The new Shuter St bike lane is almost completely protected with curbs and bollards. But just west of Sumach, there is a 100m section of the westbound bike lane which is unprotected, to give access to a 35m school bus loading zone adjacent to the curb, on the north side of Shuter St. But because of a curve in the road (exaggerated by the schoolbus loading zone) and the new narrower car lanes, westbound vehicles frequently intrude into the bike lane as they navigate the curve. “Smoothing the curve” instead of slowing down, is totally natural behaviour by car drivers, which is why having the bike lane unprotected where the road curves, isn’t great.
Nov 6 (above); Nov 26 (below)
In 2020, this is not the level of safety that cyclists hope for in a protected bike lane. On Nov 25, the contractor installed a few concrete curbs immediately west of the crosswalk, which reduces the problem somewhat. But re-locating the school bus loading zone to the western end of the school where the road is straight, would be a simple change and should reduce the number of motor vehicles intruding into the bike lane. Or move the bus loading to a very accessible, quiet side street: even better and would permit curbs/bollards to protect the entire length of the bike lane!