Originally Posted by
Miele Man
I don't know about the USA but here in the region of Canada I live in they are having quite the trouble getting a route for HSR into one small city. No one living in that city want any of the proposed routes built.
Also, it seems to me that in Canada, especially Northern Ontario, that rial-travel in general is being cut way back. I used to be able to take an Ontario Northland train from Toronto to Swastika, Ontario (near Kirkland Lake) and did so quite often to get to an area I ride back to Toronto from. Now it's a bus route. On top of that Highway 11 in the south of Ontario Canada is now closed to bicyclists.
Cars and buses rule! Seems to be the mantra of traffic infrastructure planners hereabouts.
The one LRT line I saw built in this area actually INCREASES the travel time from one city's downtown core to another city downtown and that's becasue the Express Bus now ends its run at a mall where you have to transfer to the LRT and that transfer time can be fairly long. I can ride my bicycle faster between those two downtowns than I can get there by transit with the Express Bus and the LRT.
Cheers
For everybody's interest, the town of Swastika was named in 1908. In WW-II, the Canadian Government changed the name of Berlin, Ontario to Kitchener, as it still is today, and changed Swastika to "Winston". The town residents of Swastika tore down the Winston signs, and put up the original name and also a sign that said "To Hell with Hitler - we came up with our name first".
Which part of Hwy 11 is barred for bikes? At least if it is south of Barrie there are lots of alternate routes. In Northern Ontario, you don't have a lot of choice.
Oops, never mind. It used to be that Yonge St south of Barrie was also 11 and I guess now it only starts at the junction with 400 and goes north. How would you bike north from Barrie now?