
Looks idyllic, doesn't it? Well it might not if a disused school gets converted into condos!
"The questions in this 'survey' were very leading and biased. I have met several disabled people who wish they could be cyclists but are limited by mobility issues. They enjoy cycling for the same reason we do: it's kinder to the environment, more affordable and a more joyful experience. However, they don't get to enjoy the sense of community and camaraderie that we enjoy due to some really nasty prejudice. Many of these cyclists pedal when they are able and use the their battery as a back-up. The power assisted bike provide relief when needed, and helps when climbing inclines.I think that I met the same woman on that ride, and I recall how she wanted to take part in the good that cyclists do, but was unable to do so due to an ailment.
I met one of these such individuals at the Bells on Bloor ride. She was out riding in support of the implementation of bike lanes, yet was being shouted at left and right by other cyclists and was actually told to leave. Over the course of the ride, she was forced to explain her situation over and over again. She calmly explained that she wanted more than anything to be a cyclist. She cares about the environment - in fact she traded in her car for her power assisted bike -she's doing the best she can, but she is still treated with disrespect from cyclists. I feel like it's pretty silly to turn away a large and growing group of people who support our cause. They're in the same boat as we are, they just want safer less car-monopolized streets.
I'm a cyclists Union member, and a cycling advocate. Can we discuss something more productive now?"
This is bullshit! Many have pointed out that the war analogy is offensive; nothing remotely resembling a war is happening in Toronto, least of all traffic-wise. Since they've started using this term, I have noticed that drivers are acting out their frustrations more against cyclists. To me, there seems to be an obvious connection between a group being told that they are at war and an increase in violence from that group.A s I inched my car along Wellesley St. East in morning traffic earlier this week, I watched a lone bicyclist merrily speed by me in his designated bike lane.For cyclists like him, the recently installed bike lane on Wellesley is a welcome development.
But for fuming motorists like me, the bike lane is an unmitigated disaster because it has narrowed the street, slowing traffic and significantly increasing commuting time. And then there's all the extra pollution caused by having our cars and trucks stuck longer in traffic.
The Wellesley bike lane – used only by that one cyclist as I sat idling in traffic – is just another scrimmage in the rapidly escalating "war on cars" raging these days across Toronto.
The phrase "war on cars" is being used frequently in the local media to describe some restrictions on driving. The use of the expression is not only offensively inaccurate, but also dangerous.The image is modified from barn with old car by lapstrake.
This term implies a violence that was not part of this discussion a month ago. Since the term became popular, I've noticed a dramatic increase both in the number and in the severity of incidents of aggressive drivers threatening me with their vehicles.
I used to encounter only one or two aggressive or threatening drivers per week during commutes or other recreational cycling. Now it is more often a daily event. A group of people is repeatedly being told that they are at war; the increase in violence from this group is natural.
Please stop referring to the democratically enacted replanning of a small number of streets and intersections as a war. You are imparting a violence into the discussion that has the potential to harm people.