Cyclist killed in collision while en-route to game on Monday

[Chaosmonkey]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Cyclist-dies-after-collision-on-way-to-Mondays-Bomber-game-262779761.html

 

 

It is a shame that he was killed. 

 

There is a very nice AT route that by-passed the Pembina-bishop bridge if you go along plaza drive and keep going past the MCC/Ten thousand villages, goes under the bridge, then hooks into D'arcy drive. I took this route to the game, but did not take it after. I was thinking about it, but kinda got in the flow of traffic and just carried on along Pembina with a few other cyclists, including other members of this message board. 

 

I don't think I will do that in the future. Too much to risk to shave a few minutes off my return trip.

[Bomber_fanaddict]

Sad to hear. Condolences to his family and friends. Not that the Bombers need to do anything but would be nice if they did something for the family.

[MOBomberFan]

Thanks for the tip Chaosmonkey, I will have to check out that route. As careful as I try to be, that bridge always makes me very nervous on my bike, particularly on my way to the game.

[The Unknown Poster]

Terrible accident. I didn't know there was a better bike bath to IGF and I live in the area. Perhaps signage would be appropriate now.

[Duchkal2]

Here is the area's bike route. http://www.winnipeg.ca/PublicWorks/MajorProjects/ActiveTransportation/maps_images/2013-Cycling-Map-South.pdf

[Chaosmonkey]

If anyone is interested, I will be leading a group bike ride from downtown to  the stadium for all the rest of the bomber home games. 

I will figure out the details later, but the gyst of it is we travel in a nice orderly fashion all together to promote visibility and safety, and it will utilize as much AT/Bike paths as possible. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Where exactly was the accident? If it happened on the new bike paths along Pembina hwy (on the road) I am not surprised. Terrible idea and an obvious death trap waiting to happen.

[robynjt]

If anyone is interested, I will be leading a group bike ride from downtown to  the stadium for all the rest of the bomber home games. 

I will figure out the details later, but the gyst of it is we travel in a nice orderly fashion all together to promote visibility and safety, and it will utilize as much AT/Bike paths as possible. 

Good idea, I'll be sharing with my Winnipeg bike users. 

[The Unknown Poster]

And I just learned that part of that construction on Pembina at Chancellor Dr is to put in more of these so-called "protected bike baths".  Whomever thought these were a good idea can't possibly be a cyclist.  I "get" the idea of bikes and cars sharing the road but Pembina is far too busy with far too many turn offs, parking lots etc for that to work successfully.  The money spent on making dedicated bike baths that cross in front of car paths is ludicrous. 

 

Its not even in keeping with their own AT plan.

 

Further south near Chancellor Matheson, they took the sidewalk on the East side of Pembina and widened it and made it an AT path.  WAY smarter than forcing cars and bikes on a busy roadway together.  THATS what they should be doing all along Pembina.

[Goalie]

This is awful. Apparently on average and this shocked me there is only 2 deaths per year involving cyclists. Shocking actually.. With the way some of the people in this city drive, i'm honestly shocked it's not way more. Condolences to his family and friends. That's just awful.

[17to85]

but Pembina is far too busy

oh you poor sheltered winnipeggers who think you actually have busy roads... 

[iso_55]

And I just learned that part of that construction on Pembina at Chancellor Dr is to put in more of these so-called "protected bike baths".  Whomever thought these were a good idea can't possibly be a cyclist.  I "get" the idea of bikes and cars sharing the road but Pembina is far too busy with far too many turn offs, parking lots etc for that to work successfully.  The money spent on making dedicated bike baths that cross in front of car paths is ludicrous. 

 

Its not even in keeping with their own AT plan.

 

Further south near Chancellor Matheson, they took the sidewalk on the East side of Pembina and widened it and made it an AT path.  WAY smarter than forcing cars and bikes on a busy roadway together.  THATS what they should be doing all along Pembina.

They're putting dedicated year round bike lanes in Calgary. They wanted to put one on 1 St SE going south out of the downtown to MacLeod Trail. Anyone who knows Calgary knows that was a stupidly insane plan because of the traffic volume coming out of the downtown during evening rush hour. City council voted to not allow it for that portion of the road. But there will be dedicated bike lanes downtown. How that'll work in the winter remains to be seen. 

[Goalie]

it don't matter how many cars on the streets, that's irrelevant.. all it takes is one idiot and this is what happens.

 

Busy streets or not and pembina is very very busy at certain times...

 

 

 

And I just learned that part of that construction on Pembina at Chancellor Dr is to put in more of these so-called "protected bike baths".  Whomever thought these were a good idea can't possibly be a cyclist.  I "get" the idea of bikes and cars sharing the road but Pembina is far too busy with far too many turn offs, parking lots etc for that to work successfully.  The money spent on making dedicated bike baths that cross in front of car paths is ludicrous. 

 

Its not even in keeping with their own AT plan.

 

Further south near Chancellor Matheson, they took the sidewalk on the East side of Pembina and widened it and made it an AT path.  WAY smarter than forcing cars and bikes on a busy roadway together.  THATS what they should be doing all along Pembina.

They're putting dedicated year round bike lanes in Calgary. They wanted to put one on 1 St SE going south out of the downtown to MacLeod Trail. Anyone who knows Calgary knows that was a stupidly insane plan because of the traffic volume coming out of the downtown during evening rush hour. City council voted to not allow it for that portion of the road. But there will be dedicated bike lanes downtown. How that'll work in the winter remains to be seen. 

 

yeah. Here on ness avenue, i noticed they added dedicated bike lanes... i was wondering about the winter aspect myself... the bike lanes are so tiny to begin with and very close to traffic as is...  to me, it screams accident waiting to happen.

[17to85]

 

And I just learned that part of that construction on Pembina at Chancellor Dr is to put in more of these so-called "protected bike baths".  Whomever thought these were a good idea can't possibly be a cyclist.  I "get" the idea of bikes and cars sharing the road but Pembina is far too busy with far too many turn offs, parking lots etc for that to work successfully.  The money spent on making dedicated bike baths that cross in front of car paths is ludicrous. 

 

Its not even in keeping with their own AT plan.

 

Further south near Chancellor Matheson, they took the sidewalk on the East side of Pembina and widened it and made it an AT path.  WAY smarter than forcing cars and bikes on a busy roadway together.  THATS what they should be doing all along Pembina.

They're putting dedicated year round bike lanes in Calgary. They wanted to put one on 1 St SE going south out of the downtown to MacLeod Trail. Anyone who knows Calgary knows that was a stupidly insane plan because of the traffic volume coming out of the downtown during evening rush hour. City council voted to not allow it for that portion of the road. But there will be dedicated bike lanes downtown. How that'll work in the winter remains to be seen. 

 

there's some dumb bikers in calgary too, I almost creamed on downtown a few weeks ago because he decided to cut in front of me from my left just as I was accelerating after having to stop to let a car turn off the street. Honestly I see it being a real clusterfuck down town, drivers can barely manage to drive properly with cars and pedestrians now you're going to throw bikes into the mix? 

[Logan007]

This is awful. Apparently on average and this shocked me there is only 2 deaths per year involving cyclists. Shocking actually.. With the way some of the people in this city drive, i'm honestly shocked it's not way more. Condolences to his family and friends. That's just awful.

Yeah, don't always blame the drivers.  Half of the bikers in this city suck at biking and never EVER follow the rules of the road.  They did that "bike lane" down Assiniboine and it's just assinine.  I like the idea as well, but half the time these idiot bikers don't even use it and ride on the road.  I mean for crying out loud.  We lost most of the lane going east for this stupid thing and these guys decide they're going to bike on the road in front of the cars.  Then there's the ones who decide they can ride where ever they want, street, sidewalk, whatever.  They use the crosswalk on main street (riding across which you're not supposed to do on a bike) and then whip over to the road as cars are turning in.  Or they don't use hand signals and just cut in front of cars.  I had one idiot riding in front of me in the middle of the road down Marion.  He didn't go on the side of the street...he went right in the lane during rush hour.  I was like...DUDE...you're going to get killed.

 

Trust me, I love the idea of biking, and I think it's great, but A) we don't have the proper infrastructure for it, and B ) people make up their own bike rules as they go along and they expect drivers to be respectful to them.  Yes there are some drivers out there that make up their own rules too, but in the summer all I see is bikers and trying to dodge them is sometimes difficult.  It's not hard to see why 2 get killed a year.

 

And don't get me started on the fact that more then half of these tools don't wear helmets.

[The Unknown Poster]

but Pembina is far too busy

oh you poor sheltered winnipeggers who think you actually have busy roads...

Regardless of your smarmy remark Pembina is too busy in my opinion for this type of bike path. Not only because of the amount of cars but how they operate, crossing the bike path every few feet.

[Chaosmonkey]

 

This is awful. Apparently on average and this shocked me there is only 2 deaths per year involving cyclists. Shocking actually.. With the way some of the people in this city drive, i'm honestly shocked it's not way more. Condolences to his family and friends. That's just awful.

Yeah, don't always blame the drivers.  Half of the bikers in this city suck at biking and never EVER follow the rules of the road.  They did that "bike lane" down Assiniboine and it's just assinine.  I like the idea as well, but half the time these idiot bikers don't even use it and ride on the road.  I mean for crying out loud.  We lost most of the lane going east for this stupid thing and these guys decide they're going to bike on the road in front of the cars.  Then there's the ones who decide they can ride where ever they want, street, sidewalk, whatever.  They use the crosswalk on main street (riding across which you're not supposed to do on a bike) and then whip over to the road as cars are turning in.  Or they don't use hand signals and just cut in front of cars.  I had one idiot riding in front of me in the middle of the road down Marion.  He didn't go on the side of the street...he went right in the lane during rush hour.  I was like...DUDE...you're going to get killed.

 

Trust me, I love the idea of biking, and I think it's great, but A) we don't have the proper infrastructure for it, and B ) people make up their own bike rules as they go along and they expect drivers to be respectful to them.  Yes there are some drivers out there that make up their own rules too, but in the summer all I see is bikers and trying to dodge them is sometimes difficult.  It's not hard to see why 2 get killed a year.

 

And don't get me started on the fact that more then half of these tools don't wear helmets.

 

 

Just going to touch on one point of this post real quick: 

 

For the last year and a bit, the bike lane on assinaboine has been closed for a large section due to construction (the fact that it is closed is another matter all together), and it will be closed for about another year. 

Due to how the lane is built, most cyclists will have a much easier time just staying on the road if they are going under the Donald bridge at all. 

 

Not saying this is why every cyclist you see is on the road instead of the lane, but I know I have done it myself for this reason a lot.

[The Unknown Poster]

That Assiniboine bike path was I'll advised from the start and didn't take into account input from business and residents along there.

I'm all for AT. Dedicated paths should be included in any new development and retrofitted into existing roadways as much as possible. But be smart about it.

What annoys me is they have used the "sidewalk" method in many places in south Winnipeg including along stretches of Pembina hwy. why wouldn't you continue this along that very busy stretch around bishop/plaza?

Also having strong signage for cyclists to IGF would be nice also.

It's a good discussion to have and absolutely there are irresponsible cyclists just as there are irresponsible drivers but let's not lose site of the fact this was a terrible accident and I've seen no account that the cyclist or driver were at fault.

[iso_55]

 I had one idiot riding in front of me in the middle of the road down Marion.  He didn't go on the side of the street...he went right in the lane during rush hour.  I was like...DUDE...you're going to get killed.

 

 

.

 

I'd have laid the horn on the guy. And wouldn't let off until he got over. If he tried to ignore me then I'd be right behind him going HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!

[Logan007]

 

 

This is awful. Apparently on average and this shocked me there is only 2 deaths per year involving cyclists. Shocking actually.. With the way some of the people in this city drive, i'm honestly shocked it's not way more. Condolences to his family and friends. That's just awful.

Yeah, don't always blame the drivers.  Half of the bikers in this city suck at biking and never EVER follow the rules of the road.  They did that "bike lane" down Assiniboine and it's just assinine.  I like the idea as well, but half the time these idiot bikers don't even use it and ride on the road.  I mean for crying out loud.  We lost most of the lane going east for this stupid thing and these guys decide they're going to bike on the road in front of the cars.  Then there's the ones who decide they can ride where ever they want, street, sidewalk, whatever.  They use the crosswalk on main street (riding across which you're not supposed to do on a bike) and then whip over to the road as cars are turning in.  Or they don't use hand signals and just cut in front of cars.  I had one idiot riding in front of me in the middle of the road down Marion.  He didn't go on the side of the street...he went right in the lane during rush hour.  I was like...DUDE...you're going to get killed.

 

Trust me, I love the idea of biking, and I think it's great, but A) we don't have the proper infrastructure for it, and B ) people make up their own bike rules as they go along and they expect drivers to be respectful to them.  Yes there are some drivers out there that make up their own rules too, but in the summer all I see is bikers and trying to dodge them is sometimes difficult.  It's not hard to see why 2 get killed a year.

 

And don't get me started on the fact that more then half of these tools don't wear helmets.

 

 

Just going to touch on one point of this post real quick: 

 

For the last year and a bit, the bike lane on assinaboine has been closed for a large section due to construction (the fact that it is closed is another matter all together), and it will be closed for about another year. 

Due to how the lane is built, most cyclists will have a much easier time just staying on the road if they are going under the Donald bridge at all. 

 

Not saying this is why every cyclist you see is on the road instead of the lane, but I know I have done it myself for this reason a lot.

 

Right, I meant before that construction began, sorry.  I meant to write that in there.  Yes, I take that construction into consideration and I understand them having to go around that while it's being built.  I was more speaking even before that happened, they would ride on the street even when there's no one on the bike path.  And it's not everyone, there's only a very few who do this.  I don't know if they think they're too good for the bike path or what.

 

Again, I'm all for bikers, but there needs to be better infrastructure set up for both them and cars in order for people to be safer.

 

And, just FYI, I do realize there are lots of jerk off drivers out there too, my point was that there are a LOT of bad bikers that just don't know how to ride a bike, nor do they know road safety.

[robynjt]

Regardless of why the accident happened, a hit and run is just awful.

Hopefully the family gets closure.

[gbill2004]

Regardless of why the accident happened, a hit and run is just awful.

Hopefully the family gets closure.

Where did you hear it was a hit and run?

[MOBomberFan]

 

Regardless of why the accident happened, a hit and run is just awful.

Hopefully the family gets closure.

Where did you hear it was a hit and run?

 

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/11/man-69-killed-in-bike-crash

 

"Police are now asking anyone who saw the collision or knows who was in the vehicle to contact investigators at (204) 986-6271 or Crime Stoppers at (204) 786-TIPS (8477)."

[road griller]

Well, it was a terrible accident and nobody deserves to die.  But rarely do you see a person on a bike follow the rules of the road, stop signs, red lights even if the stop they creep along side to the front of the line and you end up having to pass the same person 10 times over in traffic. 

 

Those bike lanes are a joke, take a road that was barely able to handle 2 cars then paint a line and make it for 2 cars and a bike?  That is a big thinker kind of idea.

[The Unknown Poster]

On Pembina, they actually spent considerable money and major construction to shift Pembina HWY over a few feet to add the bike lanes.  So there is room but it adds a layer of danger.  There are shop entrances every few feet where cars turn in and out of.  Now drivers have to slow down, check to ensure there is no cyclist before proceeding to complete their turn, all while not stopping and impeding traffic behind them.  It's a death trap.  Although Im unclear where this impacted the accident in question.  This could have been immediately south of the new bike lane.  Which is actually even worse because the lanes sort of shift back into place and the bike lane disappears.  Really a gong show.

 

And as I keep harping on, there are sidewalks running the length of both sides of Pembina HWY.  South of Chancellor Matheson, the city converted the East sidewalk to an Active Transportation path by widening it and paving it.  They have done this on Pembina HYW too.  They have done this on McGill.  In those cases, they did not force bikes onto busy roadways with cars.  They created safe alternatives.  Using the existing sidewalk would have been safer and cheaper.  Im sure the argument is that the side with the AT path would get less pedestrians and effect the businesses there.  I call BS on that. 

 

And yes, there is a large disconnect between the cycling community and the driving community.  Most cyclists say they always follow all the rules and they need drivers to show more respect.  But I think what needs to happen is the cycling community needs to come down on those cyclists that flaunt the rules.  It happens a lot, even along pembina where cyclists cruise right through red lights, stop signs etc. I recall last year or the year before they had cops standing on sidewalks ticketing cyclists that rode on them.  I disagreed with that.  But if you're going to use cops in that way, have them ticketing at lights and stop signs.  Have them ticketing for not using hand signals.