● Reevely nails it on the head with his article: Ottawa’s bike-friendliness is a lie.
David Reevely is a columnist, blogger, sometime editor, with the Ottawa Citizen, and he is also a cyclist (as least a cyclist insofar that he has been commuting to work by bicycle for years).
He recently wrote a column entitled “Ottawa’s bike-friendliness is a lie“. In it, he lists a whole slew of matters where Ottawa does a half-ass job or completely fails at accommodating cyclists. Unfortunately, I have to agree with him. All too often, the city (and the NCC) deals with cycling need as an afterthought, an optional undertaking, or as a major exception to the way things are usually done.
His column generated the usual feed back from people who think cyclists already get too much and are “jerks”. As a result, he wrote a follow-up piece entitled “The biking myths that won’t die“.
Both are worth a read.
here’s a recent one- http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/07/07/police-warning-to-motorists-dont-honk-at-cyclists
kind of reminds me of some 3rd world places I’ve biked, where there are no more values nor regards for human life, just a “me” society…
a true measure of society is how it treats its lowest denominator (ie those using simple means of transportation, for example).
its too easy to just jump into 3000lbs of metal now a days. If some people had to bike, they’d cry up a storm like a little baby…
everyone in a rush to go no place fast… or maybe their diaper is full?
most of its a bunch of BS… ottawa isn’t that bike friendly, just look at all the rants after Randal from Chez 106 ranted about cyclists this morning
https://www.facebook.com/1061CHEZ/
, saying they should at least have license plates blah blah blah, as though we are the biggest threat to the earth. (personally, I think donald trump is, who the hell is giving him the keys to the wide and vast arsenal, idiots we are…)
then CBC ( http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/one-metre-rule-ottawa-enforcement-device-1.3650574 ) getting rants from motorists on the new 1.5 meter rule.
Sometimes politicians have to take a hard stance on motorists. They are the bigger threat (peak oil, consume way way more resources, are 3000lbs of metal etc..).
Cyclists should be thanked not spanked, we don’t use too much. Yet, we aren’t given very much without someone putting up a fight…
shameful we have to fight for our rights.
Meanwhile, the bigger threat shames and blames… such is human nature I guess. When things get too easy, humans will fall into the easy trap of shaming and blaming cause its easy to do…
getting on a bike and actually doing work can be a painful task at times.
getting in a car is relatively painless now a days, its almost as if people have their couch attached to their arse… a push button society of fear avoidance and laziness for the most part. A money making machine, they die hard and fast cause they don’t have any values anymore.