A better Hwy 7/404 interchange crossing

I rode the Hwy 7 bike lanes across the 404 interchange this week.  York Region has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation to make this a safer and more effective interchange for cyclists and motorists. Completed in Fall 2014, the bike lanes with green markings across the ramp mixing zones are among only a handful of such examples in Ontario (I only know of 403/Fairview in Burlington, and 400/Duckworth in Barrie).





There were a few wet spots, and some stored snow was encroaching the bike lane, but the buffer provides some extra width for cyclists and I thought it was a relatively comfortable winter ride.  A cyclist could easily use this commuter route year-round (though the left turn bike boxes were completely covered with snow).

Hwy 7 BEFORE (no bike facilites) - westbound approach 404











Hwy 7 NOW (buffered bike lanes, sidewalk, transit lanes) - westbound approach 404

With MTO's #CycleON Action Plan 1.0 released in 2014, it appears that these types of interchange improvements will become the norm rather than the exception, making the crossings a lot less challenging by bike.  All road users will benefit.