Kevin Montgomery

  • Letter: A Bi-Directional Bike Lane

    The following is a letter I sent to Brampton 311, Councillor Gael Miles, and Councillor Sandra Hames.   Hello. I’m Kevin Montgomery, a car-free resident of Brampton.   I suggest a pilot project to install bike traffic signals and a bi-directional bike lane to connect the Don Doan Trail to Bramalea GO Station. The specific locations I suggest for bike traffic signals are at the intersections of Bramalea Rd. at Avondale/Dearbourne Blvds. on the north and west sides, and at the intersection of Bramalea Rd. at Steeles Ave. on the west side, with a bi-directional bike lane connecting the two…

  • Carfree 1.1

    Hi Everyone. I feel like I owe everyone a thank you, and an apology. A thank you because the Carfree webapp started seeing steady use earlier than I expected. This resulted in one of the APIs I was using, specifically one to do an approximate geolocation based on IP address, to reach a request limit. This in turn, caused the Carfree webapp to fail. So, I thank you, and apologize for that. I’ve switched to a new IP geolocate provider, and the webapp *should* see more stability for a while. At least, where geolocation is concerned. So, please do continue…

  • Carfree

      It’s taken me a few months, but I finally have a Carfree app that I’m ready to share with everyone. What is Carfree? Whether you’re trying to go “car light”, or remove your dependency on a car altogether, this app should help you decide the best way to get to where you want to go, without using a car. It has a few features that I hope you’ll find neat. The Blue Circle When the map first loads, you’ll see a blue circle located where you are, as best the app can tell. Any place in the circle is within…

  • Road Taxes: Where The Rubber Has A Blowout

    I recently read a report published by The Conference Board of Canada, titled “Where The Rubber Meets The Road: How Much Motorists Pay For Road Infrastructure”. While I recall seeing this report in October 2013, for whatever reason it failed to adequately capture my attention until 3 months later. The synopsis of the document is that motorists largely already pay a sufficient amount back towards the cost of maintaining the road network in Ontario, and do not receive significant subsidization. By the calculations presented in this report, if you add the taxes and fees people pay to drive, and compare…

  • Layers In Different Temperatures

      This article will serve as future reference for layer combinations in different temperatures. Please send your own ideas!    -15 and below Long johns Pants Long-sleeved shirt 2nd layer shirt/sweater Heavy outer jacket Leg covers Balaclava under helmet Something to cover your face Gloves   -10 to -15 Long johns Pants Long-sleeved shirt 2nd layer shirt/sweater and coat Light outer jacket Leg covers Balaclava under helmet Something to cover your face Gloves   -10 to -5 Pants Long-sleeved shirt 2nd layer shirt/sweater and coat Light outer jacket Leg covers Hat under helmet Something to cover your face Gloves  …

  • The Flexibility of Cycling

    One of the amazing things about cycling, I think, it ‘s flexibility. There aren’t many modes of transportation that let you transition from operating a vehicle to being a pedestrian almost seamlessly. With this flexibility, it’s important to remember that automotive transportation is NOT flexible. It’s awkward, cumbersome, and clumsy. To navigate safely with automotive traffic, it’s helpful to behave as they do per the Highway Traffic Act. Doing so makes you predictable, and reduces unnecessary risk on the street. And don’t forget to take advantage of transitioning to “pedestrian mode”, where possible, if traffic gets a little to thick for your…

  • A Beautiful Snowfall In Brampton

    Just thought I would post one for viewing pleasure. 🙂 Enjoy!  

  • Taking The Lane in #biketo

    This is my first stab at opening a dialogue. It’s a video of a typical morning commute through downtown Toronto. I’ve posted annotations of sections from the Highway Traffic Act in the video that I think apply to the things I’m doing in the video. But it also shows some advantages to “taking the lane”, and asks questions, such as: What does taking “”share the road, not the lane” mean? And what does it look like? When making a left turn, are we to exit the intersection in the left-hand lane, or turn in to the outer lane provided for…

  • #Brampton Morning Commute – A.K.A. – “Space Mountain”

    The first video I want to post is one of my favorite parts of my commute in the Winter, when the sun hasn’t come up yet.