[Policy] Revised Draft of Diamond Lane Position Statement for Review

Thu Jan 5 14:57:49 PST 2017

Hi Mark and Policy Committee,

Too bad your email came just after our policy meeting had ended!  At the meeting, the conclusion was the Diamond Lane draft was ready for board review next week with the exception of Bill's request that I revise how related documents are listed.  However, I reviewed your helpful comments as well as those from Green Action Centre, and thought that perhaps we could "beef up" our version a bit.

Attached therefore is a revised version with the most recent changes highlighted in yellow.  Could you, Ian, Bill and Gord give this one more look-over to see if it will suit, send me an email either way, and then I will send out to the Board for their consideration.

Thanks, Laura

________________________________
From: Policy <policy-bounces at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca> on behalf of Mark Cohoe <mark.e.cohoe at gmail.com>
Sent: January 5, 2017 2:24 PM
To: Laura Donatelli
Cc: policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca
Subject: Re: [Policy] Reminder of Upcoming Policy Committee Meeting and Draft of Diamond Lane Position Statement for Review

Hi Laura,

Sorry that this is so late in getting to you, and thanks to you and the committee for taking this on as I've definitely neglected it.
Some of my thoughts on the subject are below:

I have definite concerns about safety and comfort levels should this plan move ahead. Important questions for me include:

  *   How will cab drivers react to a bike taking the lane (as recommended by MPI and others)?
  *   How will increased traffic affect comfort levels for people biking in the lanes?
  *   How will safety be affected by the addition of more vehicles merging in and out of the diamond lanes?

See below for some submissions from others that I have been copied on:

Thanks again for the opportunity to provide input – here is a summary of Green Action Centre's position.

Why taxis should not be allowed on diamond lanes in Winnipeg:

  1.  The argument to include taxis on diamond lanes in Winnipeg appears to be based on the experience of HOV (carpool) lanes in other cities. However, diamond lanes in Winnipeg are different from a HOV lane – they are essentially dedicated bus lanes that also allow cyclists. HOV lanes do not exist here, as they are best suited for large centres (>1 million people in the metropolitan area) and on corridors that lead to large employment centres (>100,000 workers) as a major transportation destination, and work better on highways than arterial corridors where the space is shared with buses and bikes (source<http://data.tc.gc.ca/archive/eng/programs/environment-utsp-hovlanescanada-886.htm>). Winnipeg's diamond lanes are intended to make transit more attractive and competitive (give an advantage to) while also providing space for people on bikes on the curbside lane during peak travel times. In other jurisdictions in Canada, HOV lanes are considered more as carpool lanes. Accordingly, some other Canadian cities have allowed taxis on arterial HOV lanes because they meet their definition of high-occupancy vehicle, e.g. Calgary<http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TP/Pages/Getting-Around-Calgary/Commuting/High-Occupancy-Vehicles-%28HOV%29.aspx> defines HOV as 2 or more occupants including the taxi driver while Toronto<http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/64/101000040264.html> requires 3 or more occupants.
  2.  Adding taxis would reduce the effectiveness of diamond lanes by reducing transit speeds and reliability of trip times for passengers and would create an additional safety hazard for people on bikes in the diamond lane. Dedicated bus curb lanes can roughly double transit speeds in typical urban congestion (source<http://www.vtpi.org/blw.pdf>, p4), which attracts more riders. Bus lanes have also been shown to provide safety benefits, with statistically significant reductions in collisions (source<http://www.vtpi.org/blw.pdf>, p6). Diamond lanes should continue to be used as a TDM measure in Winnipeg to promote and encourage the use of transit and cycling.
  3.  While taxis with 3 or more occupants (including the taxi driver) technically qualify as carpooling, this is outweighed by the potential negative impacts on transit and cycling. We believe that a taxi trip consisting of the driver and one passenger is the equivalent of driving alone.
  4.  Furthermore, non-compliance is highly likely and and would be costly to monitor. Enforcement would be more challenging as it would require assessing how many passengers are in the taxi. This could set up the scenario of taxi drivers using the lanes when they are alone or have one passenger only.
  5.  If inclusion of taxis on a diamond lane is based on the carpooling argument, it opens up the discussion that any vehicle with 2-3 or more passengers should be able to use the lane (similar to a HOV lane). This is clearly undesirable on an arterial diamond lane as it would result in the same congestion issues as adjacent lanes. It once again underscores the difference between an arterial diamond lane (bus/bike lane) vs. a HOV (carpool) lane.
  6.  If anything, we need more bus/bike diamond lanes in Winnipeg to create a continuous network, as sections where the diamond lane continue to pose a challenge for buses and bikes, and reduce the effectiveness of existing diamond lanes.

Beth

David: attached are feedback and comments I have compiled from a subset of the employees I canvassed at 360 Portage Avenue.

In summary, we support the points made by the Green Action Centre. A common theme is cyclist safety: diamond lanes are well utilized already so adding more users will affect efficiency and safety for current users; taxis are a mismatch with current users with taxi drivers being more likely to be in a rush; taxis are more likely to be a risk to cyclist safety than buses as bus drivers are more likely to take a professional attitude to safety which, as one cyclist observes, extends to bus drivers giving him a full lane when they overtake him and because electric/hybrid taxis are more likely to be relatively quiet and more of a risk to cyclists unaware of their presence. Another common theme is that it is illogical to give taxis an advantage over other multi-passenger vehicles and it is illogical to disadvantage efficient public transit and carbon-free commuters to the benefit of a special interest group that is less aligned with national goals to reduce greenhouse gases. We also agree with the Green Action Centre that diamond lane non-compliance will increase if additional users are permitted in diamond lanes. Both the increased difficulty of enforcement and, in my opinion, the tendency of drivers to disregard rules they consider illogical and unfair (such as letting taxis move in and out of diamond lanes as it suits them while someone in a similar vehicle who is late for work, late for a meeting or late for day care is not permitted to do so) will contribute to non-compliance if taxis are permitted in diamond lanes.

Regards,
Dan Prowse
360 Portage Ave
204-360-3712<tel:%28204%29%20360-3712>; cell 204-792-1288<tel:%28204%29%20792-1288>; home 204-453-6060<tel:%28204%29%20453-6060>

Cheers, \
Mark

On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 4:42 PM, Laura Donatelli <omojean98 at hotmail.com<mailto:omojean98 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Ian, Bill and Gord,

Happy New Year to all.

Here is the revised draft of the Diamond Lane position statement for your consideration and comments.  You can send me comments electronically or share your thoughts at our meeting.  You will note that the recently released (Dec. 20/16) Taxicab Review report is recommending that the majority of taxicabs be allowed to use diamond lanes, so we need to get a statement finalized and approved by the BW board quickly in anticipation of this going before Council.

Ian, do you have a draft of the Bike Helmet statement for our review prior to our meeting?

Reminder that we meet this Thursday Jan. 5th at 1:00 p.m. at my place (129 Grove Street).  Hope all can make it.

Cheers, Laura

_______________________________________________
Policy mailing list
Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca<mailto:Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca>
http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/listinfo.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca

On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 4:42 PM, Laura Donatelli <omojean98 at hotmail.com<mailto:omojean98 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Ian, Bill and Gord,

Happy New Year to all.

Here is the revised draft of the Diamond Lane position statement for your consideration and comments.  You can send me comments electronically or share your thoughts at our meeting.  You will note that the recently released (Dec. 20/16) Taxicab Review report is recommending that the majority of taxicabs be allowed to use diamond lanes, so we need to get a statement finalized and approved by the BW board quickly in anticipation of this going before Council.

Ian, do you have a draft of the Bike Helmet statement for our review prior to our meeting?

Reminder that we meet this Thursday Jan. 5th at 1:00 p.m. at my place (129 Grove Street).  Hope all can make it.

Cheers, Laura

_______________________________________________
Policy mailing list
Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca<mailto:Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca>
http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/listinfo.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca

On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 4:42 PM, Laura Donatelli <omojean98 at hotmail.com<mailto:omojean98 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Ian, Bill and Gord,

Happy New Year to all.

Here is the revised draft of the Diamond Lane position statement for your consideration and comments.  You can send me comments electronically or share your thoughts at our meeting.  You will note that the recently released (Dec. 20/16) Taxicab Review report is recommending that the majority of taxicabs be allowed to use diamond lanes, so we need to get a statement finalized and approved by the BW board quickly in anticipation of this going before Council.

Ian, do you have a draft of the Bike Helmet statement for our review prior to our meeting?

Reminder that we meet this Thursday Jan. 5th at 1:00 p.m. at my place (129 Grove Street).  Hope all can make it.

Cheers, Laura

_______________________________________________
Policy mailing list
Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca<mailto:Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca>
http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/listinfo.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca

On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 4:42 PM, Laura Donatelli <omojean98 at hotmail.com<mailto:omojean98 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Ian, Bill and Gord,

Happy New Year to all.

Here is the revised draft of the Diamond Lane position statement for your consideration and comments.  You can send me comments electronically or share your thoughts at our meeting.  You will note that the recently released (Dec. 20/16) Taxicab Review report is recommending that the majority of taxicabs be allowed to use diamond lanes, so we need to get a statement finalized and approved by the BW board quickly in anticipation of this going before Council.

Ian, do you have a draft of the Bike Helmet statement for our review prior to our meeting?

Reminder that we meet this Thursday Jan. 5th at 1:00 p.m. at my place (129 Grove Street).  Hope all can make it.

Cheers, Laura

_______________________________________________
Policy mailing list
Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca<mailto:Policy at lists.bikewinnipeg.ca>
http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/listinfo.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/private.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca/attachments/20170105/d47bfe79/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BWP005 Diamond Lanes Jan 5 17.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 47906 bytes
Desc: BWP005 Diamond Lanes Jan 5 17.docx
URL: <http://lists.bikewinnipeg.ca/private.cgi/policy-bikewinnipeg.ca/attachments/20170105/d47bfe79/attachment-0001.docx>