It can be insightful to take another perspective on something we’re used to. Yesterday I walked the length of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Iron Horse Trail and photographed it from its most common vantage points — the roads crossing it. There is little immediately evident in these photos, but I will explain below.
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- Ottawa St, Kitchener. The trail starts here.
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- Borden Ave, Kitchener
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- Kent Ave, Kitchener.
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- Courtland Ave & Stirling Ave, Kitchener. Trail users presumably need to cross at the signalized intersection.
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- Madison Ave, Kitchener.
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- Mill St, Kitchener.
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- Queen St, Kitchener. In the middle is a pedestrian refuge.
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- West Ave, Kitchener. Most trail users cross here (as did the old railway), though they are supposed to go to the signalized intersection with Victoria St.
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- Victoria St, Kitchener. Most cross the busy road here and cut straight through instead of taking the long detour to the light.
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- Gage St, Kitchener.
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- Glasgow St, Kitchener.
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- Union St & Esson St, Kitchener.
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- John St, Waterloo.
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- Park St, Waterloo.
What these photos show is the absence of anything to indicate the presence of the Iron Horse Trail. Which is a problem. How can we expect motorists to be mindful of a major path crossing if they cannot see it? Pedestrian infrastructure for the crossings is needed in order for motorists to give due attention to trail users, for the safety and improved experience of those trail users, and for better awareness of the Iron Horse Trail itself.
The Iron Horse Trail warrants raised crossings that are visually distinct from the rest of the road, but at the very least it should have zebra crossings.
(This entry is cross-posted to my personal blog.)
You know, I’ve been up and down the Iron Horse Trail several times, but I never realized how little indication there is at each of those crossings. Your pictures make it very clear!
Comment by Tim Coleman — March 7, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
I remember the Park St. crossing having dotted lines indicating it, back when the trail was first paved. That’s long since gone, of course, and was sadly never replaced.
Comment by Kevin Loughlin — March 8, 2010 @ 1:31 am
A new trail in Halifax unfortunately puts the shoe on the other foot, telling cyclists to dismount rather than alerting motorists: http://spacingatlantic.ca/2010/03/18/hug-it-but-dont-ride-it/
Comment by Kevin Loughlin — March 22, 2010 @ 10:33 am