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.

Recap of York Region Bike Month 2014

What began in Toronto as a Bike to Work Day celebration in 1989 has evolved to become one of the largest events of its kind in Canada and is now coordinated by Cycle Toronto. Bike Month brings together families, artists, commuters and community groups to promote cycling at hundreds of events all month long.

BikeMonth 2014 is supported across The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area by Metrolinx and locally by The City of Toronto, The City of Mississauga, The City of Hamilton, and York Region.  I want to recap some of the happenings that took place in York Region.

 

Smart Commute organized Bike to Work Day events on May 24th at Newmarket Riverwalk Commons, Hwy 7/Leslie Street area in Richmond Hill, and York University.  The first two had about 175 and 150 participants respectively.

 

Bike to Work Day - Richmond Hill

Bike to Work Day - York University

 

Bike to Work Day - Newmarket.  Viva/YRT launched Bike N Bus now has bike racks on their entire fleet.

Vaughan Bicycle User Group hosted a "Discover Your Inner Cyclist" event at Sonoma Heights Park in Woodbridge.

Regional Councillor Deb Schulte

MPP (and now Minister of Transportation) Steven Del Duca

Bicycle Valet at Mill Pond Splash in Richmond Hill

Bike Day at Woodbridge Village Farmers Market

Oak Ridges Trail Association hosted the Moraine Relay Adventure.  The 160km route across the Oak Ridges Trail is a non-stop running/cycling/canoe race with 15 participants per team.  There was a record 35 teams this year.

Here's one of my teammates, Paul.

Pedal power smoothies at Nature's Emporium in Maple

 

New this year was a June Bike Challenge organized by Smart Commute Central York, with the grand prize of a $800 gift certificate from Spoke O Motion bike shop.  The more days you cycle, the greater your chances.  307 people participated, with an average of 11 days of cycling.  Fantastic.

 

Cycle on, friends!





Cruising the new Hwy 7 Buffered Bike Lanes in Richmond Hill

They're FAST (faster than car traffic at certain times of the day), COMFORTABLE (even more than I suspected), and part of a larger VISION (across Hwy 7 from Markham to Vaughan, and Yonge Street from Richmond Hill to Newmarket).  The Hwy 7 rapidway from Chalmers to East Beaver Creek opened last summer.  It has been transformed from a car-oriented highway to a complete street: designed for all ages, abilities, and modes of travel.  We'll see the bike lanes extended from Hwy 404 easterly in Markham soon, as they are currently under construction.

"If you want to see the future, go to Richmond Hill and check out Highway 7" ~Honorable Glen Murray, Minister of Transportation, speaking at the Ontario Bike Summit on April 15, 2014.

Here's some video of Hwy 7 from a cyclist's perspective.  At 6:15 and 7:45 of the video, check out an example of the new curb inset left turn queue boxes that were just installed this month.  So new, they don't have bike markings on them yet.  I believe these could be the first of their kind in North America!