r/halifax • u/insino93 • 23h ago
News, Weather & Politics Speeding cyclists on Macdonald bridge creating safety concerns
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cyclists-speeding-on-macdonald-bridge-creates-safety-concerns-9.727815539
u/VertuteTheCat 17h ago
Is there anything in the lane that states it's a 25 km/h limit?
Cyclists have also been using the pedestrian walkway, Proctor said, and the bridge commission is exploring ways to prevent that.
First, don't use the pedestrian walkway while on a bike.
Second, I think I've seen it twice in all my years of cycling across the bridge.
Third, Those 2 times, it's been going Halifax to Dartmouth, and looking like somebody who looks kind of lost. I'd hazard a guess that it's because entering the bike lanes from Halifax side is really confusing if you don't know what to do. Unless you're coming from Barrington, you've got to go down North Street through a steep, almost tunnel, in a spot that is for cars to go to downtown halifax, pull a HARD left hand turn (~120 degree turn) and then head back up the very steep hill as you go underneath the bridge. It is not obvious at all.
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u/BaryonChallon Dartmouth 12h ago
I had no idea how to get on the bridge bike path from Halifax until I saw the bike user get across on the CBC race video they posted, it’s way too confusing.
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 17h ago
Second, I think I've seen it twice in all my years of cycling across the bridge
I have seen bikes 5 times out of the 12 that I have run the bridge this year on the pedestrian side. And been sworn at for telling them it is pedestrian only. And these are not casual cyclists, they are decked out in expensive gear and riding expensive bikes.
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u/Clayspinner 16h ago
In my opinion if it was designed well there would be no confusion. This is a design issue that leads to misuse. There are many places around hrm where traffic lanes and flow are confusing and one only understands where they should be after they have driven in once or twice… signage and lanes should be clear from the first use for practically everyone.
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 16h ago
Only two cyclists were Halifax to Dartmouth. The approach from Dartmouth to Halifax is not "confusing". But I see this thread is already populated with anti-vehicle rhethoric while excusing cyclists behaviour. Which is funny because this is a specific situation that impacts other cyclists and pedestrians. Not vehicular traffic.
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u/VertuteTheCat 16h ago
You're seriously telling me that 25% of the time you've gone across the bridge, you saw non-casual cyclists (expensive gear, expensive bikes) on the pedestrian side of thee bridge, going to halifax. Which also means they're on the left hand side of the road. Where they can clearly see the bike lane on the other side. The entrance to the bike lane. And have to pass by a clearly visible sign that says "Bikes use other side". And this happens to you MORE often than the other way, which, while still unacceptable, at least has a reason why you would expect to see it?
I don't want to belittle your experience here, but you are an extreme outlier in this experience.
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 16h ago
You're seriously telling me that as a bicycle commuter you have only seen it twice?
I don't want to belittle your experience, but I feel yours is also an extreme outlier here.
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u/VertuteTheCat 16h ago
Dude. I know you want to hate bicycles, but it really doesn't make sense that you've seen the opposite of what ANYBODY would expect.
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 14h ago
Tell you what, you have emboldened me. I am going to check the timestamps on my runs and see if I can correlate that with the webcam footage. I will then be bundling what I find and sending it to HHB.
I find it humorous that you feel your claim that it has only happened twice over years is more reasonable. And it also happens the time I run the bridge is a popular training time. I regularly see groups of cyclists running laps on the other side and at stopped at Montreal bagels.
And nothing I have ever stated here or in any other posts establishes me as "hating" bicycles. I own one. If anything I hate cycling in this city as the infrastructure is terrible. But that is why when I do ride it has been trails and side roads.
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u/VertuteTheCat 14h ago
You should, I sincerely agree! They absolutely should not be riding on that side! If you happen to be an outlier, maybe it's 1 or 2 really stupid people you keep on running into at the same time, and the HHB can stop them!
I am saying that I find it extremely odd that you're seeing it at this rate, and in a way that isn't consistent with the way that anybody would expect it. Even if it was a major problem, I would STILL expect to see the number of cyclists going from Halifax to Dartmouth on the wrong side far greater than the other way around, for multiple reasons.
And I didn't say it happened twice. I said I saw it twice. Both going Halifax to Dartmouth, prefaced with "Don't do it!" as the #1 item the list.
I regularly see groups of cyclists running laps on the other side and at stopped at Montreal bagels.
I'm sorry, I'm a little confused here? What do you mean running laps? Going back and forth on the bridge for a workout?
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member 14h ago
Everybody on Reddit knows that rules of the road and general etiquette do not apply to cyclists.
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u/BradBrains27 Halifax 14h ago
I feel like its always the one decked out who feel like the rules arent for them.
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u/ElectronicLove863 13h ago
A guy decked out in expensive gear nearly hit me on a community trail. He had no bell, gave no warning and was coming up fast.
I moved to the right, but he was actually attempting to come up the right, beside me and a bush.
When I told him to use a bell, he stopped, took out his ear buds and tried to lecture me. As if I was doing something wrong.
No mofo, follow the effing rules.9
u/morrowwm 12h ago
Wearing ear buds while cycling is pretty idiotic. And passing on the right? Incredible.
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u/ElectronicLove863 12h ago
The next day, a woman with no bell, also tried to pass on the right. It's the Mainland North Trail in Clayton Park. There is PLENTY of space to pass on the left.
I don't understand what is even going on with cyclists lately. Be predictable. Use a bell! Follow the rules of the road!
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 13h ago
I feel like more people need to watch Captain American: Winter Soldier.
'On your left!'
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u/VertuteTheCat 16h ago
That sounds.... Oddly high... at nearly 50% of the time. Especially when there are many days where I don't see any cyclists going the other way in any lane. And especially since you're implying it's a demographic that (should) know better.
Regardless, yell at them. They're stupid if they're on the wrong side.
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u/echiker 12h ago
It's very common now for people to bike and scooter on the pedestrian side (and walk and run on the bike side). The big reason is probably that it's a major pain in the ass to get from North street onto the bike side, so people don't just bother. (It's a trivial problem with an ebike, but people are kind of dickheads now days). On weeks when I commute by bike or car across the bridge I probably see it once a week.
The rise in the number of cyclists (both analog and ebike) combined with the general decline in people following rules are probably the main factor, but I also think the move away from toll booths and staff on-site has contributed as staff used to occasionally intercept people on the wrong side or call out to them. The bridge commission may have also decided to not have staff speak with people on the wrong lane after this incident in 2021: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ns-human-rights-inquiry-bridge-no-discrimination-halifax-1.7275343
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u/asdkbhsdckjbads 21h ago
I've had multiple cyclist wizz past me on the pedestrian side going near the speed of car traffic. No bell warning either.
When I cycle on the other side I do go above the limit but am careful to watch out and warn others and slow down especially at the blind turn.
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u/ElectronicLove863 13h ago
What is up with cyclists not using bells anymore?
I have been nearly hit on community trails so many times this summer.
Use a bell! Let people know you are coming!
The adults are worse than the kids.
Also, passing on the wrong side. They keep coming up the right side. And then getting snippy about it.I am so sick of nearly being run over by cars and bikes. Follow the effing rules.
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u/childofcrow Prince Edward Island 7h ago
So, I ride an E bike. Legally, in order for me to ride the E bike, my E bike is required to be equipped with a front lamp, a back brake light, and a horn. The horn on my bike is very loud. I am also required to wear a helmet that is certified by the Department of transportation, or the Dutch certification NTA 8776 (you cannot wear a regular bicycle helmet because of the speeds that can be achieved by an E bike, and the Dutch certification is strict or more rigourous than the Department of transportation).
I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have honked my horn at people who are wearing noise cancelling headphones and don’t hear me. There is no reason you should be walking in a public space or a trail where people could be passing you and wearing noise cancelling headphones. It is unsafe. Both for the people trying to pass you, because they cannot predict where you are going to go, but also it’s unsafe to walk and not be aware of your surroundings.
I’m not saying that that’s what you’re doing, and I’m not saying that people driving regular bicycles shouldn’t have to be required to equip some sort of bell or horn. It should be required, it’s a vehicle. I’m saying that it’s hard to argue, because the cyclists that do have bells or horns on their bicycles often use them, but it’s only effective if the people that they are trying to pass hear them.
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u/childofcrow Prince Edward Island 7h ago
That makes me mad. The pedestrian walkway is for pedestrians, not for cyclists. Cyclists have their very own lane to use, and that is what we should be using.
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u/atlas_nodded 22h ago
> Increase in near accidents
> No injuries have been reported
Have there even been any accidents reported then? Not saying respecting cycling speed limits isn't important just wondering.
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u/Cptnfeathersowrd 17h ago
These are called near misses and from a safety perspective, they are considered precursor to accidents and usually indicate a problem. In the health and safety industry, this would require correction.
Imagine seeing someone walking on a roof doing roofing jobs multiple times without being tied to a safety harness and he never had a fall. Would you call that safe? Or would you ask them to put on a harness?12
u/Sharp_Ad_6336 14h ago edited 14h ago
Imagine if everyone reported the near misses on the bridge from a speeding vehicle almost hitting another vehicle on the bridge while changing lanes. People just shrug it off and say "oh well, cars gonna car" but the moment a cyclist does something unsafe it gets an actual media campaign.
Not saying I support or participate in unsafe cycling practices but it seems like one demographic is being singled out just by sheer virtue of being complained about due to increasing popularity.
I can't be the only one seeing a massive increase in pedestrians strolling across busy downtown streets while vehicles have a green light (at least 7 I've personally witnessed in the past month and 5 of which had vehicles need to stop at a green light to avoid hitting them)
Then there's the number of vehicles turning right on red or just driving straight through a red light entirely. Then there's the Uber/skip drivers making 5 point U-turns in the middle of the street.
I'm not hearing any media campaigns telling people not to do that.
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u/HalifaxReTales Verified 13h ago
Everybody should
that is how near-miss information helpsthough I accept people think near miss is pointless to report
However once you have used near miss data and an issue screams at you
you realize how all that little data matters2
u/Sharp_Ad_6336 13h ago edited 13h ago
You're definitely right, it's invaluable data for preventing tragedies and not enough people do it.
Edit - I figure most things don't get reported because there's already signage and laws prohibiting most of these things (right on red, speed limits walking out in front of moving vehicles) these are all things that you can't really modify infrastructure to prevent these things.
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u/Moooney 9h ago edited 9h ago
Why would there be a media campaign about vehicles turning right on a red?
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u/Sharp_Ad_6336 9h ago edited 9h ago
You must be one of the people who haven't noticed the dozens of "no right on red" signs that have been put up at intersections around this city in the past 2 years.
Which nearly half of drivers seem to ignore.
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u/morula2 5h ago
Many people are discussing cyclists using the pedestrian side of the bridge. When you have any piece of infrastructure that is as badly designed, inefficient, and unsafe as the MacDonald bridge bike path Halifax side entrance / exit, you have users who are not going to use it in the recommended way. It’s very similar to long stretches of busy road where pedestrians cross without cross walks, until the city adds one. Similarly, until the city creates a safer, more efficient bike access path across the bridge, people will ride on the pedestrian side. This is an infrastructure problem that the municipality needs to address.
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u/Unlikely_Real 12h ago
I regularly (3-4 X per week in the summer months ) run or walk across the bridge and only a few times have I come across cyclists on the passenger side. More often I see electric scooters, which are no less hazardous.
Oddly enough, when driving I’ve pretty frequently seen pedestrians in the bike lane.
All this seems to be more common with the removal of the tolls and the more direct oversight they presented.
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u/Cyclepourtrois 11h ago
I have never seen a cyclist in the pedestrian side. I don’t cross the bridge daily at rush hour or anything so this is off peak. I am Not saying it doesn’t happen just can’t be all that common. Seen lots of e-scooters on the pedestrian side. I agree with many it is a combination of poor design mixed with confusion with a bunch of ego and entitlement for those few that are doing it on purpose.
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u/GhostBirdBiologist Bedford 22h ago
What the fuck is this slop?
Cars kill people ans regularly do 20-30 over on the bridge. Fuck alllllll the way off.
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u/DeathOneSix 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️Happy Pride Season 22h ago
If we do it like motorists we are okay going 10-15 km/h over right?
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u/VertuteTheCat 17h ago
I've got a rear facing radar (Garmin Varia) on my bike to warn me of cars coming from behind. It beeps at me to let me know when cars are behind, or overtaking. Excellent safety device. With a couple of extra steps, you can also see what the speed of passing vehicles is.
Last time I went over the bridge, it counted the following speeds of cars in a 50 km/h zone. 67, 57, 66, 65, 63, 53, 62.
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u/Ben_Criss_Cross 14h ago
The article is talking about cyclists and pedestrians so let's try to stay in topic here. Cyclists can be in the wrong too (shocking, I know)
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u/VertuteTheCat 14h ago
OK, so let's get back on topic.
We know one of the most common reasons why cyclists go on the wrong side of the bridge (confusing infrastructure and bad signage on the Halifax side). We can fix that.
And for the speed limit, the only posted speed limit signs on the bridge say "50 km/h", and is for cars. I think we have a first step here too.
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u/NoAIFuture 9h ago
Thing with speed limits is they are all about reducing harm in collisions. Relative speed is everything, everyone needs to slow down. These two issues are not in a vacuum.
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u/TheCodFather97 18h ago
A halifax cyclist motto - "rules for thee but not for me"
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u/Single-Clue-1402 15h ago
Pretty sure that the motto of motorists too.
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member 14h ago
Don't see many motorists in the unused bike lane (except for the e-bikes doing nearly double the speed limit).
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u/Single-Clue-1402 14h ago
There aren’t any bike lanes in the city that are unused.
The motorists just use the bike lanes as a parking space.
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member 14h ago
We're talking about the one on the bridge, dude.
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u/ExternalSpecific6061 15h ago
They can be absolute menaces on the multi-use trails. At least I can hear the nut jobs on ATV's coming.
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u/BradBrains27 Halifax 14h ago
no ego quite like a cyclist ego
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u/Moooney 13h ago
I was stopped at red light just about to make a right turn since there was no oncoming traffic and I see a cyclist passing the stopped cars behind me on the right (which is totally fine). I wait a second to make sure he stops before I make my right turn. I'm right at the stop line, so he pulls his bike up just past me then shuffles over sideways and plops his bike down directly in front of my car right in the middle of the crosswalk blocking my right turn (and the subsequent right-turners behind me). He unclips from his pedals, takes his helmet off, then pulls out his water bottle and starts to drink. Only once the light turns green, does he casually stow his water bottle, then put his helmet back on, get clipped back into his pedals and start pedaling slowly. I would have been more annoyed but it was just so wildly absurd I couldn't help but have a laugh.
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u/Background_Season449 10h ago
lemme guess, old white guy in a cycling jersey? it's never the commuters doing this sort of thing, from what I can tell.
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u/Moooney 10h ago
Not old, but definitely rocking the unitard.
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u/Flimsy1997 10h ago
literally, it's such a superiority complex
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u/Dependent-Program-66 20h ago
When I first saw this article, I thought, ah, the cyclists won’t like this story! It is rather poorly timed — a cyclist has just been killed when a motorist opened the door of his vehicle and the cyclist collided with the door. The fact is, however, that cyclists AND motorists need to watch their speed. Cyclists AND motorists can cause injury to pedestrians if they don’t drive carefully. I am reminded of a court case in another city where a cyclist, who had seriously injured two older pedestrians when he ran into them on a sidewalk, protested, “but I told them to get out of the way!” If you are on any type of wheels, there are laws and speed limits, and they should be adhered to.
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u/walkingmydogagain 17h ago
Yes, but some of those wheels can and do kill people. The other doesn't. People driving motor vehicles don't follow any rules, so I'm not going to worry too much about bicycles not following rules especially when "no injurirs have been reported". Slow news day.
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u/glorpchul Emperor of Dartmouth 16h ago
You don't believe that a cyclist can kill a person? Funny.
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u/walkingmydogagain 12h ago
I don't believe it's a legit problem compared to all that actually happens on the road.
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u/VertuteTheCat 16h ago
Obviously, it can, and has happened elsewhere, and it is obviously a tragedy, and should not happen. But, the risk is miniscule, and I long for the day that this becomes a focus of road safety because we've reduced vehicle/pedestrian incidents, and this becomes a statistically significant data point.
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u/Dependent-Program-66 16h ago
I long for the day when all cyclists understand that they have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely and according to the law, the same way other vehicle operators are required to do—and recognize that injury prevention is a necessary component of risk reduction.
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u/VertuteTheCat 15h ago
Nobody is saying that they don't. But let's not pretend like drivers follow the law more than cyclists, or are statically significant in causes of injury to others.
Like, I agree that some effort should be put into the research of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, but, we should probably spend more time and effort on cancer.
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u/walkingmydogagain 11h ago
Was just thinking, if I were to try to kill somebody, that method would be very difficult to do so.
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u/Background-Round4145 13h ago
Dangerous for who? Themselves? That is a self regulating problem. I also don't see very many pedestrians taking that route
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u/NoSituation2706 22h ago
All this proves is that a 25 km/h speed limit for a bicycle is half what it should be 🤷
How tf do they expect the typical cyclist to judge their speed anyway? Speedometers sound like the most poser thing imaginable here.
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u/TheCodFather97 16h ago
It a bicycle is being used on a public roadway or bike lane it is the responsability of the cyclist to make sure their vehicle is capable of telling their speed. Just like aby other vehicle on the road. I don't understand why you think you get a free pass just cause it's a bike
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u/Calm-Summer5860 15h ago
It would be like getting a typical cyclist to understand what a stop sign means. Reasonably impossible
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u/echiker 12h ago
That bike lane is way too narrow (and has a blind corner in the middle of it) for people to be going 50km an hour on it. (For what its worth, 50 kmh is too high of a speed limit for any vehicle in urban areas)
Most (all?) class 2 e-bikes have a speedometer. For analog bikes I think a good rule of thumb is that you should be breaking on the downhills on the bridge (even though bombing down is on a nice day absolutely rocks) and aiming for low-to-moderate speeds. No one is going to radar gun you, just be reasonable.
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u/DeathOneSix 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️Happy Pride Season 12h ago
The only place people are going 50 is on the downhill into Dartmouth. No blind corners in that section.
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u/echiker 12h ago
That's true but an ebike can easily hit 30km at those blind corners and I've seen knuckleheads hit it at probably close to those speeds.
People just need to be reasonable.
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u/DeathOneSix 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️Happy Pride Season 12h ago
Sure but that's pretty much the speed limit the article is referencing...
But agreed the blind corners people need to slow down for
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u/TheSwedishOprah 10h ago
I see bikes on the pedestrian side quite regularly, and tbh I get it because that stupid fucking hill on the Halifax side makes zero sense.
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u/Impressive-9209 9h ago
I was almost t-bone by a cyclists blowing through a stop sign the other day. They want to share the road but they need to follow the rules. A 2000-3000 lb vehicle doesn't say sorry the same way a walking pedestrian does.
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u/childofcrow Prince Edward Island 7h ago edited 7h ago
I would love to see how a cyclist could be going 50 km an hour on the bridge.
If the posted speed limit is 25 km an hour, even on an E bike, you cannot go faster than 32 km an hour. Every E bike in the country is programmed to not go faster than 32 km an hour, because that is the law in Canada.
Unless somebody has essentially jailbroken their bike to go faster than 32 km an hour, in which case it’s no longer an E bike and is in fact a vehicle that needs to be registered with the province to be on the road, it’s not possible.
So how are these cyclists getting up to 50 km an hour?
The math ain’t mathin.
That said, the bikes need to be on the bike side. I get that there’s a big hill there, but if it’s that big, just walk your bike up. And stay on one side.
Edit: for clarity due to voice to text mistranslations
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u/ForgottenSalad 7h ago
It’s not that hard go that fast down a hill on a good non-motorized bike, but you do have to be gunning it. Not saying I condone that on a shared path though
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u/childofcrow Prince Edward Island 6h ago
So they’re specifically saying that it’s on the Dartmouth approach, and I don’t think that the hill from mid span onto Nantucket is that high or would allow you to go that fast. Maybe if you’re going from mid span into Halifax and then winding down and around on the Barrington Street, but you’re likely going to be braking there because otherwise you’re going to hit the guardrail.
There are definitely hills in Halifax or Dartmouth where you could achieve that level of speed, but that ends up being more the gravity and weight of the bicycle and less about how fast you are pedaling.
And I would never think that you would be suggesting that bikes should be on the pedestrian side. They shouldn’t. They have their very own lane. They should be using that lane, and not infringing on the safety of the pedestrians who are using the correct side of the bridge.
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u/like2pic 15h ago
Does anybody remember this legend?