One of the many issues around the Johnson Street Bridge is usage – who gets priority on lanes, how can we upgrade this bridge to accommodate current Blue Bridge users, and effectively peer into the future to what inter-urban transport might be in 10/20/50 years? There are many opinions – but the fact is no one knows. Whatever happens with the bridge must be incorporated into a general plan for urban transport directly within the City of Victoria downtown planning. Does that mean dedicated bus lanes, wider bike and pedestrian routes, a new rail line right into the City with a new station? We do not know as the City of Victoria is not providing the information.
An argument provided by those promoting a preserve the bridge sentiment, is that everything is fine. We don’t need new bike and pedestrian lanes – the decking is fine, the approaches clear and distinct. Well – have a look at the video and determine for yourself. What is clearly seen is a cyclist having to ride directly next to a rail line, an in-board skater having to avoid with little room, the decking causing problems for stability – frankly, the current Johnson Street Bridge does not provide safe and clear lanes for all traffic. To accommodate cyclists, and promote those lanes, should those lanes be much wider and decked with a smooth transition from road to bridge? Why is the bridge deck so different from the road? Is it a weight issue? Why is a set pedestrian lane so close to both the cyclist lane and rail line? Sorry – but If I am walking over the bridge the last thing anyone wants is a train going by less than 2 metres from the safety line – it’s an accident waiting to happen. Certainly the current Blue Bridge does not really and truly support any other transport ideal other than cars.
Can this be changed? In the current bridge design it certainly can. Either side can be dedicated for cyclists and pedestrians – including placing the rail line behind a safety barrier, if it is even to stay as a direct link to the downtown side. It is also possible (but we don’t know yet – frustrating) that a new bridge design would provide wonderfully wide lanes for all, with appropriate decking – cars, buses, trains, cyclists and pedestrians.
Whether it’s a new design, or preserve – these are issues to be considered.
Johnston Street Bridge Cycling lanes
I’m a cycle commuter who uses the blue bridge at least five days a week as a major connecting link to the Galloping Goose Trail. The video on this website is informative because it shows the pedestrian crossing from the perspective of a mounted bicyclist who sails past the signage which asks cyclists to dismount on the bridge. It demonstrates the careless disregard with which many bike users treat the rules at the bridge. Generally I try to cross as cyclists are supposed to–in the centre of the vehicle lanes. Here pedelling enthusiasts can expect to encounter numerous instances of anti-bike rage from motorists, and similar disregard for traffic laws. Signs tell motorists not to pass bicycles on the bridge, but, in my experience, one in four motorists will ignore the signs.
It seems to me a some traffic enforcement is in order.
Robert – thank you for your comments. As a cycle commuter, what changes would you advise to improve both the experience and safety for cyclists and pedestrians on, and approaching, the bridge?
[...] replacing the structure itself. Take the cycling infrastructure, which Mat blogged about in his Johnson Street Bridge Cycling Lanes [...]
It’s fine to talk about how cyclists should use the road portion of the bridge and ride in the center of the lane in order to focus car drivers’ road rage but if you are approaching the bridge on the west side from the Galloping Goose trail (as in the video above), how are you supposed to get onto the road portion of the bridge? The Galloping Goose leads directly to the “pedestrian” and/or “rail” lanes of the bridge and there is no easy access to the road portion of the bridge. The sign ordering cyclists to dismount seems tacitly to acknowledge this problem. To be consistent it should really require cyclists to turn around, go back and find some way onto Esquimalt Road in order to cross the bridge properly in the center of the vehicle lane.
I cross this bridge on two wheels a half dozen times a week, both ways. From a regular user’s perspective, as it is currently configured I don’t feel comfortable or safe when crossing it so I’d like to see it re-configured or replaced with something that better meets the needs of all its users.
Here’s my suggestions:
Put the train terminus on the west side of the bridge, maybe somewhere around the roundhouse, so the train no longer needs to cross the bridge. If downtown access for rail passengers is important then run a shuttle bus to/from the current station. It’s not like there’s a lot of rail traffic but a lot of the bridge is devoted to rails. Move the station and the current mixed use rail/cycle/pedestrian side of the bridge can be divided between pedestrians and cyclists, with enough room for both to move safely.
Or, put up another bridge adjacent to the current Bay Street Bridge and funnel all car traffic to the pair of them, reserving the entire Johnson Street Bridge for rail, pedestrian and cycle traffic.
Thanks for the comment, Benjamin. I agree that it takes chutzpah to ride the center lane, and you’re right that if you’re traveling from the West to East, it’s practically impossible to do so. Good ideas on how to address and/or solve the issue!
Further to cycling adventures near the JSB here’s a photo I took where the offramp/driveway to Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe nuzzles up to the bike route on the west side of the bridge.
Ouch!
I hope someone will still read this particular forum thread because I have an idea of how we might solve a fair bit of problems. For one thing, the road portion of the bridge has three lanes for vehicular traffic. There are two with westerly travel and one with easterly travel. This means that it works fairly well in the afternoons, but in the mornings when most people are commuting into downtown the bridge is a funnel that slows traffic and creates congestion, which is bad for motorists and cyclists alike.
I think we should take a page from the Vancouver book and make the center lane switchable between east and west travel direction. That way the morning traffic would have two lanes heading east toward downtown, and the afternoon traffic would have two lanes heading out of Victoria.
Then for the cyclists, there would always be a slower, right-hand lane and a single less traveled lane to use depending on the time of day and direction traveled.
I like the idea of removing the rails from the rail side of the bridge and dedicating it to pedestrians and cyclists, as Benjamin suggested, but I think utilizing the railway for commutes would be a practical option in the near future, which would make keeping the railway on the bridge a good idea. However I do think that we could do with making the pedestrian path by the railway into a cycling path, leaving the south side of the bridge for pedestrians.
Still, I find that it is best to use the road if you’re a cyclist, as I am. When I approach the bridge from the Goose I wait for a break in traffic and make my left turn onto Esquimalt road and do my best to maintain 30km/hr up the short hill to the bridge until I’m out of the way on the other side. However for those days when my body isn’t up to it I don’t take the road, I head up to the pedestrian path and walk my bicycle across the bridge.
Essentially there are two perfectly sound options for cyclists at the moment: Either ride up to the bridge at a fair pace so as not to impede traffic, or take the foot path and walk the bicycle. As for getting to the road from the Goose, a set of lights might help – especially if there is a center lane that can be changed to run in either direction.
The Galloping Goose is one of the best ways for cyclists to get into the downtown core, but I wonder about continuing south over the Selkirk Trestle to Vic West, only to have cross the harbour again heading east over the Blue Bridge to get into town.
If one was to get off of the Goose at Gorge Road East, and take Gorge Road until turning right on Rock Bay, left on Bay and then south on Government Street, there may be some benefits. Not having to deal with wooden bridge decks and their railings would be one reason, and by staying on a paved road surface you would not have to contend with sharing the space with pedestrians. Another reason is a slightly shorter distance into the downtown core.