Cycling in Markham
editMarkham has designated almost 400 km as "Cycling devoted routes", as part of the city's Master Cycling Plan. There are three primary cycling route signs:
- The first one, which displays a diamond and a bicycle, indicates an exclusive bicycle lane for cyclists.
- The second sign is a green sign with a bicycle on top, and is the most frequent sign across Markham. Roads bearing this sign have no specially marked bicycle lane, but have other lanes wide enough for motorists and cyclists to comfortably share a lane.
- The third sign is the most rare of all, with a car on the left side, a cyclist on the right, and a sign saying "Share the road". This sign is located on busy road where it is narrow enough that motorists and cyclists have to share a lane.
The Markham Council proposed a final draft of the "Cycling Master Plan" in 2007. The plan would be put in place in the next 15 years. The plan includes designating various major municipal roads into the following categories:
- Signed-Only Routes : On-road bicycle routes denoted strictly with bicycle route signs with no other physical changes to the roadway geometry. Users share the pavement with motor vehicles. There are no special lane designations.
- Bike Lanes and Paved Shoulder Bikeways : Facilities located in the traveled portion of the roadway and designed for one-way cyclist traffic. Bike lanes are typically located on urban streets with curbs, and paved shoulders are typically used to accommodate cyclists on rural cycling routes where no curbs exist.
- Multi-Use Trails : Facilities that are separate from the traveled portion of a roadway. They may take the form of a boulevard trail in a public road right-of-way, or a greenway completely separate from roads. The proposed cycling network will expand on the spine network developed as part of the first phase this study and is intended to provide access to existing and proposed utilitarian and recreational cycling routes and trail systems in the Town of Markham and adjacent municipalities.