‘Bike culture’ enjoys limited receptivity among Canadians

[Kirkhill]

I'd say the same thing about far too many car / pickup drivers.

Ottawa isn't Melville.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Ottawa isn't Melville.

Nope…it sure isn’t. But, there is always hope for Ottawa….

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Come to Halifax! Where we create traffic congestion for bike lanes. For the 5% of Haligonians who actually ride a bike on a daily basis...

Same here. Then we have the extremists who ride the bike lane line, so you have to move out around them anyway. We even have a few who habitually ride down the middle of the only lane in that direction. Every once in awhile they'll move and the lineup behind can clear. I want to slowly get behind them, touch my bumper to their back tire and run them up to about 110 kms and then let them go.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Here in Winnipeg most cyclists that regularly cycle think they own the roads. Stop signs are a mere suggestion and how dare you demand I wear anything resembling hi visibility stuff and what is this making my self visible at night stuff?

I recall that in Norway, because of the pedestrian casualty rate due to their dark winters, they required everyone to wear a reflective disk (or some other reflective device) when out walking or riding a bike or risk an immediate fine.

I could support something like that here too.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Cyclists expect an equal share of the public roads, yet contribute nothing to their construction and upkeep, then sneer at us polluters that actually do with our fuel taxes etc.

 

[dapaterson]

Oddly enough, my property tax bills include civic infrastructure like roads. Similarly, my federal and provincial taxes are used for road building.

 

[mariomike]

Oddly enough, my property tax bills include civic infrastructure like roads. Similarly, my federal and provincial taxes are used for road building.

We have a road. But, no sidewalks. Probably assumed everyone would get around by car.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Oddly enough, my property tax bills include civic infrastructure like roads. Similarly, my federal and provincial taxes are used for road building.

Allow me to rephrase; They expect an equal share of the road without an equal contribution to their upkeep via fuel taxes and various other gouges attached to being a vehicle operator. is that better?

 

[Good2Golf]

I recall that in Norway, because of the pedestrian casualty rate due to their dark winters, they required everyone to wear a reflective disk (or some other reflective device) when out walking or riding a bike or risk an immediate fine.

I could support something like that here too.

Were there any US forces deployed nearby?

#hivizptbeltforthewin

 

[ArmyRick]

My experiences with cyclist in the Collingwood/Creemore/Singhampton area has been mixed
-Many of the LOCAL cyclist are pretty cool and respect others
-We have ALOT of GTA cyclist travelling 2-3 hours to come cycling in the beautiful Blue Mountains area we live in, this is where you get your problems
-I have had people cut me off in my F150 going through a roundabout, I was able to complain to a nearby cop and get them pulled over
-I get p#ssed beyond belief when they move in huge mobs and refuse to cooperate with traffic
-For those os us with tractors, I wish they would understand we are not deliberately holding them up

Again, not ALL cyclist behave like self entitled jerks but the 5% that do, leave a very sour impression on everyone else.

 

[kev994]

Here in Winnipeg most cyclists that regularly cycle think they own the roads. Stop signs are a mere suggestion and how dare you demand I wear anything resembling hi visibility stuff and what is this making my self visible at night stuff?

The only thing that enrages drivers more than cyclists rolling a stop sign is cyclists stopping at a stop sign.

 

[lenaitch]

My experiences with cyclist in the Collingwood/Creemore/Singhampton area has been mixed
-Many of the LOCAL cyclist are pretty cool and respect others
-We have ALOT of GTA cyclist travelling 2-3 hours to come cycling in the beautiful Blue Mountains area we live in, this is where you get your problems
-I have had people cut me off in my F150 going through a roundabout, I was able to complain to a nearby cop and get them pulled over
-I get p#ssed beyond belief when they move in huge mobs and refuse to cooperate with traffic
-For those os us with tractors, I wish they would understand we are not deliberately holding them up

Again, not ALL cyclist behave like self entitled jerks but the 5% that do, leave a very sour impression on everyone else.

I'm in Simcoe County, my brother is in Grey County, so I'm through that area a fair bit. You just described 'citiots' is general; number of tires on the ground is largely irrelevant. In my mind, a citiot retains that status even if they move up here, so long as they retain the city attitude. There's a reason the government enacted the Farm and Food Products Protection Act ('Right to Farm').

 

[Eaglelord17]

One issue we have locally is we will have a bike lane and the cyclists will bike 2 or more abreast so they take up the single car lane too. They will also bike the wrong way down roads, wrong way on cycle lanes (that makes things real dangerous with them darting out into traffic to go around each other), ignore stops, and all without consequences.

I don’t mind cyclists per say and I certainly prefer them to those stupid DUI scooters (E-bikes) but they need to follow the rules of the road as well.

 

[OldSolduer]

One issue we have locally is we will have a bike lane and the cyclists will bike 2 or more abreast so they take up the single car lane too. They will also bike the wrong way down roads, wrong way on cycle lanes (that makes things real dangerous with them darting out into traffic to go around each other), ignore stops, and all without consequences.

I don’t mind cyclists per say and I certainly prefer them to those stupid DUI scooters (E-bikes) but they need to follow the rules of the road as well.

The dedicated although somewhat climate awareness (it can be -30C here with high winds and snow) challenged bike riders here are generally ok. There isn`t many of them. Its the stupidity and "I am entitled to ALLL the road" part time fools.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I don’t mind cyclists per say and I certainly prefer them to those stupid DUI scooters (E-bikes) but they need to follow the rules of the road as well.

I enjoy watching 'almost elderly' couples on their new e-bikes, smugly swooping through traffic at 30+knts as if they were some kind of invincible road Valkyrie.

I'm sure the emergency departments see alot of them

 

[Eaglelord17]

100% its always a small portion of a group with ruins it. That being said there is so few cyclists where I am and so many poor riders it leads one to question if it is more than a small portion. One issue facing most communities is that Canadians don’t know how to cycle, just as most Canadians don’t know how to walk down a road properly. Many weren’t taught and that is a issue which isn’t easy to solve as you can do both activities without a licence making it difficult to train people.

Some bike lanes I am fine with, for example one of our main streets was changed from two lanes both ways to one lane, bike lanes either side and a middle turning lane. The reason why I am perfectly fine with this is in the winter the two lanes turned into one lane from a practical standpoint anyways though some idiot drivers would still try to use it from a two lane perspective.

When we start converting residental streets into bike lanes though its a problem as your sacrificing road parking for cyclists when cyclists can still use the road anyways. Personally I dread the idea they might do it to my street as it would create some serious issues for practically using our homes as the nearest street to park/area to park would be many houses away and the drive way can only fit so many on it (in my case 3 cars max).

E-bikes at this point should just be banned/licensed. Make it so any non-manually powered vehicle requires a license and insurance. The current designs aren’t what was considered when the laws were made. Originally it was intended for electric assistance, not these machines which you can’t really peddle and if you were to try would likely hurt yourself.

 

[daftandbarmy]

When we start converting residental streets into bike lanes though its a problem as your sacrificing road parking for cyclists when cyclists can still use the road anyways. Personally I dread the idea they might do it to my street as it would create some serious issues for practically using our homes as the nearest street to park/area to park would be many houses away and the drive way can only fit so many on it (in my case 3 cars max).

I have never seen such vitriol over any bike lane building project as that emerging from this one. This guy is quite reasonable, but some sound like they've just entered the abortion debate:

Comment: Why the Richardson Street bike plan needs rethinking​

A commentary by a retired transportation planner and a long-time transit, cycling and road-safety advocate who has lived on McNeill Avenue for 42 years.

Comment: Why the Richardson Street bike plan needs rethinking

A commentary by a retired transportation planner and a long-time transit, cycling and road-safety advocate who has lived on McNeill Avenue for 42 years.

www.timescolonist.com

 

[dapaterson]

Residential streets should have minimal parking, why should cities subsidize your car storage needs?

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Residential streets should have minimal parking, why should cities subsidize your car storage needs?

Who says it is a subsidy?

I suppose we could make all roads 6 metres narrower from now on. Would that make you happy?

 

[dapaterson]

Narrower roads reduce speeds and are safer...

Costs of road maintenance (including parking spaces) are paid by all taxpayers. I'd rather pay a lower mill rate and let those who need parking pay for it themselves.