It’s a never-ending story.
Cyclists get no respect. Cyclists should be on the road. Cyclists need more bike paths. Cyclists should be licensed. Cyclists show no respect to pedestrians and small cars. It’s a madhouse out there... and so on... and so on.
But it’s a good story and one we should keep alive because there are so many interesting sides to it and much to gain (environmentally, socially, physically, intellectually, etc.) by offering solutions to the congestion out there on city streets and sidewalks.
Read the whole letter by James H. (‘Cycling unsafe for cyclists,’ Sept. 23 issue of The Londoner) highlighted below:
“I agree drivers and narrow roads are unsafe for cyclists using many London roads and agree to use of sidewalks where possible.”
“The cyclists are obviously not practiced based on their driving skills and dress.”
“These people (cyclists) seem to weave and never stop. They usually go briskly and don’t look or show respect for pedestrians or motorists.”
“Unfortunately many intersections are blocked by outcropped buildings, thick fences, parked vehicles, and flowers and hedges.”
The London Free Press had letters about the issue during the same week: ‘Keep bikes on streets,’ and ‘Cyclists should stop playing chicken with cars,’ in the Sept. 21 issue.
I feel it’s a never-ending story for many reasons, but chief among them is the indisputable fact that cyclists have been treated as second-class citizens for 60 - 70 years in urban centres (our own Deforest City included) and have and will never be accommodated in the way drivers of Dodge Rams, SUVs, vans, small cars, delivery trucks etc. have been.
There is a basic unfairness to the situation that will never go away until bike paths litter the city for the sake of future generations and safety in much the same way that modern roadways litter the city for the sake of convenience, comfort and commerce.
Let the letters continue.
***
Been on your bicycle this past summer?
Are you a frequent cycler? Is it safe out there?
.
1 comment:
I used to bicycle to work in the months April-October for about 18 years, half an hour each way, straight through the middle of Waterloo, Ont. When I first started I would occasionally get honked at or maybe get angry at a car driver that cut me off or did something that threatened my safety. But over the years on the same route, I adapted and changed. I modified my route, I changed my approach to certain intersections. It was mostly subtle, the way I signalled turns, where I waited for lights, deciding when to take the sidewalk or not. With all the refinement, it became quite a routine affair. No drama, no horns or close calls. It was quite safe, but it was not necessarily "by the book", which some may find objectionable. Car drivers do not really drive according to the rules either, with regard to stops and speed limits etc.
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