Latest news with #bikeLanes
CBC
19 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Bench bumps draw quizzical looks on the Granville Street Bridge
Vancouverites taking a stroll or bike ride over the Granville Street Bridge can now do so with ease, with its new bike lanes and walking paths. But as CBC's Kier Junos reports, a couple of new benches on the bridge are turning heads and not because they're pretty
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Montgomery Co. council member proposes new bike safety legislation
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) – There's a push to protect bicyclists in Montgomery County after nearly five dozen crashes involving them this year. Part of the problem is that drivers are using bike lanes as their own. Montgomery County Council Member Evan Glass says there have been 59 cyclist-involved crashes since January, one of which was deadly. He's proposing a bill to keep vehicles from standing, stopping or parking in bike lanes. 'We need to make sure that our roads are safe for everybody,' Glass said. It's something that cyclists say is needed. 'Blocked bike lanes force cyclists to move into car traffic, thus, negating the very purpose of those bike lanes,' Peter Gray with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association said. Capital Bikeshare to increase prices amid high demand For some, there have been a number of close encounters. 'On one occasion, a FedEx truck pulled into the bike lane as I was coming and didn't even check. I had to brake very hard to avoid colliding into the truck,' Erica Herrera, who rides her bike every day to and from work, said. Daniel Langenkamp's wife, Sarah, died in 2022 after a truck hit her bike. 'There are lots of people that would like to use bike lanes, but they can't because cars and trucks regularly park in the street, in the bike lane, keeping people from using those bike lanes safely,' Langenkamp said. Glass said, 'What this legislation will do is allow everybody who sees an obstruction to call 311 to contact the Department of Transportation immediately, and the department and agencies will then deploy individuals to make sure that blockage is fixed.' Glass will introduce his bike safety bill during Tuesday's council meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
SEMCOG grant paves way for Monroe road project
MONROE, MI — The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments recently awarded more than $10.7 million to 10 projects across Southeast Michigan. "SEMCOG's Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) — one of our most impactful programs — enables us to provide direct funding into communities to improve safety for all road users, connect our regional trails and greenways, and improve access to key destinations like schools, parks, and jobs," said Amy O'Leary, executive director of SEMCOG. Monroe was one of the 10 recipients, receiving $861,832 for a 0.8-mile combination of new bike lanes, sidewalks, and shared-lane markings, connecting Monroe Street with Monroe Charter Township. The section of road that the project addresses is the LaPlaisance Road corridor between Bolles Harbor and Jones Avenue. "This section was chosen not only because of its poor road condition, but also because it gave the city an opportunity to fix the challenging intersection at Jones and LaPlaisance," said Patrick Lewis, Monroe's director of engineering and public services. "These improvements helped make the project a strong candidate for federal funding." According to Lewis, completing this stretch of Jones Avenue will connect to the city's existing network of bike and pedestrian paths. It will include bike lanes on the road and five-foot sidewalks on both sides between Monroe Street and LaPlaisance Road. In addition to the grant from SEMCOG, the city will use more than $600,000 in federal funds and more than $1 million in local funds to complete the project. "From the start, the city emphasized the need to fix the complex intersection at Jones, LaPlaisance, and Navarre," Lewis said. "The new design will improve traffic flow, make it easier for trucks to navigate, and naturally slow vehicles to safer speeds. All of this supports the goal of making the area safer and more accessible for people walking, biking, or using mobility devices." The Jones Avenue project is likely to be built in 2026. "Because the project includes changes to the roadway layout, it needs to go through an in-depth review process required for federally funded projects," Lewis said. "That process affects the overall schedule." The project marks the first phase of a long-term effort to connect transportation users in the City of Monroe to Lake Erie at Bolles Harbor. — You can reach Connor Veenstra at cveenstra@ This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe road project offers new lanes for those without cars
National Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Opinion: Chief Justice Richard Wagner forgets that criticizing judges is part of democracy
Article content If legal commentators are permitted to scrutinize the reasoning of judges, then it is entirely legitimate for elected officials to do so, as well. After all, the rule of law mandates that each branch of the state remains within its allocated bounds. Where a court exceeds its proper constitutional role, or is in danger of doing so, then elected officials have a right, and a constitutional duty, to contest these uses of official power. Article content Consider the case that provoked Premier Ford's comments, which involved a court challenge to his government's decision to remove bike lanes in some Toronto neighbourhoods. Whether or not their removal was appropriate, it is hard to conceive of bike lanes as a 'fundamental right' contemplated by the framers of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At best, the question is one of urban planning: a dispute over transit infrastructure, about which reasonable people can disagree. It is entirely consistent with Canada's constitutional order that these questions of policy should be left to the politically accountable government of Ontario. In discharging its unique constitutional role in our democracy, Queen's Park is entitled to assert its priorities over those of cycling advocates. Article content Unfortunately, none of these considerations prevented Justice Paul Schabas of the Superior Court of Ontario from issuing a preliminary injunction, effectively stopping the government from implementing its priorities. In so doing, Justice Schabas summarily dismissed the elected branches' constitutional function, asserting that 'the government does not have a monopoly on the public interest.' Instead, the learned judge contended, it was for the court to exercise its own judgment as to which public interests the government could and could not pursue. Article content Next, consider the numerous cases in which Canadian courts have struck down mandatory minimum sentences as unconstitutional, or departed significantly from public sentiment in sentencing criminal offenders. In one emblematic case, the Supreme Court of Canada declared a six-month mandatory minimum for child luring to be 'cruel and unusual punishment' contrary to the Charter, claiming that it would 'shock the conscience of an informed public.' More recently, the Provincial Court of British Columbia has been criticized for a decision to impose no jail time upon an offender who possessed what the court characterized as a 'relatively modest' collection of child pornography. In these circumstances, it is entirely unsurprising that officials and informed citizens should raise questions about the intelligent exercise of judicial power. Article content Article content A constitutional democracy that prizes our courts as forums of reason cannot have it both ways. It cannot profess public confidence in the judiciary, while insisting that judicial decisions be shielded from public criticism. Central to judicial responsibility is the task of offering reasoned justifications for one's decisions. Those reasons are an invitation to the public to examine and critically appraise the cogency of a judge's decision-making. Article content There is little reason to think, then, that elected officials are acting inappropriately, much less unconstitutionally, in expressing reasoned disagreement with judicial rulings, or in proposing solutions to perceived problems with those decisions. To the contrary, such criticism is precisely what the rule of law requires, and bearing it with composure is a constitutional duty of the judicial role. Article content
CTV News
15-06-2025
- CTV News
CTV National News: Bike lane debate heats up at Halifax City Hall
As cyclists push for more lanes and drivers voice traffic concerns, tensions rise in Halifax's ongoing bike lane battle. Paul Hollingsworth reports.
