Parking lanes as cycle and pedestrian buffers

The purpose of this page is to support discussion on cycle lane design and implementation. It's prompted by the current discussion/debate in Mission on this topic. A key design issue concerns the construction of buffers to separate cyclists from vehicular traffic. I recently listened to a discussion by three urban designers hosted by Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC's The Current that aired in the wake of Toronto's van attack. Here's the link to the episode.

In brief, the designers are of the opinion that it's very difficult, if not impossible, to design a city such that it would be immune from what happened on Yonge St on April 23rd. This is not to say that protective infrastructure is impossible. Rather, the question is how to prevent a fortress mentality from destroying the freedom and vitality that cities thrive on.

Two of the designers interviewed on The Current expressed the view that a simple fix in order to protect cyclists and pedestrians from the day-to-day dangers of vehicular impact is to use parked cars as a buffer/barrier. According to Claire Weisz, architect and urban designer with the New York firm WXY, "the best move New York made was to move the parked cars away from the sidewalk to allow for a bike lane."

​John Belec