chephy

There is a big important street in Toronto that has a (narrow) reserved curb lane: at rush hour, only buses and high-occupancy vehicles are supposed to use it. Or maybe only buses and taxis, I forget. The point is that unlike most other reserved curb lanes in the city, this one does not include bicycles. However, bicycles are not legally prohibited from using that road. The city probably meant to discourage cyclists from using this road with such a signage, but they did not outright prohibit it. So I wonder where they expect cyclists to ride on that road. More importantly, I wonder where YOU would ride on that road.

I myself always ride in the right-hand lane, though not in the centre as I otherwise might. I do ride far enough left though to discourage buzzing.

patc

With perhaps one or two exceptions, Ottawa's reserved bus lanes are ONLY for buses. I have no problems taking the next lane over, although it makes the stretch of road less desirable to me.

Downtown Ottawa, Rideau street has the curb lanes reserved for buses and cabs during peak hours. The other lane has signs above - a bike in a green circle - and pavement markings alternating car and bike in the middle of the lane. I was there last week during rush hour - while I wish traffic had been moving faster, it was a very comfortable environment.

rando

what road?

divergence

The road Chephy described in the first post.

Chephy, I would probably take the next lane to the left of the reserved one...not only because that would be a literal interpretation of the signs, but because I imagine that the buses pull over and stop a lot, forcing you to play leapfrog with them while breathing diesel exhaust. My answer might change, though, once I actually got to know the road better...

AEO

are you talking about dundas west st. near dundas-kipling-bloor?

I wouldn't ride in that lane because you'd be holding up traffic when that lane was meant to alleviate problems with public transit getting stuck and delayed. (not like they don't run late all the time anyways)

rando

oh. I thought there was some picture I couldn't see or something.

joejack951

How many straight lanes are there besides the reserved lane? Depending on how busy the reserved lane was, I may use it for brief periods to allow faster traffic to pass then merge LEFT early enough so as not to slow down traffic that can legally use the curb lane. If the reserved lane was constantly being used, I'd be riding in the lane to the left and treating the road a narrow laned single lane road. Not much else you can do other than avoid it.

maddyfish

Who cares about public transportation? If it is legal to ride, then I have no problem riding it, if it goes to where I want to go.

rajman

Are you talking about Eglinton West? I've seen the signs and noticed that they don't mention bikes at all, unlike bay, etc. I don't usually travel that far north anymore, but I have taken the right (far enough out to avoid debris, etc) during rush hour. It was not a pleasant experience, part of the reason why I don't go that far north

Bekologist

not enough info. how congested is the rest of the road at rush hour? if it's clogged with traffic, YOU BET I'D be riding in the bus/HOV lane.

getting stuck in traffic under the 'same roads same rights same rules' pedantism is foolish when there's open pavement for use safely.

ghettocruiser

A short stretch of steeles is an ambiguously signed "diamond lane" for buses, ambiguous as elsewhere in the city it includes bikes, but not on this sign. I ride left tire track, motorcycle style, in this lane.

If a bus catches me (this has happened once) I move over left into traffic and let him pass. I have yet to see a high-occupancy vehicle.

chephy

Sorry about the ambiguity in the poll.

Yep. Actually, Eglinton East has some of this too.

1 or 2 (it varies throughout).

Sometimes the rest of the road is VERY clogged, sometimes it isn't. The last few times I rode there at rush hour there was no difference between congestion in the reserved lane and the outer lanes, and the traffic was moving pretty well. During the time I spent on it today, I saw zero buses and only one cab (it is buses and taxes, I just checked today). Given those circumstances, I felt it would create less confusion if I just kept riding in the curb lane. I was not in the way of any buses or taxis, but I would have been in the way of all the other traffic in the lane to the left.

Sounds like a good way to do it.

The Human Car

My general experience is that cyclists tend to use the lower traffic volume lane and in a case like this they would use the lane but on the left side of the lane so if needed they can change lanes to accommodate faster traffic. Since this is not an option I did not vote.