CITIZEN'S ARREST!

Cycling in Toronto requires the equivalent of a 'citizen's arrest'. Cyclists should be able to photograph cars parked in bike lanes, making sure they get the car's license plate and its location in the city and in which bike lane, then mail the photograph to the police and have them issue the motorist a ticket.

By far the most glaring thing wrong with cycling in Toronto is the use of bike lanes as a parking lot. At any time of day, check out the Gerard bike lane just east of Yonge, the Queen's Quay bike lane just west of Bathurst, and the College bike lane just east of Spadina... and you'll always see cars/vans/transport trucks parked in those lanes.

I've even seen bike cops cycle right by cars parked in these lanes without saying a word. As well, you can often see cars parked in the Dundas bike lane, right across from the Coxwell police station! Obviously motorists in Toronto don't worry at all about being fined / ticketed for parking in bike lanes.

The age of oil is ending... cycling has to be made a very viable alternative.

Why no discussion of bikes and pedestrians in the "Freewheeling" items this week? A terrible number of Toronto bicyclists are dangerous for those of us who are walking on the side - wait for it - WALK. I see bikes riding on the sidewalk; I see bikes switching to crosswalks (and nearly mowing people down) when it's convenient; I've even seen the police bike-mounted officers riding their bikes through Riverdale Park (the signs there point out that it's against a City bylaw).

And as though it isn't enough that they're riding on the sidewalk, they _yell_ at you if you're in the way. Here they come, ringing their twee little bells, insisting that I get out of the way because (this is an actual quote from one of these twits), "The road is too dangerous, with all those cars!"

Not every city is like this. I was in Vancouver for a week last fall, and though it's a real bike-friendly place, near as I can tell, I wasn't once nearly hit by a bike. Portland, OR, has bicke racks on the busses and trams, and plenty of activist bicyclists; but I've never had a close call there. It seems that here in Toronto, however, self-righteousness about being a bicyclist entitles every jerk who's managed to learn to travel on two wheels to run over any poor sod who gets in the way.

Why isn't this discussed in the CBC's bike week coverage? Because I sure as heck can't support more of these fools on Toronto streets. Automobile drivers in Toronto are often jerks, too, but at least they don't drive on the sidewalk. And if they did, the cops might stop them.

(Just in case one of the selfish twerps tries the obvious ad hominem: yes, I have a bike. Yes, I ride on the road, and never the sidewalk. And stop for stop signs. And - gasp - right with the direction on a one way street. It's not hard.)

Andrew - check out Dave Seglins' Road Warriors item on the audio page.
-Webmaster

My comment is a reminder to all the drivers out there who don't seem to see me when I'm riding (on the road, not the sidewalk).

If you're not paying attention, talking on your cell, yelling at your kids, eating, etc ... and you have an accident with another car, the odds are you'll have some scrapes and it'll cost you some money.

If you have the same accident with someone on a bike, the odds are we're going to lose our life.

So next time you go racing by someone on a bike to make a right turn in front of them, think 'is the 5 seconds this is going to save me worth the life of that person?'. The next time you're backing out of your driveway and don't look until your trunk is on the road, take a second to wonder if you could have just killed someone. A child on a bike, perhaps?

The other thing for drivers to keep in mind is that we have the right to the whole lane if we need it - don't honk and get angry if I move over a bit to avoid a pot hole. Similarly, if I'm signalling to turn left, don't go whipping around me.

Bikes and cars can get along fine, if people in cars would just respect the fact that we're slower, and much less protected than they are. We're taking our lives and putting them in the hands of every car that goes by us. It only takes one person not paying attention to put us in the ditch and quite possibly kill us.

And sometimes, I have to be a 'twit' who rides on the sidewalk. There are some streets that are just not safe to ride on (Try Steeles at rush hour). Bikes and pedestrians can get along if bicylists treat pedestrians as we'd like drivers to treat us (hmm ... do unto others ...). There are some riders that don't understand and treat the sidewalk as thier highway, but the majority are fine.

We can all get along, everyone just needs to think of others as well as themselves.

Cycling on sidewalks is a dangerous activity, not just for the pedestrians on the sidewalk, also for the cyclists. A City of Toronto study of automobile/bicycle collisions found that in 30% of the collisions cycling on the sidewalk contributed to the collision; ie. people were cycling on the sidewalk immediately prior to the collision, left the sidewalk for the road, or crossed a laneway and were struck by a car.

The Toronto Cycling Committee, an advisory committe to City Council on cycling issues, made a recommendation for the 2006 City of Toronto Budget that the Councillors approve funds for a sidewalk cycling countermeasure program to address the problem of sidewalk cycling. That recommendation was not accepted. The funds for Toronto's Cycling Safety and Education programs have been frozen at the same level since 2001. In order to educate the public about how to cycle safely City Council has to increase the funding to these programs.

As far as the people Andrew Sullivan is complaining about I think there is a small segement of the population that is inconsiderate of others. I have a theory that these people are inconsiderate of others whether they drive their cars and when they ride their bikes; it's the same people. I think a vast majority of people are considerate. They are considerate when they drive their car and they are considerate when they ride their bike. It is generally the inconsiderate ones that we notice, the ones that cut us off on the 401 or the ones that almost run us down on the sidewalk. For these people I am not sure what can be done to change their attitude.

For the people who are genuinely afraid to ride on the road or unaware of the dangers of sidewalk cycling, education campaigns can help. There are also CAN-BIKE courses offered by the city that teach people how to bike in traffic confidently and safely.

Another way to get people off the sidewalks is to expand the network of bike lanes creating a safer space for cyclists on the road. Again this needs commitment from the City Councillors. They have to support the bike lanes proposed for their wards.

So if you are really upset about side walk cycling call your City Councillor. Ask them what actions they have taken to address the issue. Ask them to support the funds for a sidewalk cycling counter measure program when it comes forward to the 2007 budget, ask them to support the bike lanes proposed in your ward. Election time is coming, they may be listening.

Bicycles do not belong on sidewalks. A recent City of Toronto study found sidewalk riding the most common contributory factor in car bike vehicle collisions: 30% of all collosions and 50% in residential areas. Check out the City website for the report.

First, I want to say that most cyclists are careful when riding around Toronto... they don't want to be hit by a car anymore than a motorist wants to hit them.

However, it seems that all sensibility is lost the minute some fellas decked out in their tour de France gear hit the trails. Groups race 3 and 4 abreast taking up the entire trail and running other cyclists and in-line skaters off the path.

I skate the Martin Goodman trail on a regular basis and I can't tell you how many times I've been pushed off the paved path by groups of racing cyclists or how many times I've encountered a speedster or 3 rounding a corner full-tilt and on the wrong side of the path.

This is Toronto, NOT the country roads of France. You are NOT Lance Armstrong and I am NOT some crazy French fan who has wandered onto the trail to cheer you on. Share the path and ride safely!

Is there a difference between a cyclist and a pedestrian-on-a-
bike? Maybe not to the untrained eye but if a doofus is riding up
the street the wrong way, running red lights, riding with the kids
sans helmet , well, they're sure signs of a pedestrian-on-a-bike.
This a dim creature, especially at night.
Then there's the screw-you-Jack, nutbar on a delivery mission
and a one-speed track bike.
These are New York courier wannabees looking for an excuse to
be rude and angry at everyone. They'd rather die at the
handlebars of their bike than be caught alive behind the wheel
of Joe Yardmonkey's beige minivan.
But it's a big world, wherever there are people, they'll be doing
stupid and mean things to each other - but wait for the fun
when we all get aircars.

ROLLING THROUGH STOP SIGNS

It wastes a lot of energy for a bicycle to come to a complete stop at an intersection if they don't have too. Also, they are slower, and are more acutely aware of their environment, both because they have to be and because they are not inside a steel box.

Rather then waste a lot of effort trying to get cyclists to start obeying an unreasonable Highway Traffic Act we should be changing the Highway Traffic act to better deal with the reality.

Idaho, is a jurisdiction that we could consider modeling. here is an excerpt from their act.

TITLE 49 MOTOR VEHICLES: CHAPTER 7 PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES
49-720. STOPPING

(1) A person operating a bicycle or human-powered vehicle approaching a stop sign shall slow down and, if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection.

Why I ride on the SIdewalk (on Sundays, and early in the morning)

I live in the Leslie-Finch area. My beautiful 12 week old grand daughter (our first grandchild) lives in the St. Clair/Vaughan Road area. I am fearful of riding on the main thoroughfares (Leslie Bayview, Lawerence and Bathurst)where I noticed only one designated bike lane (going up the incline from Bayview to Lawerence a distance of about 100 yards). Soooo, I ride on the sidewalks facing the oncoming traffic watching for pedestrians and cars making left and right turns and cars that pull out from side streets blocking the crossing area before making their turn onto the main street. I would gladly stop breaking the law if there were bike lanes on the main streets that I travel on. I could use the park system to get down to Mia's house, but at 68, I find that there are big hills getting into the system and out of the park system, and the distance is further.

I am one of those centaurs - half pedestrian, half car. Every morning i ride the 36km between Oakville and Toronto, and every morning I break several laws by running through stop signs and traffic lights.
I never feel too guilty about it because
a: it's unbelievable how many lights and stop signs are between oakville and toronto along lakeshore blvd
b: half pedestrian, half car is exactly how the cities see us (apparently) with appearing and disappearing bike lanes
c: have you ever ridden on the road? some cars give you space some do not. (have you ever been passed by a transport truck or school bus that's pretending you aren't there? it's scary as hell.
d: on my long ride in (1 hour and 15 mninutes) it saves me 10-15 minutes
e: riding in commuter traffic desensitizes you - with all the chaos of traffic weaving in and out and seemingly "playing loose" with your life, you need a thick skin - it only takes 1 idiot in a car a fraction of a second to permanently alter your life
f: cars that purposely drift to the right to block you from passing them in a line of cars waiting at a light
g: in oakville bike lanes are more frequently used for additional parking than bike lanes - i'm just waiting for the city to figure this out and install parking meters along these lanes.
It's a double standard - It's OK to pass the cyclist, but heaven forbid a cyclist pass a car

On pedestrians, i find it phenomenal, the number of walkers (along sunnyside beech) that think the cycling lanes are a legitimate place to walk (don't they know that's why the boardwalk is there?)

Anyways - those are the main reasons i am semi-self righteous about partial observation of traffic laws.

Carl Messenger-Lehmann

In many cities in Europe they have realized that bicycles and
automobiles are an inevitable disaster and just simply should not
share the road. Therefore bicycle lanes are part of the sidewalks.
Sidewalks are wider and divided in two--one side for those on
bikes and one side for those on foot. It works.

Cyclists seem to want to have the rights of a pedestrian, and the rights of a vehicle, but the responsibilities of neither. I don't know how many times I've been sideswiped at a crosswalk or traffic light, by a cyclist who clearly couldn't care less, or how many times a bike has come flying off the sidewalk, into traffic, only to have the cyclist get all irate, because the motorist didn't anticipate their every move.

I did the round trip commute from Oakville to Toronto by bike for 14 years. Usually from the first time the roads are dry in the late winter well into the late fall. I've taken a year off from the commute, not the bike, mind you, and will be making the trip again starting this year.

My strategy on the road is pretty simple.
Keep your head up, be polite and don't be an idiot. Specifically:
1) I obey the rules of the road
2) I maintain eye contact with drivers
3) I use my hands constantly to let cars know what my intent is whether it's to move out or thank them (note thank them) for giving me reasonable berth
4) I ride off hours. I skew my day to the early side and likewise try to leave on the near side of rush hour in the afternoon.
5) I keep my ears free of headphones and wear a helmet.

When I've had drivers abuse me on the road, of course I get angry at them but I'm equally angry about a cycling mentality that I don't support and that I'm paying for.

Lastly - My thoughts on cycling as a practical alternative to driving.

In my leases I've always made sure that I have a private bathroom and shower. I keep some clothes at the office and take cabs, walk or show up in spandex at understanding clients.

I'm 50, I've got a family, I run my own business and I have no interest in dying so my opinion is that there really are no good reasons for driving if you're just a single person getting to work, just rationale.

Cheers,
J

The tired old refrain is that 'bicycles want to have it both ways - to be treated both as cars AND as pedestrians.'

Hey, numbskulls, wake up - Bikes are neither Cars nor Pedestrians. BIKES ARE BIKES. They are different. Until they are recognized as a third unique species on the roads, the pointless debates will continue.

Why do bikes roll through stop signs in residential areas? Simple: Because as a human-powered medium that relies on momentum to conserve energy, it is unrealistic to expect them to stop.

Bicyclists may run the occasional stop sign, but I'd argue they can and SHOULD get away with it. The consequences of a bike runnning a stop sign are almost always nil. Sure, collisions occur between bikes and pedestrians, but you don't often hear about them on the news, because cyclists are NOT driving behind the wheel of a 2000-pound insulated metal deathbox.

The 'Rules of the road' so often referred to were created by motorists, for motorists - they are biased against bikes from the getgo. Until the rules in downtown areas take into account the sophisticated nature of urban cycling (and the need to sometimes ride on the sidewalk, like when a truck parks in the bike lane), the war between bikes and cars will senselessly continue.

The moral of the story - if cars treat bicycles like crap, then expect bicycles to treat everyone else like crap. It's a fight for survival out there, and what goes around comes around.

I am a cyclist and a pedestrian. I am pleased to see that someone (Andrew Sullivan) has brought up the topic of cyclists on the sidewalk. When I was 9 yrs old a cyclist hit me and the pedal of the bike took out a chunk of my leg - I saw the bone and next thing I saw was the doctor's face after he stitched up the wound. I, of course, love riding my bike but always do so on the road or if that is not possible, I dismount and walk with it on the sidewalk if necessary. I describe my childhood injury graphically so that the consequences of irresponsible cycling can be visualized. I walk to work and I walk for pleasure and exercise. Just last Saturday along Queen's Quay West it was brought home to me and my companion as we walked just how annoying and dangerous it is to have cyclists on the sidewalk; and as for parents riding bikes with their children on the sidewalk, if you feel the area is too dangerous for the little ones take them elsewhere so that they can enjoy their bikes - don't be on the city's sidewalks - they are for pedestrians! I'd be grateful if there were a way to ensure that cyclists do not ride on the sidewalk but I just cannot see it happening. Can you? Any suggestions? Many thanks for reading my post.

I agree that cyclists should stay off the sidewalk, but don't forget the other side of the equation... joggers in the bike lane! I have been run out into traffic and almost hit by a car trying to avoid joggers 3 times in the last few years. It is particularly bad going down Russell Hill Road where the cyclists are generally going the same speed as the cars. We turn around a sharp corner and presto, there are a couple of joggers coming at you and the cyclist has nowhere to go. There is a sidewalk on one side of this road but apparently it is not good enough for some pedestrians (which is what a jogger really is). I find it a bit odd to see police giving cyclists tickets in that area, but I have never seen one pull over a jogger. Please let us safely enjoy the very few good cycling lanes in the city!

Biking in Toronto is not my issue, biking outside of Toronto is my issue. I live in Milton and every weekend hundreds of bikers leave the big smoke to bike in the country. They drive their SUV's and park where ever they want. They bike in flocks, 4 abreast, rows deep and there could be as many as 60 of these lemmings in the group. They take up the whole road and have very little regard for their safety. The bikers do not own the road; they share the road and should follow basic road safety. It is like they adopt a gang attitude ... it is get out of their way or you will get run over.

Today's comments included bicyclists not obeying stop signs or other rules of the road. Keep in mind the rules were made for automobiles, and stop signs are a way of traffic calming. I wonder if the rules of the road would be different if they were established for bicycles. Also, would we need so many stop signs if there were no cars.

Given that bicycles and cars have to share space, I agree that cyclists need to obey the same rules as cars. On the other hand, my experiences have been that cars really do not like to share the space. For example, many motorists seem to expect a cyclist to occupy the curb lane exclusively, even when it becomes a right turn lane, or a ramp to an expressway. I can't count the number of honks, dirty looks or near misses I encountered when I stayed to the right of the rightmost through-lane travelling across Finch Avenue under highway 400. Most times, the bike lane was the white line on the road! Also, when cycling on the highway (in New Brunswick) I was specifically told by a cop that I was expected to ride on the (very rough) shoulder of the road, rather than on the smoother car surface. After I ruined a tire, I disobeyed that one too.

As I was strapping on my bike helmet this morning I happened in on the CBC's Mr. Barrie's comments on cyclists who ride on sidewalks. I think it is safe to say that we have all at sometime been guilty of "breaking the rules" whether in a car or on a bike.

Mr. Barrie's thoughts on the sad and unfortunate accident suffered by his colleague could as easily turn to thoughts to the 50 or more cyclists killed over the last year in the City of Toronto. We are all searching for a way to the bottom line in these discussions and that is solutions/changes to the current arrangements we have on our roads between bikes, cars and pedestrians.

I could not help thinking as I flipped through the May edition of Vanity Fair and a picture of our city's mayor jumped out at me touting his green efforts amongst other mayors of the world. I wonder if Mayor Miller's green consciousness and awareness of the need for more bike lanes will come to fruition with the new infrastructure and transportation dollars from both the last and current Federal governments made available to our great city?

At this time, it feels the only efforts or energy being put towards this issue are the ongoing discussions and at times the blame game resulting from human folly. In the meantime, our earth continues to warm and people will continue to be frustrated, injured or, unfortunately, worse.

We need to hear from those who have the power to make decisions for change.

I'm a cyclist, driver and pedestrian - sometimes all in the space of a single day.

If you're an adult, you have no business riding a bike on the sidewalk, especially downtown. The only reason your bike's wheels should be on the sidewalk and moving is when you're walking your bike. If the road is too dangerous and scary for you to contemplate riding on, take a different route.

Pedestrians should cross at lights and crosswalks.

Finally, drivers need to use their turn signals (and well in advance of turning) and rollerbladers need to get out of the bike lanes (you're too slow and you sway too much).

I agree with the intent of the poster who suggested modifying the stop sign law a la Idaho. However we already have a similar mechanism available - the yield sign. Beats me why we don't use more yield signs in lieu of all-way stops. They are more bike friendly and eco-friendly. Other cities in Canada favour using yields over stops.

Also, not 30 minutes after Tuesday's show I saw a cyclist at Yonge & Davisville nearly hit when at speed she passed a car turning right, on the right. Unbelievably dumb riding. It suggests to me cyclists need to be taught road skills just as drivers do.

As a pedestrian, the only thing that I mind is the cyclists who
_don't_ ring their bells - and that's the majority where I am, in
Waterloo.

When one of them suddenly whips past from behind
with no warning except a nearly simultaneous whisper of tires, your heart jumps out of your chest.

I think some, especially students, think it's not cool to ring your bell. But please, please, pedestrians need warning!

For the moment cyclists seem to be third class citizens in the commuter infrastructure. The cagers of course are number one, they defer to no one. TTC patrons are number two, but they (e.g. bus passengers, until quite recently) frequently have to wait for private vehicles and are pawns in the struggle between union and management.

Cyclists are number three... they get the no-man's land between the cars and sidewalk: busted pavement littered with broken glass, frequently used by delivery vehicles to park illegally (noted above), piled with snow in the winter, and so on.

So, what is a third class citizen to do? If no man's land isn't working for me, I'm jumping onto the sidewalk. Although I pick my spots, and make sure to stay right off the bike the week after BikeWeek, I'll be busted one day I'm sure; it's just the cost of being third class.

I grew up in Britain in the 1960's when bikes were a common mode of transport for many people. When you rode your bike you were a wheeled vehicle and had to obey the Highway Code to the letter.

A cyclist could opt to be a pedestrian to take a short cut down a footpath or the wrong way down a one way street, but the rule was simple: as a pedestrian, you would dismount and walk beside the bike, and could not mount up again until you were back on the road.

I used to be an avid cyclist in my youth. I didn't learn to drive a motor vehicle until I was in my thirties because I rode my bike everywhere.

Now? I live in Toronto, and therefore I wouldn't *dream* of wasting the money on a new bike, even though I'm half an hour's bike ride from work and would love to be able to
ride there instead of relying on (and buying monthly
metropasses for) lousy TTC service.

Toronto is easily one of the least bike-friendly cities in North America, if not the world. You can't ride safely on its streets because there are few bike lanes, and the ones that do exist are used as parking lots with NO police enforcement. Most cyclists feel forced to use the sidewalks (thus endangering pedestrians) to get to their destination safely. Plus cyclists have to deal with aggressive, ignorant and inconsiderate drivers, and again no police enforcement of the law when these cretins break the rules of the road and even kill people. Then, if you're lucky enough to arrive in one piece, you've got at least a 50% chance of having your bike stolen and never getting it back, thanks to a combination of NO police effort to prosecute bike thieves or recover stolen property, and a city which places an abysmally low priority on providing secure places for people to lock their bikes.

Then on top of all this, there's practically no education to teach cyclists proper road behaviour and the rules of the road, nor (again) is there any police enforcement when the bad cyclists out there break the law and endanger others. They are just as guilty as the inconsiderate and aggressive motorists out there! I'm also a pedestrian, who walks two greyhounds several times a day.

Let's just say that thanks to the idiots on two wheels taking over the sidewalks, both of my dogs panic when they see one approaching, due to the many near misses we've had.

Cyclists who do choose the sidewalk don't seem to care that pedestrians CANNOT hear them coming up behind them, also that we DO have the right of way on sidewalks (not to mention on the streets), and we should not be having to literally dive into a ditch every two minutes to avoid being hit!

Our governments - both provincial and municipal - need to get their act together when it comes to encouraging not only cycling, but other alternative methods of transport in the GTA.

Today's chronic gridlock in this city demonstrates that single people in cars aren't the answer. Judging by their track record so far, not to mention the situation they've brought on themselves with the TTC workers, the future isn't looking too bright for alternative, environmentally responsible transportation in the GTA.

This past weekend a few dozen volunteers from the UofT Mountain Bike Team participated in their annual trail clean up event and pulled out hundreds of pounds of garbage, including 2 shopping carts, 16 tires, and over 50 bags of garbage.

These bikers care.

I live in Hamilton, but don't believe that this city is any friendlier to bikes than Toronto.
Nevertheless as a former ambulance officer, and daughter of a former police officer, I cannot believe the nonsense I am reading here.
Nobody would be happier than I to ride on dedicated bike routes, but very few exist. I commute to work on my bike when I am in the office and ALWAYS ride my bike like I drive my car. Stopping at signs, taking my lane, signalling turns and making eye contact. You just have to to get home safely.
I have 'scraped up' the riders who thought they were above the rules. It is not pleasant. Cyclists always, always lose when it comes to collisions.
Ride like a "driver" and you will go home each and every night.
Ride like you are special, and we will be reading about you in the classifieds eventually - and it won't be in the 'celebrate your longevity' section !

Much cyclist "civil disobedience" comes from a fundamental anger at the hypocrisy of our civic planners and politicians.

While we are publically encouraged to cycle in the city, planners seem to put cyclist last as a priority.

Take, for example, the main dedicated north-south bicycle path in Toronto going between the Don River and Don Valley Parkway: in order to build what seems to be a development by the Distillery District the path has been blocked about 1 km from the lake where it would join the Martin Goodman Trail system. No detour. Just a chain-link fence and a sign saying that the route will be blocked until 2007. Too bad for you cyclists!

To get around this construction you can either go through a hole in the fence and cross active GO railway tracks, or climb three flights of stairs, bike in hand, to the sidewalk above (where you, presumably, must ride on the sidewalk).

This route is not terribly helpful for commuting if it doesn't go anywhere! Right now, we have an expensive path serving little functionality. Think about how we treat cars: it is unlikely that they would simply block the DVP for a year - although that might not be a bad idea.

In short, if planners and politicians don't care about cyclists, it's hard to be upset about the favour being returned in kind.

A bike is not a motor vehicle any more than a skateboard, in-line skates or folding scooters are. They all have wheels not motors.

The fast should heed the slow, the young should heed the old and the strong should heed the weak. The 'rules of the road' that EVERYONE should follow are simple - 3 Cs: caution, common sense and courtesy. If we all practice this every day, there will be a lot fewer accidents and much less animosity all around.

Note: In case anyone misinterprets the beginning of Andrea's comment, we should be explicit that the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA) defines the bicycle as a vehicle that belongs on the road. Riding on the road means mixing with other traffic. This is only safe when all traffic uses the same rules of the road. Find out more from the Ministry of Transportation .
-Webmaster

Bike lanes will always get local business in a snit. I propose that during certain parts of the day, key local residential streets should be closed and actively advertised as bike/pedestrian routes.

This will allow the young parent with children who takes them on walks or as I see sometimes, riding beside them as they ride a small bike or tricylcle, a safer environment to actively contribute to the life of a greener city. Also a great way for people who like walking, to walk in a safe place away from cars.

I ride my bicycle every work day (except on bad weather days), during spring, summer and fall, from Bayview and Sheppard to Davenport and Avenue Road.

I am a bike fanatic.

However, every riding day, without exception, when I am stopped at a red light or stop sign, some other cyclist will ride his bike past me through the red light or stop sign. It is very disheartening and it does not help the cause. Bike riders have to start criticizing those amongst us who break the law. Right now, too few of us are doing so, and, by not doing so, we are not being responsible to the community at large.

Chris Hardwicke's biking tunnels are an elegant design.

However, construction of such a system would single handedly change the bike frome a more environmentally attractive vehicle into an environmental disaster. The cost in energy and pollution to manufacture and install this system would far outweigh any benefits of reducing CO2 and other pollutants. A real energy analysis of this would put it into perspective.

Chris uses the word "unconstrained" in his presentation of his design approach. Unfortunately the real world is full of constraints and the ones we have to deal with the most, and fear the most, are the end of cheap energy and climate change. Chris is an energetic and creative thinker. I would hope that he will consider thses other physical limits as seriously as an architect must consider the force of gravity.

As usual, the CBC has a great series going here. Keep up the stimulation of discussion.

Good Morning,

I have greatly enjoyed your Freewheeling series this week. However, i feel it necessary to comment on the overabundance of individuals calling for more and more bike lanes in the City of Toronto.

Many academics agree that bike lanes are not the most effective method for making cycling a safer or easier form of transportation. In fact, John Forester's Effective Cycling, often referred to as the Cyclist's bible, argues that bike lanes can represent a danger to cyclists.

Although the City of Toronto and the Toronto Cycling Committee has made a wonderful effort to properly contruct bike lanes (see College and Spadina, where the lane dissolves ~25m from the intersection, allowing the cyclist to take the lane so that cars don't turn right around them), many areas are still dangerous (see Harbord, where cars are allowed to park to the right of the bike lane, increasing the odds of a collision).

In general, bike lanes encourage the development of a "cyclists inferiority complex", leaving cyclist's feeling that they don't have a right to the entire road - merely the 1.3 m wide strip at the right side. In addition, the many hazards associated with bike lanes (build up of road detritus, parked/stopped cars, parallel sewer grates, etc.) make cycling in a bike lane a very interesting proposition.

I acknowledge that many cyclists feel safer within the bike lane. However, more instruction and training is needed to educate both drivers and cyclists alike that a bike comes with all the same responsibilities as a car: signals, obeying road signs, and proper lane positioning. Defensive, predictable, and effective cycling makes riding a bike safe - not a bike lane.

Thanks,
Sean Hurley

I've just scrolled through all of the posts, and the main theme is that since it isn't safe to cycle in Toronto, cyclists break rules (ride on sidewalks, roll through stop signs), in order to stay alive.

I think all the serious cyclists (let's rule out the morons who happen to be on a bike who have no helmet, no bell, and are sometimes dressed all in black with no lights and are drunk while riding at night) would agree that cycling on sidewalks is wrong, as is rolling through a stop sign.

Yet still we do it.

The obvious answer to all this is to make cycling a practical and safe alternative mode of transportation. All these other symptoms (i.e. sidewalk riding) would then disappear.

And why would we N.O.T. put money and effort into facilitating cycling as a mode of transportation? How can there be any doubt that the age of the car is doomed? The city's streets and expressways are over capacity, smog days are going to become the norm, "peak oil" is coming and one day you'll have to be a millionaire to be able to afford to drive a car.

Cycling is truly the most obvious answer to urban transportation problems.

Make it safe, and most of the beefs against rude cyclists will disappear, and the earth will thank us.

The story today, 'Promises, Promises' on May 31, focused on the slow progress in getting bike lanes built. A big factor in this is the foot dragging by some City Councillors. There were 15 bike lane projects that were supposed to be built in 2005 which would have added about 16 km to the existing 64 km of bike lanes.

Only 1 of those projects with a length of about 1 km
actually got designed and built. In 2006 there are 19 more bike lane projects proposed totaling about 30 km of bike lanes. That means there is a back log of 33 projects.

All of these projects have to go through an approval process to designate bike lanes on the respective streets. The individual ward Councillors have a great deal of influence on whether and when the approval process gets started for a bike lane in their ward. They also have an inordinate amount of influence on the outcome of that process. It is almost impossible to get City Council to approve a bike lane if the local councillor is opposed.

The way to try to overcome this road block is for community members, who want to see the bikeway network of lanes expand into their neighbourhoods, to contact their Councillors.

A strong show of community support may embolden the
supportive but timid councillors, convince the neutral and maybe even change the minds of the skeptics on council. So if you want more bike lanes in your ward call your local Councillor.

Of those 33 projects I mentioned so far this year only 5 are approved and ready for construction to proceed, 3 are are awaiting approval at Community Council, and the other 25 haven't yet started the approval process. If you want to see a list of the projects I have posted an article at a cycling news web site: www.biketoronto.ca.

The URL for the 2005 & 2006 Project update is http://biketoronto.ca/topic/show/538.htm

There there is a list of projects with the Councillor's name and a link to their contact info.

As Councillor Mihevc said in the interview, progress is being made on getting the overall funding for cycling infrastructure increased with $3.0 million approved in 2006 and $6.0 million recommended (but not yet approved) in 2007. The problem lies in getting the projects this money is supposed to pay for approved so that the money can be spent.

I wonder what happens to all of the stolen bikes. Are most bikes being stolen by a few people and being sold through used bike stores? If the police could cut off the 'wholesale' market for used bikes, I think a lot of bike theft would disappear.

Funny you should mention... tune in tomorrow for more on that very subject!
-Webmaster

Dear all,

I will have to admit that after reading the majority of the comments in this forum I am energised by the interest in cycling. There seem to be more than enough people interested in the notion of cycling as being a viable option. Then again why wouldn't they be? It is a mode of transport that is very efficient and reduces the size of the city at very little environmental, spatial, economic, or social cost. To the contrary in maximizes these costs to the benefit of its citizens.

The next steps are clear:

Promote safe cycling (this means you, the average citizen, and don't forget big media too)

Make cycling an issue for your counsellors (http://biketoronto.ca/)

I thank you for your time,

andreas

It's very simple. Vehicles can't hit cyclist. It's assault, pure and simple. You are not allowed to take a 2-ton weapon and launch it into a cyclist. I don't care if the cyclist is weaving helmet-less, without reflectors in the middle of the night. YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT.

Enforce the law and punish the morons (namely any dump-truck drivers, to whom it will have to be explained with diagrams and 1 syllable words..) that hit cyclist. THEN, we can deal with cyclist breaking the laws and endangering the livelihood of pedestrians. Allowing the bikes to ride on roads, bike lanes, and paths without fear of being murdered by people driving vehicles. Pedestrians will then have the sidewalks to themselves. But make no mistake about it, if you don't punish drivers who hit cyclist, its fair game and pedestrians will be treated the same way that vehicles treat cyclist.

As for going through stop signs and red lights when there's no traffic coming, GET A LIFE! Get yourself a bike and get a cheap thrill 'breaking the law!' You'll love it.

Everyone breaks the rules these days in Toronto.

Most motorists speed, roll through stop signs and make illegal turns.

Most pedestrians jaywalk and don't pay attention to crosswalk lights.

Cyclists are also Pedestrians and Drivers. Why should anyone expect them to behave any differently when on a bike?

Bicycle Theft

Just to show how some (important) parts of the community do not care at all about promoting cycling, healthy youth, environment etc. I'll give you an example.

My son is grade 10 student at Northern Secondary School at Mt Pleasant and Eglinton. He and many of his friends would love to be able to go to school by their bikes. It is fast, convenient, enjoyable and inexpensive. But, after their bikes were stolen several times (my son's 4 bikes were stolen last year at his school), it became very expensive.

Problem is that bicycle parking racks are located behind the school where thieves can operate without being seen or disturbed by anyone. It would be different if they install racks in front of the school where it would be much more difficult to steal bikes. Not to mention that the school could do a little bit more for its students like providing some safe place for students to keep their bicycles.

If we want to be successful in promoting cycling the whole community needs to be involved, especially schools. Isn't that part of their educational role in a community?

I am writing to express my appreciation of your discussion about bicycle theft, and the questions to the chief about related priorities. I, myself, have been the victim of bicycle theft - to the tune of almost $7000 - and Chief Blair's good council for purchasing a good lock can be a highly successful deterrant.

Nevertheless, there resides a deeper issue for Toronto cyclists - especially those who do so as a daily commute. What concerns many of us is a lack of consistent support for our right to safe passage on Toronto's streets. A yearly death-count little affects planning policies, and my own personal experiences with police have left my disheartened and skeptical.

I have been year round cyclist in Toronto for 15 years, first as university student and then as elementary teacher. In this time it has not been uncommon for me to have conflicts with other road vehicles - most frequently over what could be naively called 'sharing the lane'.

These problems include being cut-off by right hand turns, doors opening into the right of way (especially in our bicycle lanes), being squeezed into the curb by inattentive passing, and outright aggressive 'too close' passing by other vehicles. These experiences are always frightening and have resulted in my growing acceptance that perhaps Toronto is not a safe city for bicycle commuting.

My experiences when turning to police for support have had inconsistent results. I must say that I have had some very positive experiences, but even these stand out as highly personal efforts by individual officers, especially when nothing was on the books. By contrast, when calls were made to detachments, I was by no means adequately served. Two examples:

1) when struck in a 'hit and run' resulting in minor injuries but significant damage on the lakeshore, I got my self to work, only to be told when I called that I had left the scene of the accident and had only small claims court as recourse.

2) when cut off and intentionally struck by a taxi - I wouldn't move over enough for him (again minor injuries but bicycle damage) , my mobile call quickly brought a cruiser from the nearby division, only to have my report taken and, as it seems to have been tossed out with no follow up.

I must acknowledge that there are many and frequent errors of cyclists, many of whom I have to shake my head at - driving through open street car doors etc; I do not even mean to suggest that I am above errors. What concerns me is the added risk to cyclists as a result of inattentive and frequently belligerent driver actions. Our natural recourse is to turn to the police where, regrettably, my service has been inconsistent - I truly feel indifferently served, and seldom protected.

A big 'shout out' to the King Street streetcar drivers who clearly work WITH cyclists. There are those of us out there who notice how you time your stops, and we happily stop for and will even block for your open doors (negligent autos and other bikes.

Thanks guys

I am an educator and committed cyclist - have been for 15 years in this city. When I say cyclist, I mean that I use my bicycles as transportation, be that leisure or commuting. I do own a car, and live 5 minutes from a subway stop, but rarely use these transportation alternatives.

I applaud the CBC for looking into the issues related to cycling in Toronto. The various perspectives of your personalities have helped to give the broader public a rounder understanding of cycling issues in the city - even the naive ones.

What needs to be said more clearly is that regressive social forces persist to inhibit effective change for cycling in this city. Most of these forces have been commented on, through 'talk back' or on the forum. What I would like to say is that these forces contribute to dishearten cyclists and alienate them as citizens, with the result that simply getting on a bike represents some kind of cavalier behaviour, especially in their own minds.

I have been the vigilante reacting to anti-cyclist attitudes - especially by autos - with profanity and the occasional reactive vandalism. I no longer believe in the tactics that I have employed in the past (embarrassed really), and am trying to reform as a bicycle ambassador.

Yet this process is hard, since almost daily I continue to have experiences that confirm my relationship to motor vehicles as oppositional. Worse, the very services and structures that are meant to help mediate these conflicts prove impotent, and frequently unsupportive of cycling.

My fight is to remain hopeful that things will change as I try to change myself. The sheer density of cyclists these days seems reassuring, except that this only means more conflicts (and perhaps bad cyclist behaviour) until structures and services are adequately changed to reflect our needs.

Hi: I've enjoyed the series on cycling and have many conflicting responses to the various comments. However, I'm crabby today, so I'm going to b**ch about errant cyclists.

As I went about some errands on my bike today I enjoyed several forms of crappy cycling etiquette. First, making a left hand turn on a green light at a t-junction I nearly collided with an oblivious cyclist as she pedaled through the red light along the top of the T.

No cars coming from the right, so might as well cruise on
through.

Stopped at a red light, just turning green, as I began to pedal anoher bright light blasted past, nearly knocking me into the sidewalk because he wasn't intending to stop for the red light anyway and I guess I was just some sort of street furniture.

Could go on and on, and honestly, I don't love rules either, but if we all follow the few simple ones that exist out there, most of the problems would go away. Being polite doesn't kill you. Driving like an idiot can.

Oh yes, saw a nice city-sponsored sign at a bit of road under construction: Cyclists: share road with drivers. Who thought that one up?

Thanks for the chance to crab,

Stephanie

Riding on the sidewalk may be against the law but is the only safe and comfortable means of cycling in some areas.

Should we force elderly cyclists being off the sidewalks because some riders are idiots?

Get a bike with 24" wheels and ride the sidewalks legally.

I neither own a car nor drive and the bicycle is my main means of transportation all year round. I neither live nor work downtown and my commute is entirely in the suburban hinterlands of Toronto (Scarborough, North York) so I generally use main arterials.

I am a certified Can-Bike instructor and taught course for the City from 1991 to 2001, and strongly feel cycling safety education such as Can-Bike is as important, if not more so, to improve the safety of cyclists (Can-Bike information can be found here: ).

The City should also be pressuring the Province to educate motorists on how to share the road more safely with cyclists.

The City of Toronto has an very good cycling plan (http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/bikeplan/index.htm) which outlines six initiatives to improve the cycling environment in Toronto: Safety & Education, Bike Friendly Streets, Bikeway Network, Cycling & Transit, Bike Parking and Promotions. However much of the focus has been on the Bikeway Network and on how little of it has actually been implemented. The other five initiatives have also seen spotty progress.

For my money, there are two areas of the plan that I would put the most energy towards:

Safety & Education: let's expand Can-Bike - it needs more instructors trained and more courses offered throughout the City. We need to get bike course for kids in the schools - good habits start early.

Bike Friendly Streets: this goes beyond installing bike lanes - it would include such initiatives as widening curb lanes, making sure traffic signals work for bikes, keeping safe, comfortable access through construction zones.

Bike Parking: ensure there is safe, secure parking for bikes throughout the city. With the high level of theft, cyclists need to have a secure protected area to park their bikes.

The City councillor and Chairman of the Toronto City Cycling Committee should stop whining about bike lanes and get on his bike and learn how to ride in traffic without irrelevant features such as bike lane lines. The last thing cyclists need is ignorant politicians and bureaucrats making things worse.

Bike lanes have no basis in traffic engineering or justification from traffic research. They have been created solely as a sop to incompetent cyclists or those who refuse to acquire traffic skills. Any 10 year old can operate in traffic with training, either from certified instructors or experienced cycling parents. If you think you need bike lanes (which actually increase the risk to cyclists by placing them in inapropriate positions relative to other traffic) you probably shouldn't be riding a bicycle beyond your own driveway.

To would-be cyclists I say, ignore the anti-car activists who make cycling sound dangerous by blaming all cycling problems on to car drivers, and instead join a club to acquire necessary on-road skills. Then you'll enjoy cycling for what it is - a safe, healthy and life-extending activity.

The Ontario Traffic Act, which applies to bicycles, requires cyclists to come to a full stop at stop signs. Like most cyclists, except Kevin, to judge from his comments on the issue, I don't.

As a result I got a ticket! The ticketing officer was not impressed by my rationale, which follows: In the approximately 4-mile trip from my home to where I was stopped I pass through 48 stop signs and 5 traffic lights. To comply with the law I would have to come to more than 50 complete stops over this distance.

At the speed at which I travel, I would be stopping every 34 seconds! Does even Kevin think that is reasonable way to ride a bike? And if it is not a reasonable expectation, why enforce a law that requires it? Even if there were an effective way of enforcing this law, it would only result in no one riding bicycles in the city - except perhaps on high-traffic streets without stop signs. Is that an outcome anyone wants to see?

When I was ticketed, I was on a City of Toronto bicycle route. But how does the City determine the best streets for cycling? By choosing streets with little traffic. And what streets are they? The ones on which traffic has been discouraged by placing stops signs at every intersection! However, the frequency of signs makes the route impractical for bicycles IF THEY HAVE TO STOP AT EVERY STOP SIGN, as the law requires.

Faced with this contradiction (a bike route along streets where cycling within the law is impractical), cyclists apparently have either concluded erroneously that the law does not apply to them or that the police will not enforce the law. The result in either case is the same: cyclists do not stop at stop signs.

This can be easily confirmed by observing cyclists on Barton Street between Bathurst and Christie streets, my bike route alternative north of Bloor Street. How can anyone be faulted after a few days on this route for believing that the City not only condones but encourages cycling through stop signs?

I have a solution: cyclists should be allowed to respond to 'stop' signs like 'yield' signs, i.e., where there is a stop sign, bicycles should yield to other traffic entering the intersection and be prepared to stop - this is what most cyclists are already doing.

P.S. I went to Court to fight my 'traffic violation' and my case was dismissed because the ticketing officer failed to show.

For those people living in the York Region, I found their bike plan: http://www.region.york.on.ca/Departments/Planning+and+Development/ Pedestrian+and+Cycling+Master+Plan.htm

In regards to Jame Henderson's comments about the stop signs and impractical routes: I agree whole heartedly. I've been riding to work for a couple months now, and I'm constantly annoyed by the way the traffic flow works for cyclists.

I've become a bit of a rolling stopper at stop signs... if I'm riding through a residential area and there are no cars around (and no kids, so I'm not setting a bad example), I slow, downshift, then go again. If there are any cars, I stop, but I don't unclip unless I have to.

One thing I'm not clear on is the ability for cyclists to pass cars on the right. For example, approaching a red light with a long string of cars, is it acceptable for me to go up the right side to the front of the line? I frequently get stuck in traffic jams that can add 20 minutes to my ride, and have since given up and bypass traffic by taking the sidewalk (tsk tsk, I know), or riding on the lawn (I have a mountain bike to commute with).

That is the only place where I see bike lanes being a positive - when approaching an intersection thats backed up with cars, I can ride to the front of the line without getting honked at, or being blocked by drivers sitting along the curb. Otherwise, I find drivers don't respect the lane, and they give a false sense of security.

I believe cyclists should be able to jump the line, either on the left or right, and stop signs should be yields. We're trying hard to cut pollution and traffic, it would be nice if we could get a break!

Promote more bicycle commuting by providing bicycle lock up stations at subway stations, TTC terminals, GO terminals, bus stops, shopping malls, work places, etc. This will be an incentive for those who want to bike to work or to transit connections rather than take the car. Especially in the suburbs, I see bikes locked to posts and fences incertain transit stops. If proper lock up stattions are provided more people would use their bikes rather than cars which adds congestions and pollution in parking lots and roads.

Good covered, secure, security monitored bike lock up areas provided by TTC, GO, the city, corporate or other can promote more bike users who won't use their bikes because of the lack of proper bike parking lock up stations. I am sure that these are available in Europe and work well to promote bike commuting and other bike use.

This is a great opportunity for Toronto to get biking more, get healthy, get to know each other, reduce congestion and pollution and get mobile!!

Well I'm hearing some consensus here, particularly with respect to the letter of the HTA law and the physics of human-powered transportation.

Let's hear from the police officers who patrol on bikes.

Do you come to a full stop at each, and every, stop sign? Do you ever get buzzed by cagers who are so frantic to get to the next red light that they don't even notice your official uniforms? Do you always wait in gridlock instead of coasting past alongside the curb? Which way do you swerve to miss a ped who steps into the bike lane to get a better look at oncoming traffic in the car lane: to the left in front of the next dump truck or to the right on to the sidewalk?

Come on folks let's hear from you.

This bike week sucks, my 2nd bike got stolen on sunday evening from my downtown gargage, so every morning, I hear about the day's bike activities & I go into a depression, This does really "suck" as I was really "geared" to participate in a lot of the bike-stuff this week.

Oh well, what to do, some people have no heart & very poor timing!

I ride between 15 and 20 thousand kilometers each year, all year
round. I am commuter (32km each way) and a competitive cyclist
and I'm sure many on this forum would consider me an "outlaw" cyclist. I regularly disregard the HTA. I sometimes fail to yield. I sometimes do not signal my turns. I sometimes ride the wrong way on a one-way street. I do these things (and others) knowing they are illegal and that I risk sanction should I be caught doing them. My guiding principle while riding is this: I will break the
law only when I feel it is safe to do so.

Do I know there is a chance that one day I may miscalculate, or miss something or someone as I break the law? Yes, I know that my riding may put me at risk, but I'd be willing to wager that I am a safer when I ride than 99.9% of cyclists. If anyone thinks that if they merely ride smart, be visible, and obey the law, that they are safe from harm, as a poster from Hamilton claimed,
they are DEAD WRONG. If you imply that cyclists are injured in collisions with cars because 10 blocks back they went through a stop, you are engaged in some seriously fallacious argumentation.

Cyclists aren't killed and maimed by the dozens in this city
because of some payback for riding like a courier, it happens almost entirely for one reason - they aren't seen. There are 2 main reasons why cyclists aren't seen before they are hit. The first is that they ride like they are invisible. They ride between a moving vehicle and the curb while approaching an intersection.
They ride on the sidewalk. They ride through stop signs like they don't exist. They don't use lights at night. They ride with headphones on. Most of these collisions can be prevented with a little rider education. You can put all the side guards you like on trucks, and some people on bikes will find a new way to put themselves in harm's way.

The second reason cyclists aren't seen is going to be a much more difficult problem to solve, and it is the reason why every cyclist is at risk, no matter how law abiding you are or aren't. The reason is that motorists are not trained to expect to see us. If you don't have 4 (or more) wheels, weigh 2 tonnes and have a metal shell, you simply don't exist. The first thing a motorist will
say when they hit a cyclist is "I didn't see her/him." And they mean it. I can ride my bike like I'm driving my car till the cows come home, but until motorists start driving their cars like they're riding a bike it won't make much difference in overall injury rates. And don't get me started on taxi drivers.

I just wanted to share a very recent story from my ride home from work today. I was biking up Bathurst Street, biking in the gutter as I should. Some guy in a red car pulled up real close to me, bumped me just enough to knock me off my bike, gave me the finger and drove off. I wasn't hurt, but certainly shocked and really angry. My husband and I are from Vancouver. When I told him what happened, he said: "Welcome to Toronto. This isn't Vancouver - ride on the sidewalks, please!" Is that really what I am to expect of people in this city?!

Checking in from Halifax, where I listen to various CBC offerings from across Canada in the morning over the internet, to hear local news from across the country.

Like the street car drivers on King Street, the Metro Transit drivers in HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) drive with bikers in mind. I get nods, waves and all sorts of signals from bus drivers that they see me and want both of us to know how we're going to share Spring Garden Road.

I've really enjoyed this programme - it's kept me on Metro Morning all week.

One very obvious problem that hasn't been addressed is the lack of education; for cyclists and motorists.

Most adults cycling today learned as children to stay away from traffic and wear a helmet. That's it.

They weren't taught to ride in traffic according to the rules of the road.

They grow up with a fear of traffic and an un-natural prediliction to demand bike lanes and trust in foam and plastic to get them safely to and from.

They feel thousands of miles of bikelanes is the only way to keep cyclists safe. Their fear-of-traffic will NEVER leave them and we can't afford bikelanes for every place that cylists need to go: to work, school, errands or doctor's appts.

They insist that all these 'bike facilities' will encourage more people to bike, validating the great expense, but studies have shown that bikelanes don't create more cyclists.

There is not much we can do for these people with fear of traffic, but we can do something for the kids coming up.

It's called Cycling Education and the best thing municipal and provincial government could do would be to subsidize Bike-Ed in primary schools.
Hawaii has such a program and it is doing well.

These kids will grow up knowing their place on the road and riding with confidence.

The bonus is when they are old enough to drive they will understand and be tolerant of cyclists, and they will be better drivers.

A child's first bike is their first car.

The cost? Probably a lot less than bikelanes when on-going maintenance is factored in. And motorists and residents won't object as their roads will not be narrowed with bikelane striping.

Good morning,

I enjoyed hearing a section of my post being read today on Metro Morning. However, immediately after reading my words into the microphone, the host indicated that I was wrong to say that Bike Lanes don't improve safety.

I would encourage those interested in the bike lane debate to start here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bike_lane

This article does a good job of objectively describing the issues associated with Bike Lanes. My point is not that they are unsafe, but merely that they are not the magic bullet so many cycling advocates make them out to be.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

sean.

Many of us rode bikes to High School in the 1940's with few problems.
We stayed on the roads and watched at every intersection for cars as did pedesterians.
Bikes were Licenced by law then so it was easier to trace owners and violaters.
Although cyclists and pedestrians may be in the right --they msut realize that a car/truck is bigger and it's to no advatage to challenge either.
It's a much more crowded city to-day and good manners seem scarce. It would help if everyone thought of the city as a family/community where it is worth caring about others around them.

I am OK with folks riding bicycles on sidewalks - there is room for all of us. In fact, I was almost run over by a 14-15 year old on a mountain bike at 4:30pm Thursday while walking on the sidewalk at Lawrence & Yonge. I just jumped aside quickly and thought no more of it. No big deal, at almost 60 I am still agile.

What really bugs me, however, is on weekends when I come across clusters of 8 to 20 bicyclists (usually grown men in spandex suits) hogging a full lane on the country roads (Leslie, Bayview, Warden) north of the city in York Region. I understand the Highway Traffic Act requires vehicles on public roads to keep as far to the right as is practical, but not these guys. These riders spread out across the lane, 3 or 4 bikes wide, they slow motorized traffic down to a crawl (requiring panic stops and then desperate passing maneuvers), they get very rude if you tell them [nicely] to keep right [as I have], and they generally are a nuisance.

And when will the Police start to enforce the helmet law for non-adult bicyclists? Most youngsters I see have no helmets on, and I think this instills in them a certain disrespect for our laws.

To the cyclist at Front and Spadina

Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's my fault! Damn!! I could kick myself for being so inconsiderate as to not recognize your death wish this morning as you sprinted through the red light as I was making a left-hand turn. I AM SO SELF-INVOLVED!! I didn't realize until a little bit later that I was supposed to play a part in this cosmic event. Complete strangers who would first meet with your head crushed under the wheels of my car. Stupid, stupid me for not recognizing this. I promise to be more considerate of your need to die next time. What do you look like again?

As a cyclist who has been riding bikes in Toronto all year round for the past 10 years, I have to say that I constantly find myself having to decide when to follow the law, and when to break it (the majority of the time, I follow it).

A perfect example: turning left from a major street onto a side street. As a cyclist, try doing this as a vehicle of the road during rush hour. How are you treated as a "vehicle of the road"? How many automobile drivers out there are saying, "I applaud this; a cyclist obeying the rules of the road. I will wait calmly for him to make a safe turn." Once you have done this a few times as a cyclist, crossing the road at the pedestrian cross walk starts to look like a much better option. Of course, the pedestrians are not happy with you in this case. But what would you rather have: an angry pedestrian, or an angry pedestrian behind 2
tones of moving steel?

This is just one example. Most of the time I do make legal left hand turns, but there are times when I feel my health is too much at risk.

On the other hand, the most important thing for the safety of a cyclist, is that they are seen by the other vehicles around them.
(Note: I'm not a courier.) People complain about couriers
weaving in and out of traffic. But they get noticed. And I would guess they are not the cyclists getting hit. It's the cyclists who are trying to stay out of the way of (or hiding from) the cars.
You can't blame them, it's a natural reaction. When a cyclists gets hit the driver never says, "I hit him because he was acting like a jerk." It's because, "I didn't see him". Trust me, I've been hit a few times (by the way, they were the ones charged).

Riding in the city can be scary. If you know that you'll be treated as a "vehicle of the road", you'll have the confidence to act like one.

The other day, I got this comment after I had pulled up to an
intersection at a red light. There was a large pot hole next to the sewer grate, so I was parked just to the left of the grate. A larger vehicle of the road pulled up behind me, but couldn't get by to make a right hand turn:
"Get the f**k out of the way! What do you think you are - a car!"
Imagine how much calmer that situation would have been if I actually was a "vehicle of the road"...

I like the previous writer have been riding year round in Toronto for a number of years and most of the time obey the rules of the road. Bicycles are not cars and rules meant for cars shouldn't necessarily be applied equally. I ride to work every day, most of the way on designated bicycle route for a distance of 5 km each way. The total number of stop signs and traffic lights enroute from the time I leave home until I reach my destination? twenty five. How many motorists would continue to use a route if it required 25 stops within a five kilometer stretch? If I am on a side street with little traffic, I chose to slow down but keep moving at most stop signs, as I can safely survey the situation and proceed in a safe manner without coming to a complete stop. I yield to cars on a first to arrive basis. It works for me and keeps me moving most of the time.

Secondly, many one way streets are wide enough to accommodate both cars and bicycles riding in the opposite direction.

Slight modification to some of the rules of the road would make life much more accommodating for bikers without putting others at risk.

I'm quite happy to share the road in a courteous manner, but I won't apply rules of the road that are meant for cars that may put me at risk or inconvenience me so much that they discourage me from biking.

Sean said that the host of Metro Morning indicated that he was wrong to say that bike lanes don't improve safety.

And therein lies teh problem. The media constantly spreads myths about cycling without having a clue as to the facts. Because members of the media rode a bike when they were 7 years old, they think they it qualifies them to pronounce on the alleged risks of riding on our roads. Hence they talk about helmets and bike lanes as though these were the solution to cycling problems.

As a life long cyclist over many decades and a regular urban cyclist, I can tell you from years of observation that the folks peddling bicycle are by and large their own worst enemies. Whatever they learned from driving a car safely they quickly forget when on a bicycle.

Next time a media host makes an absurd claim about bike lanes, helmets, or how dangerous cycling is, he should be challenged to present the evidence.

Cycling is a fun, healthy and life extending activity, however it must be practised competently. A ten year old is capable of acquiring the neccessary skills so no one can claim that it is not practicable to ask adults to do teh same.

NOTE FROM DAVE SEGLINS: The on-air comment questioning assertions about bike lanes and safety -- was an attempt to acknowledge that there have been numerous conflicting studies about the net benefits of bike lanes. Not every 'expert' agrees.

Regarding Jen's story (see above) of getting bumped off her bike:

No, being intentionally knocked off your bike by a driver, and having him flash the finger at you, is not what you need to expect of biking in Toronto. That's a terrible story, and I would say that that is a very rare experience.

The only time I've been hit (in about 5 years of mostly year-round commuting) the guy who hit me was supernice - he gave me his name, phone number, where he lived, and told me that if anything goes wrong with my bike he'd pay for it. And the hit wasn't really his fault, we were in heavy traffic and neither of us saw each other until it was too late.

Anyway... welcome to Toronto Jen, and don't give up your bike, most drivers aren't as psychotic as the one you met.

Mr.Seglins and Ms.Wiens: Thank-you for excellent series. Lots of talk about new bike lanes but how about the maintenance of the older established paths?! Just 2 streets over from us there is talk of a new bike lane while an excellent CAR-FREE route exists right down "our" ravine. But it has not been maintained in years. Pavement breaking up causes serious bumps. Pavement missing for several metres in many spots makes for mud, "lakes", and even an exposed culvert where soil has washed away. Also need a "ramp" at one point to avoid dismounting for a curb where the trail crosses a quiet street.
This multi-use trail (walk, run, ski) follows the course of Renforth Creek, from the west end of Eglinton W. bike path, southward through Centennial Park and onward right to Neilson Park near Dundas W. (Toronto). Of course we are still hoping for an extension to Marie Curtis Park on the Lakeshore.
But nobody ever does anything for it. Could it be because our city councillor is known for his thrift?

Last week I wrote in this space about the bike riders who invade the pedestrian sidewalks, creating danger for pedestrians. Well, now I've got it - since there is no incentive for anyone to enforce the law, a solution struck me today as I walked along the pedestrian sidewalk on Queen's Quay West. If I had a sign to sling over my shoulders, something the size of the 'bibs' worn by marathoners, then the cyclists who are riding on the sidewalk in contravention to the law, could read my message, which would be directed to them. Perhaps some enterprising person could make these signs and we poor beleaguered pedestrians would (and I speak for myself only) gladly pay $$ - I could suggest some messages, one might be polite, another might be less so; I'm sure you get my drift. But this is a serious suggestion, I may just make my own crude sign until the aforementioned enterpriser shows up.

I enjoyed your show on bicycles when I was visiting Toronto last week. Hearing about the TTC walkout as I was about to depart for the train to Toronto, I grabbed my scooter--yes, a kid's folding brushed aluminum scooter--and packed it along. After I deposited my bags in my hotel, near the U. of T. campus, I went zipping around town, down to the docks, up to Robart's Library, over to Chinatown, around to Sam's on Younge Street, something that would have taken much more time on public transit and would have cost an arm and a leg by taxi. I figure on a scooter I go about five times my normal walking pace. I do this regularly in Ottawa, and I've done it in London, Berlin, New York, and Vienna when traveling, since I've got flat feet and can't walk far. I highly recommend it. For one thing, scootering is much safer than biking. I can get off and walk if traffic (pedestrian or automotive) gets thick. On the sidewalk, pedestrians usually get out of my way, but it's easy to slip around them; the thing turns on a dime. If I'm shopping, I just sling the scooter over my shoulder. If it starts to rain, I just fold the scooter up and hop on a bus. And I don't have to worry about theft, since I bring the scooter with me into my office. And it's actually a fair to good workout: buns of steel and toes of iron. The only drawback is having to steer around all those jaws dropping on the sidewalk.

In reply to my post of June 2, 2006 06:50 PM, Dave Seglin states, "The on-air comment questioning assertions about bike lanes and safety -- was an attempt to acknowledge that there have been numerous conflicting studies about the net benefits of bike lanes. Not every 'expert' agrees."

I'm glad Dave put the word expert in inverted commas. If the "experts" who claim "there have been numerous studies about the net benefits of bike lanes" then let those experts list the studies here so the "studies" can be exposed for what they are - a sham designed to mislead. Because of the difficulty in comparing like with like (same stretch of roadway under same conditions, same riders, before and after painting of bike lane lines) it is almost impossible to do a credible study of the effects of bike lane stripes.

I stand by what I said originally - bike lanes have no basis in traffic science or roadway engineering. I know from first hand experience. In late 1980's I was a member of the advisory committee helping to put together Ontario's bikeway design guidelines. When bike lane striping was included in the document, they were put there for political purposes to satisfy radical bikeway activists not because there was any data to show they were safer or that professional traffic engineeers thought they belonged.

Dave Seglin, like most members of the public, has been the victim of major intellectual and political fraud.

Why do people compare riding a bike in Belgium or Holland with riding in Toronto?

In above mentioned countries one does not ride on the side walk or goes the wrong way on a oneway street, they follow the rules such as stopping at a light or stop sign, this city needs a bike education week and then maybe a proper bike week.

Toronto is not now nor will it ever be a bike city. Those that think so are dreamers, our roads do not have the space they where build prior to bike traffic.

In Europe the bike came first as the main transportation.

-Steven Scheffer

Andrew Sullivan on May 29, 2006 12:22 PM said:

"Automobile drivers in Toronto are often jerks, too, but at least
they don't drive on the sidewalk. And if they did, the cops might stop them."

Unfortunatly, drivers do and the police don't stop them. While
they may not drive down the street, they do mount the sidewalk, either fully or partially to park their cars illegally, not waiting for the pedestrians to walk out of the way.

We listen to the Metro Morning show every morning and love it !! Thanks for doing such a great job.

Now..Cycling in Toronto & living in Toronto.

I have been cycling (commuting) in Toronto for 10 years all year around and I am not a courier. It is really not a bad place to ride but it could be a-lot better with the addition of more bike lanes that are cleared of snow during the winter. With such a poor transit system this would be a much easier system to develop.

Living in TO. Regretfully we are leaving TO because we cannot afford to bring up our young family here... and I don't think we are of minimalist means. The housing costs are too high we tried on four occasions to buy a house at around the 300k mark with no sucess. We have saved for many years and decided that the value is not here anymore at least for us. And I agree with the multicultural aspect of TO that a listener now moving to Montreal said..the multicultralism of TO is not in TO but outside of TO.

Too bad.

Our money will go elsewhere in the province but our ears will always be with you guys!

Thanks again,
Mark

I am a cyclist. I am also a motorist.

I ride for leisure, for sport, and for transportation. Learning the rules of the road have been an evolution for me ever since I discovered my passion for cycling.

I have 3 simple rules each for cyclists and motorists that may contribute in producing a more peacful co-existence.

For cyclists ...

1 - Never ride on the sidewalk. There is far more danger in either striking a pedestrian or being struck by a turning vehicle. Your speed is not expected by motorists when you're on a sidewalk and they won't look for you, but when you're on the road, your chances of being seen are much greater.

2 - Learn to signal. It's easy and respectful - make it a habit even when there are no cars in sight.

3 - Be Zen-like. By this, I mean that you should be calm and peacful. This state will allow you to connect to the flow of traffic, have a full periphery, and eventually slow the world around you so that you can be a defensive cyclist without having to be so agressive and angry (you know who you are). Chilling out and being in the 'zone' are not contradictions.

For motorists ...

1 - Know the law - cyclists have a legal right to be on the road and your lack of recongnition where you may be putting a cyclist in danger is a serious infraction of the law.

2 - Slow down and give us some room. You'd do it for a horse or a tractor and we fall under the same class. You'd require a lot more room for another vehicle (perspective, perspective, perspective).

3 - If you're a good motorist (most of you are) please educate those that you drive with and be critical of grandma when she get's angry at a cyclist on the road.