this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
116 points (99.2% liked)
Ontario
2173 readers
91 users here now
A place to discuss all the news and events taking place in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Rules
- No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
- Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
- No porn.
- No Ads / Spamming.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
When 2 tons of metal guided by tired humans that can barely see me while going twice my maximum speed less than a foot away from me is a "bike lane", I'd rather walk than risk death at far too early in the morning. Especially when that "bike lane" is broken up by parked cars.
At least give me a curb. A protected bike lane is the bare minimum I'd wager my life with, even with the danger of right hooks. Those cars could instantly kill entire families, and you want me to ride next to semi trucks, separated by paint?
Then walk! Don't risk your life. But don't stay on your bike and risk the life of pedestrians and cause then the same stress cars cause you when you're cycling. That's just inconsiderate. I live in an area filled with elderly people who can easily get killed by a cyclist crashing into them. You're scared to ride your bike even in the bike lane? Fine. Put the bike away and walk. Don't become the problem to someone else
I'm sorry, do you think bikes are incapable of slowing down? Do you think walking should be protected as a hobby? Do you think the answer to better transportation is less transportation?
Your answer is to get a car or wake up at 4:30. I'd love to have an actual bike lane where I can go faster, but that's not always possible. If the only acceptable place for a bike is dedicated infrastructure, bikes will never be used.
Reckless driving is one thing, but excluding bicycles from 99.99% of North America is a crazy reaction. It's difficult to even find data about pedestrian-cyclists collisions; based on hospital data in the UK only 2% of pedestrian deaths or serious injuries are caused by collisions with bicycles, while 96% are caused by motor vehicles.
If you're so worried, make sure to support public transit and cycle infrastructure. I'd love to use separate lane pathways, or even better light rail, but until then I need to bike and not die.