November 25, 1998
Two-wheeled traffic tyranny
Not that they're bad people, apart from acting like zealots who have just discovered a new religion. And they don't add to the pollution - that is if you don't count their propaganda. I confess I've been known to ride a bike myself. But I'm not counting occasional riders or maniac couriers. This is about those who commute to work by bike and who demand, like environmental guerrillas, more space. They have an advisory committee to Toronto council. They have newsletters, brochures, motivational books, ardent support from the NDP and mushy Liberals and an important coroner recommending they have right of way over motorized vehicles. It's hard, then, to remember they're still a minority, that after cosseting cyclists and giving them a strip of any new road, there are still far more people walking to work than riding a bike. When the 1996 census on commuting in the Toronto area - Ajax to Oakville, up through York region - came out this year from StatsCan, the big news was that commuters maintained their love affair with the car. Did we really need the census to tell us that? The real news for me, still annoyed over dumb changes to important roads to help cyclists and handicap motorists, was that so few actually commute by bike. Almost 1.4 million people commuted by vehicle, 424,590 used transit, 89,145 walked, 14,490 rode bikes and 3,100 took cabs. Why then, thanks to the Jack Layton-Olivia Chow tagteam of traffic harassment, has southern Sherbourne St. been taken from four lanes feeding into the Gardiner and Lake Shore to a congested two lanes just so cyclists have their own asphalt? Especially since I don't see many using it. I was driving up Royal York Rd., which is all gussied up with new pavement - and, of course, bike lanes - and I saw a cyclist. I stopped and savoured the sight, as if I were a birder seeing a rare species for my life list. Most trips along Royal York I never see a cyclist. Same with Prince Edward south of Bloor St., where authorities will put bike lanes anyway. A fast commute for me downtown at 8 a.m. is eastward along Bloor. I've kept track of bike sightings. Generally there aren't any near the Humber until you get to Dufferin St. and then there may be one every two blocks until you get closer to the university and you have the students. If we really cared about keeping a good flow along Bloor, we'd ban bikes during rush hour because each bike interferes with traffic flow for part of the block. But I'm talking heresy. Better to attack the vehicle with just one driver, the enemy of the city, than deal with the effect of just one cyclist on traffic Once upon a time, encouraging cyclists seemed a smart urban idea. After all, two bikes fit into a square metre of parking space while cars devour about 30 square metres each. Look at all the cities where crowds move by bike, where they even have mass rental programs. Yes, but Toronto isn't flat, like, say, Holland. Many days, weather makes a commute by bike more an ordeal than pleasant exercise. And all those cars aren't going to vanish, meaning the 53% who think cycling is dangerous aren't about to change their minds. The coroner, Dr. William Lucas, who investigated 38 cycling deaths over the last 11 years, recommended changing the Highway Traffic Act to give cyclists precedence over drivers to reduce injury. The major problem with his report is that many of these cycling missionaries on our streets - and, unfortunately, sidewalks - break every traffic rule already. They want all the rights of a vehicle plus all the freedom of acting like a pedestrian. Bike supporters say there are only about 50 km of bike lanes along 5,000 km of roads and what we need is an extended lane and trail system. The trails are fun and a separate issue. But council should check those commuting figures again before it builds another inch of bike lane on a busy street. After all, only .8% of commuters will use them, and they'll interfere with the 99.2% who don't. |