I have no kind words left for this topic. Bronson is open again to through traffic. And it will stay open until February when construction resumes at Somerset.
I am disappointed in the City that the street has reopened before the community’s requests for pedestrian safety improvements have been implemented. The traffic light at Arlington? Still under wraps. For many reasons, but mostly project planning, this traffic light will not be functional until June 15.
The pedestrian level lighting at the Gladstone and Bronson intersection to provide increased visibility (key in these dark months) is not ready. (But it’s supposed to be in by the end of the week according to the project manager.) But since they’ve got the car part done, the road can be reopened.
But the job’s not done. The road is not ready until all users are provided for.
During the road closure, I learned to love biking across Centretown using Arlington. It was *the* perfect route to our West Centretown area. It avoided the busy Gladstone/Bronson intersection with its increasingly heavy traffic along Gladstone. When Bronson partially reopened this fall, I had to abandon my perfect route since the traffic light was not yet functioning.
Gladstone isn’t awful, but it’s not good either. And it’s better in the daylight than at night. Motorists stopped obeying the single file only signs when Bronson partially reopened.
Last week when Somerset was temporarily closed in one direction, I saw the effect on Gladstone immediately. The afternoon traffic was stop and go. I found the behaviour of many drivers aggressive and it turned this “official city bike route” into a place that I didn’t feel safe to ride – especially with a kid in the backseat. I filed a police report due to aggressive passing through the Bronson intersection.
After last week’s commute, I decided that even with excessive amounts of lights on my bike, crossing Bronson at Gladstone felt too risky. Drivers are impatient and increasingly intolerant when traffic backs up. I can’t change that. So, it’s time for me to switch routes. Even if it means a significant detour. (A few bad egg drivers on a daily basis wears you down.)
And I am back to the same rant about detours that I had pre-Bronson reconstruction.
I’m abandoning my usual route for one that is far less direct but, hopefully, more comfortable. And you can tell me all about how a Can-Bike course will change my mind, but it won’t. Is a Can-bike course going to stop the small percentage of idiot drivers who make biking feel unsafe when it shouldn’t? “Taking the lane” only works when the driver behind you knows what the heck “taking the lane” is. Which they don’t.
The traffic cones and narrow roadway worked well in the summer to tame passing cyclists in a single file zone.
Comfortable mobility by foot or by bike has been compromised due to reopening Bronson before pedestrian improvements are ready. The right to feel safe has been replaced by the more important right to smooth traffic flow. But the city congratulates itself when the road is opened on schedule for cars.
That leaves me with Laurier. Pedalling 9 extra blocks north and then 9 blocks to go south again. The detour is longer than the distance to daycare.
Safety over convenience. I am not impressed. It’s the “New Old Bronson”.
