Pork Chops and Refuge Islands

I got quite a few question asking "what is a Pork Chop?" after I'd mentioned that feature in my last blog post regarding the new cycle path along the Alaska Highway.

Pork Chop
A "pork chop" it a term to describe a triangular shaped "island" or piece of alienated land created by a right-hand "slip lane" or right-hand merge/diverge lane.  They are kind of an antiquate roadway design for convenience of drivers, but are quite problematic for pedestrians and cyclists.

Unfortunately, Whitehorse is rife with them.  Here are some examples:
 

Here are the pork chops at the infamous 4th and 2nd Ave intersection.  The kids that presented to City Council spoke extensively about how dangerous this intersection for them biking home from school. Good news is we heard that the City has started planning for re-design of this intersection!

Here is the 2nd and Quartz Rd. intersection.  Look at the convoluted path (sorry about my crude drawing) that a pedestrian has to follow to cross Quartz Rd.  What a pain in the a; not good for making your walk convenient.  Also, those right-hand turning cars are moving fast across those uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

Here is Alaska Highway and 2-Mile Hill.  Imagine if you are an on-road cyclists trying to go northbound.  You have to first cross the high-speed right-turning traffic, then move through the intersection, then again change lanes across the northbound traffic coming from 2-mile Hill.  Scary for even the most bold of cyclists, never mind pulling children in a Chariot!  Anyone who has ridden through the recently re-built Lewes Blvd and Hospital Road intersection can attest to these hazards.

Here is are examples of pork-chops from the highway through Kelowna.  At YG's recent public seminar on road safety,  highway-safety expert Paul LaFleur cited the highway through Kelowna as a bad example and not what you want to do for a highway through a City.

Some years ago we did an an-hoc survey of all the "problematic" intersections for cyclists in Whitehorse.  Interestingly, all of the "problem" intersections correlated 1:1 to intersections with pork-chops.  

Also, cities are actively removing "pork chops" because of the barriers they create for non-motorists; here is an example from London Ontario: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/pork-chop-islands-getting-axed-1.4366890


 Refuge Islands

So how do we make intersection safer for pedestrian and cyclists?  The contemporary solution is a "refuge island."  This is a protected space (created by a median) between the two different directions of travel, see an example below:

Refuge island between the two directions of road travel (from left-to-right).  This is a Dutch example, they have so much bike traffic they provide separate spaces for pedestrians and cyclists!

The refuge island makes the crossing distance shorter for vulnerable road users.  I've seen at least two examples of why this is important:

1. Children cognitively have a difficult time both keeping track of traffic from two directions AND the relative speed of the vehicles.  Thus crossing two different directions at the same time is dangerous for them as they can't judge the space/distances well.  A refuge island allows them to cross one-direction at at time.
2. I have a personal example when travelling in Mexico with my aging father last year.  The community we were in divided the roadways and in doing so created refuge islands at the crosswalks.  My father is getting increasingly stiff and so walks slowly.  The refuge island allowed him to cross the roadways, one direction/lane at a time.

In signalized intersections refuge islands are also needed because we allow cars to turn right on red lights and thus cars traverse the cross-walk even when the walk signal is illuminated.

Here is a schematic of a refuge island from busy roads in city of Amsterdam.  Notice the refuge space created between in the two directions of travel.  Again, because of their bike volumes the pedestrians and cyclists have separate spaces.  This is also a good example of a Protected Intersection.

A ride on the new Alaska Highway bike path

This weekend I took a ride on the recently completed new multi-use path (MUP) paralleling the Alaska Highway from the north end of the airport to Range Road.  It was built as part of Yukon Government's widening/twinning of the Alaska Highway through this area.

It is a nicely paved section of trail that partially extends the MUP 800 m further northward from the airport trail. It ends abruptly partially along Range Road and is not connected to anything at this time.  YG stated that City of Whitehorse will complete the trail northward to 2-Mile Hill at some point in the future (City has yet to confirm when this might occur).

Since we will hopefully starting to build a lot more protected spaces for cyclists in the coming years, I'm going to focus on "lessons learned" from YG's first attempt at this type of infrastructure:

Start of the new path.  Nice smooth asphalt, good gentle grade. LESSONS LEARNED: no drainage on the up-slope side, especially runoff from the highway will result in ice accumulating on the path, leading down to the intersection in the foreground. PS - this gate is terrible!

T-junction at Range Road.  Main path loops off to the right unnecessarily.  Note already the pedestrian in distance has left the path to walk directly via the road!  I suspect this is what many will do. LESSON LEARNED: Keep bike paths straight, convenient and designed for 30km/hr.  They need to be designed like a road with no unnecessary turns, bends or hills.

Path looping around Range Road.  This route causes the path to cross three driveways/entrances that could have been avoided if the path crossed Range Road at the signalized intersection with Alaska Highway.  LESSON LEARNED:  Plan cycle routes to minimize interruptions and crossing with motor vehicle traffic.

Pedestrian crossing of Range Road at Alaska Highway (signal lights remains to be installed).  This is where the MUP should have crossed Range Road as a Protected Intersection.  Nice cut-through of the "pork chop", but the pork-chop is very problematic for road-cyclists.  The create a difficult and dangerous situation for cyclists and should not be used.  LESSON LEARNED: Do no use pork chops as they create unnecessary difficulty and hazard for cyclists and inconveniences for pedestrians.  A refuge island between the lanes would be the better, safer solution.

Alaska Highway Crossing to unpaved trail on west side of highway, leading to Valleyview.  Note the trail sloping down to crossing.  LESSONS LEARNED:  We need to 1) avoid unnecessary climbs on bike paths; and 2) if there is a decent, drop the trail well in advance of the roadway crossing so cyclists are not carrying excess speed coming into the intersection. 

Looking towards the mid-block crossing where the trail crosses Range Road.  Note the additional driveway crossing here at Toyota.

 

Looking back south towards the airport.  Note, contrary to YG staffs' claim,  there is ample space between Range Road (on the left) and the Alaska Highway (on the right) to accommodate the trail directly to the intersection in the distance.  LESSON LEARNED:  Cycle paths should be as straight and direct as possible and do not require much space. 

Again the path looking southward.  Some sections are well elevated with ditching on both sides, however other locations like this one do not have a ditch between the road and the path.  At this location, melting snow runoff will flow from the road onto the path, creating ice on the path.  LESSON LEARNED: provide good drainage and ditching for bike paths, same as done for roadways.

And here is the abrupt north end of the path.  A path to nowhere.  LESSON LEARNED: To build a cycle network, it needs to connect.  With $6 million spent on this project, it is shame that path couldn't have gone another 500m north to connect with the multi-use path at 2-Mile Hill.

Summary:
 Well, it is great to see another piece of the Alaska CycleHighway being built.   Certainly the lack of a paved path between airport trail and Range Road was a missing piece.  However, for spending $6 million of public funds to build additional highway lanes that are not needed, the cycling component is disappointing. 

Overall verdict:  Should have done better.

How can Yukon Government Support Cycling in Whitehorse

I was recently asked what role Yukon Government (YG) has in developing cycling as a mainstream mode of transportation within the City of Whitehorse?

Most of the roads and trails within Whitehorse are the City’s responsibility, but Yukon Government plays a role in enhancing cycling in at least 6 areas:

1. There will be a forthcoming Climate Change, Energy and Green Economy Strategy that is to replace the existing separate Climate, Energy and Biomass Strategies.  This new Strategy should set overall direction for government to increase support for sustainable transportation.  One aspect for this could be subsidies for electric vehicles.  I hope this includes full subsidy for e-bikes as the GHG reductions for an e-bike is FAR higher than an electric car.
2. Updating the Motor Vehicles Act to become a more inclusive Road Safety Act (as per the resolution passed by the Association of Yukon Communities in 2019).  This should include several measures and changes that make cycling safer and reduce barriers to convenient cycling. Whitehorse Urban Cycling Coalition provided input into the Motor Vehicle Re-write and we look forward to all of that input being reflected in the new act.
3. YG provides funding for projects, either directly from its resources, or through bilateral funding.  The bilateral funding is Federal money that flows to the Yukon Government which then in turn is used to fund municipal infrastructure projects.  This includes both Gas Tax and more significantly, funding from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.  This latter is moving so much money to the Yukon that the municipalities cannot spend it all.  In the words of the municipal mangers “[capital] money is not the limitation; it is our capacity to manage the projects that is the barrier.”  Thus, YG plays a key gatekeeper role to funding municipal infrastructure projects.
4. The Alaska Highway is a key transportation corridor that slices through Whitehorse and it is owned and managed by Yukon Government.  It is used daily by citizens to move about Whitehorse and as such is a major opportunity, or as seen recently, barrier to cycling.  The Alaska Highway acts as a major barrier or wall segregating Whitehorse in two halves.  But, since YG controls this land, they can build infrastructure that promote safe, convenient cycling connections both across the highway and along it.
5. Schools are a major destination for cyclists in Whitehorse (many, being underage, do not have the privilege of operating a motor vehicle).  Department of Education has the resources and responsibility to provide safe routes to school. They can enhance connectivity on-school property to the cycle network.  Furthermore, they could invest in active transportation routes & connections to the schools.  Kids who arrive at school by active transportation (cycling or walking) are known to have better education outcomes.
6. Lastly, YG is the largest employer in downtown Whitehorse.  They own and operate many workplaces, and like schools, can facilitate active transportation to those workplaces.  This would include both onsite infrastructures to support cycling such as high quality, covered, secure bike parking, workplace showers/change rooms as well as physical, convenient connectivity to the adjacent bike network.  These measures would help make cycling to work easier and more convenient, thus reducing barriers to cycle commuting. 

The more Yukon Government supports cycling through the measures above, it improves cycling for EVERYONE through the force multiplier effect.  Yukon Government just declared a “Climate Emergency” this week and here is a tangible way to put that declaration in action, save money and help build a healthier, happier community.

Pedestrian & Bike Underpass of Alaska Highway?

Crossing of the Alaska Highway by bike or foot is a challenge.  There are no designated crossing points of the highway between the lights at 2-Mile Hill to the north and the lights 6 km to the south at Robert Service Way.  Yet we have a major multi-use path between downtown and the neighborhoods west of the Highway at the north end of the airport there are no safe crossing points.  Not only for cyclists, but there is considerable pedestrian travel from McIntyre and Hillcrest, walking downtown around the north end of the Airport.

Excerpt from Whitehorse current Cycle Commuting Map.

So in the age of extravagant spending on highways, why not providing a safe, separated crossing of the Alaska Highway?  This would not only benefit cyclists, but also all the walkers; by separating the crossing it would not inconvenience drivers either.  Although this may seem a bit of a radical idea for 1950's-era Whitehorse, in progressive sustainable transportation countries it is the common way of keeping vulnerable road uses safe when crossing major roads: they recognize that the two modes are not compatible and need separated spaces.

Cycleway underpass in Oulu, Finland.  Note large comfortable size that accommodates snow clearing equipment (https://youtu.be/iOfuNAgCMJ4)

I would propose the underpass be located at the north end of the airport.  This location would service both Hillcrest and folks coming down from McIntyre.  Also if the trail on the west side were extended to Valleyview folks could use the underpass to access downtown via the airport/Black Street gully stairs.   It is already grade-separated on the east-side so only only the west side would need to have a ramp down from the trail.  Here is what it could look like:

Proposed location for Alaska Highway underpass at north end of Airport.

I did some calculations:  A 3.6 m high underpass can be accommodated under the highway here.  (3.6 m is a recommended height I found in a reference that can accommodate snow clearing equipment).  It should be a big, open, lighted box underpass that is lit and inviting, not a dank culvert such as used on Hamilton Blvd (look to the dutch examples to see how to do these right).   The path would slope up from the airport trail at 3% grade through the underpass.  Then on the west side the trail would need to gain another 2.5 to 3 m to reach the elevation of the ditch on the west side.  This would be a ramp down of about 55 m long at 5% (which is the recommended maximum grade for All Ages and Abilities (AAA) cycleways).  It would be tight on the west side so some retaining walls would likely be required at the underpass entrance, but these are used in many places around Whitehorse (Pelly Construction's yard on Industrial Road, Robert Service Way/Millennium Trail, etc.) So it is all do-able.

If we are willing to spend millions on the Alaska Highway, why shouldn't we expect some safe, separated infrastructure for vulnerable road users too?

A first look at Whitehorse's Newest (and Last?) Bike Lanes

After a summer of work, the entire length of the rebuilt portion of 6th Avenue downtown has opened back up.  It was rebuilt from Ogilvie Street at the north end to Jarvis Street at the south.  Folks may remember that this section of 6th Ave had a lot of potholes, gravel boulevards, no curbs and sidewalk only on one side.

But now the rebuilt 6-block long section of street has been developed as a "Complete Street", that means it is supposed to be inclusive of all road users, not just cars.  It has sidewalks on both sides, BIKE LANES and two car travel lanes.  The City of Whitehorse consulted with  Whitehorse Urban Cycling Coalition (WUCC) in the design of the street back in 2016.  At that time, the Coalition felt that 6th Ave was not the priority for a major investment in cycling infrastructure and as such was supportive of use of basic bike lanes on the street.  From the looks of the completed project, the City pretty much fully implemented the
recommendations of the Coalition at that time.

But why might these be the last new bike lanes in Whitehorse?  In 2018 the City, at the urging of WUCC, developed the Bicycle Network Plan.  This is a long-range planning document that envisions a fully connected cycling network for the City.  A key component is the adoption of a more contemporary approach to cycling infrastructure:  recognizing that cyclists of All Ages and Abilities need separated, safe cycling spaces when road speeds exceed 30 km/hr.  Under such a model (which is adopted by progressive cycling communities and countries), on-road bike lanes are not used because they recognize the incompatibility of high-speed motor vehicles and an inclusive view of cycling.  The Whitehorse Bicycle Network Plan largely recommends a network of "protected cycleways" and separated cycle spaces.  So, if implemented as planned, there are unlikely to be any new un-protected cycling spaces (aka "bike lanes")

Note disconnected nature of bike infrastructure today.

Proposed Bicycle Network for downtown Whitehorse (from Bicycle Network Plan)

None the less, it is always great to have new cycling infrastructure, so let's take a look:

The bike lanes are a full 1.5 m wide, which is wider than some of the older bike lanes in town, such as Lewes Blvd or 4th Ave north of Ogilvie.  The bike lanes appear to be demarked according to the current Canadian standards (which are okay, but certainly not to the progressive standards such as used in Netherlands and other cycle-leader countries).  This includes the cycle symbol painted on the roadway on either side of every intersection and signage noting the bike lane at every intersection.  The bike symbol itself is in a raised "paint" that is quite rough to ride over.  I wonder how these marking will survive winter plowing?  The lines-marking lines themselves are recessed into the asphalt, such as what was done on the south half of 4th Ave, so hopefully they will last longer.

The roadway was designed to slow motor vehicles and make the road more community friendly.  Of course, this includes the roundabout* at Black Street.  The re-build has "tightened" the turning through the roundabout, so it does slow you down to drive a motor vehicle through it.  Interestingly, the bike lane itself goes almost straight through the roundabout, making it pretty easy to ride through (single file as the sign says!)

Other elements to "slow" motorists down include:

• Parallel parking along the street (parking spots are 2.4 m wide plus an extra 0.6 m as a "door zone" to reduce risk of door-ing on the bike lane; parallel parking is good because it causes motorists to be more alert and cautious)



Note space between parked car and bike lane to help reduce risk of "door-ing"

• Curb extensions at intersections to narrow the roadway, making a shorter crossing distance for pedestrians; and
• Narrow travel lanes, only 3.0 m wide, which makes the road feel "skinny".  Again it will be interesting to see what happens in the winter.

So that is the good, but what are learning for improvement for the next project?

End of bike lane at Jarvis St.

• Well, it is a bike lane. As I discussed above, that is a bit of an antiquated type of cycle infrastructure now;
• It is a bike lane from nowhere to nowhere.  It is not connected to a bike network (as is currently the problem with almost all of our City's bike infrastructure), at least for now.  At minimum it would be good if the bike lanes stripes could be extended southward past Main Street to the south end of 6th Ave at Lambert St. (I think that is a reasonable ask of the City); and



Lip at curb-cuts makes for some unnecessarily rough riding. 

• All of the curb-cuts (where the curb drops down, for example at ally-way entries) have a terrible inch-high "lip" that makes for an unnecessary hard bump/hit on your bike when you roll over them. I don't know why they didn't make them smooth like their accessible curb-cuts at cross walks.  Perhaps this is something we can get the City to address in their Servicing Standards for future project.  

Go for bike ride and check it out before the snow comes!

* the roundabout at Black was built a few years ago.  My elementary-school age son has been walking through this intersection since kindergarten, some years before the roundabout was built.  Since it was built, we've seen crossing busy 6th Avenue has been much easier and safer for him.  These mini-roundabout really do work for making safer streets for all road users.