling and Active Transportation in Edmonton

[thommyjo]

Here's the purpose of those sidewalk bumps

You’ve probably noticed the raised, bumpy patterns where the sidewalk ends. You might also have wondered why they are there.

www.wptv.com

Sorry haha. I’m very aware of what those are. I was commenting on the fact that these crossings aren’t raised crossings, which I had heard from Knack and others would be used after “learning from the mistakes of the initial 102ave design”.

Apparently lessons weren’t learned and we’ll keep prioritizing drivers on one of the busiest bike routes in our city…

 

[BrettB]

Do raised crossings impact accessibility?

I’ve always though of them as potentially impacting drainage, but being massively helpful for a number of reasons:
1) reduce bumps and discomforts for biking, strollers, wheelchairs.
2) add a table top to slow cars to ensure they come to a stop before entering the intersection and reduces speed.
3) helps with snow and ice melt in winter/spring as many of these crossings become full of water and make walking and biking a mess

Maybe there’s something I don’t understand. But to me, every major bike route should be “continuous” and where roads intersect, cars should have to go up and over as they yield. Every major arterial MUP for example would benefit a ton from this.

Something I learned from a man in a wheelchair, raised crosswalks also eliminate that small dip at the junction of the gutter and the lowered sidewalk that can sometimes prove insurmountable

 

[thommyjo]

Something I learned from a man in a wheelchair, raised crosswalks also eliminate that small dip at the junction of the gutter and the lowered sidewalk that can sometimes prove insurmountable

Exactly. They seem like win win wins!

 

[BrettB]

 

[ntt1]

Do raised crossings impact accessibility?

I’ve always though of them as potentially impacting drainage, but being massively helpful for a number of reasons:
1) reduce bumps and discomforts for biking, strollers, wheelchairs.
2) add a table top to slow cars to ensure they come to a stop before entering the intersection and reduces speed.
3) helps with snow and ice melt in winter/spring as many of these crossings become full of water and make walking and biking a mess

Maybe there’s something I don’t understand. But to me, every major bike route should be “continuous” and where roads intersect, cars should have to go up and over as they yield. Every major arterial MUP for example would benefit a ton from this.

Yeah, it seems that raised crosswalks or speed bumps are the only way to get vehicles to actually slow down and/or stop. We could benefit from a lot more of those in problem areas. Some street labs projects have even been installing permanent asphalt speed tables in some suburbs like Allard, I believe.

 

[Gronk!]

Groat Rd/River Valley Rd MUP - old vs new

 

[dkazzed]

I wish they'd do more to flatten (as in grades <4%) more of the river valley, both for wheelchair accessibility and the casual cyclists. At the moment, the north shore from Groat Road Bridge all the way to Tawatina Bridge is fairly flat, but imagine if they did the south side as well and allowed people to do a loop.

Oh I climbed up Victoria Park Road over the weekend and that was a surprisingly easy climb. Just checked, the average grade is 3.7%, I figured it wasn't super steep at all. I know electric bikes are becoming more popular, I have one, but it doesn't go on or in my car and it's too big for LRT.

 

[erudyk_29]

Put this together today for an assignment.

This is the modal share of cycling by census tract in Edmonton and surrounding communities.

Data from the 2021 Census (most recent I could get)

Green = >4%
Light Green = 2 - 3.9%
Yellow = 1 - 1.9%
Orange = 0.5 - 1.9%
Red = Non Zero - 0.49%
Dark Red = 0%

We can see that South Central is really dominant here.

 

[itom987]

4% is the best we can do? Ouch...

 

[erudyk_29]

4% is the best we can do? Ouch...

The dark green is any above 4% (I typed the > the wrong way, oops), the highest is around 7.3% which is in the eastern part of Strathcona. Still not great, but it rounds up to 10 at least?

 

[fromyeg]

View attachment 601903

Put this together today for an assignment.

This is the modal share of cycling by census tract in Edmonton and surrounding communities.

Data from the 2021 Census (most recent I could get)

Green = >4%
Light Green = 2 - 3.9%
Yellow = 1 - 1.9%
Orange = 0.5 - 1.9%
Red = Non Zero - 0.49%
Dark Red = 0%

We can see that South Central is really dominant here.

Great Map!

Happy to live in a “Green” neighbourhood. (And ride a bike to work, scooter sometimes )

What was the overall rate of cycling for the City?

 

[erudyk_29]

Great Map!

Happy to live in a “Green” neighbourhood. (And ride a bike to work, scooter sometimes )

What was the overall rate of cycling for the City?

The overall modal split was a meager 1.26% however this is for the entire CMA which includes regions as far flung as Wabamun. I couldn't get it to spit out a number for the city proper (working on that) but it would likely be higher. I wouldn't expect it to be any greater than 2-3% though.

 

[thommyjo]

4% is the best we can do? Ouch...

I mean, global cycling hubs like Copenhagen are still under 30%. So us being in a 5-6% range in the next decade would be outstanding. Currently in the 2-3% range from most stuff I’ve seen.

Vancouver is 7%. Montreal is 4%.

 

[thommyjo]

View attachment 601903

Put this together today for an assignment.

This is the modal share of cycling by census tract in Edmonton and surrounding communities.

Data from the 2021 Census (most recent I could get)

Green = >4%
Light Green = 2 - 3.9%
Yellow = 1 - 1.9%
Orange = 0.5 - 1.9%
Red = Non Zero - 0.49%
Dark Red = 0%

We can see that South Central is really dominant here.

West central probably has the most commuting to the core potential. And millwoods likely the most local trip potential. Hopefully some of the upcoming investments start to see a shift!

 

[TAS]

The overall modal split was a meager 1.26% however this is for the entire CMA which includes regions as far flung as Wabamun. I couldn't get it to spit out a number for the city proper (working on that) but it would likely be higher. I wouldn't expect it to be any greater than 2-3% though.

Great map - thanks for sharing and deciding to do that as an assignment.

If we're currently in that modal share you expect (2-3%) I guess we are on the money in terms of our $100 million capital spend from 2023-26 in active transportation. But that will need to continue as we catch up from years of neglect and the need to build a safe, viable transportation option for our growing population.

From the city: "The 2023-2026 capital budget includes $100 million for the active transportation network expansion. It makes up 2% of the approximately $5 billion capital budget for transportation projects, including roads and bridges."