Who are anti-bike-path people?
We don't understand the anti-bike-path people.
How can allocating 0.01% of the road department budget to create a very small number of safe routes for bicycles be a bad thing?
Why are safe routes for bicycles a bad thing?
Why is offering a place where anybody and everybody can go for a safe bike ride a bad thing?
Why is riding a bike for exercise without the constant risk of being hit by a car a bad thing?
Why is creating tourism resources in outlying areas a bad thing?
Why is it a bad thing for bicycle riders to demand that some of their tax dollars be spent to provide a long-term investment in health and transportation and recreation.
Why is ok to build ten kilometres of autoroute but not ok to spend the same amount of money that built all the bike paths ever made here in Quebec?
When the number one reason people don't ride their bike is a fear of riding with cars on the road, why is it a bad thing to build a bike path?
Why do people who write angry letters to the editors about bike paths like to complain so much? They should go for a bike ride and relax a bit. Oh, sorry, there's no safe place to ride their bike, so riding on the road will give them even more stress and anger, but maybe now they will write another angry letter to the editor, but this time demanding a bike path for their own neighbourhood.
Statistical note: all statistics presented here have no basis in fact, but we're working on it.
posted by Cycle Fun Montreal @ 6:53 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Because of people like Mayor Ford in Toronto. It slows the traffic (sic).
From Copenhaganize: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2011/06/mayor-ford-and-jarvis-street-toronto.html
I came across your blog when googling "bikes on sidewalks in Montreal" (it led me to a post you did last year). I wondered if anyone shared my POV on bikers in this city.
I was walking on a busy stretch of sidewalk this afternoon when a young girl on a bike (that was too large for her, but that's besides the point) was pedaling straight at me, to her left and my right. Impulsively I stepped far to the right to get out of her way, and at the same time she swerved further to her left - adjusting herself so that she was still directly in my path. Somehow we avoided collision (barely) but my shock made me say "watch out!" (in a fairly normal if not slightly shocked tone, by the way).
Anyways, her father, also on a bike ON the sidewalk, was a couple of feet behind her and angrily swore at me, calling me a rather unpleasant name and "getting mad at an innocent 7 year old"
Whoa - how many things are wrong with that?! First of all, what in the world would posses a good father to allow his young daughter to bike on a busy sidewalk? (Couldn't he take her to a nearby park?) Secondly, how was it my fault that this girl nearly steered right into me? Thirdly, I definitely was not angry at her - I was surprised, mostly, but as I walked away my surprised quickly dissolved into anger towards him, for obvious reasons. As I continued to walk home, I noticed how many people were riding their bikes on this very busy sidewalk, and I was shocked. I saw another near-collision on my way home with another pedestrian (two adults).
The point of all of this is, do I support more bike paths? Absolutely - but ONLY if it gets people off of the pedestrian sidewalks. A biker could collide with an elderly pedestrian with slower reflexes, a handicapped person, a young child, a mother with a stroller....etc. It's incredibly dangerous and pedestrians are left defenseless thanks to careless bikers.
Bike paths may leave less room for cars in a city that is already short on space, but as long as bikers do go on the paths - ALWAYS - and respect all traffic laws just like cars (and pedestrians, for that matter) it should - I think in the long run - help traffic flow and make everyone a lot happier.
You may not want to publish this long rant, so feel free to chop it ;)
And, thanks for the smart posts on bikers - bikers are definitely an asset to the city - so long as they are as responsible and respectful as everyone else should be!
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