ArmChair Mayor article 29 May
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I responded to an article posted by David Johnson re 6th avenue bike lane. The article was a pretty typical rant. My response:
The City just spent $3.4 million to add an extra turning lane onto Pacific Way. I believe the City is paying for all of that and some of it through long term debt. That is only one of a great many vehicle centred projects this year. So, yes your grand daughter is going to inherit debt but bike lanes aren’t going to be much of it.
There are issues with the 6th Avenue bike lane in that it can be argued that it is overbuilt. However, it isn’t an issue of not needing a bike lane, rather it really is an issue of connectivity which was much too casually dismissed by Mr. Johnson. We could argue 6th vs 5th Avenue forever, but really the problem is the bike path ending at Lansdowne. Council decided to not approve a bike lane on Lansdowne, noting it would remove a few centimetres of width from the vehicle lanes, so here we find ourselves. A road to nowhere until additional Active Transportation infrastructure is built out. That may happen when the Performing Arts Centre is built so don’t damage our options before that by spending a lot of money to remove the lane.
Cycling in Kamloops became a much more viable option for many with the rise of the eBike. It essentially flattens the city so the trail in Peterson Creek (Xget’tem Trail) isn’t just one way or limited to Tour de France cyclists. However, most people considering riding a bike, need to be separated from traffic to feel safe. It doesn’t help that cars are on average a foot wider than they were in 2013 and the F150 is longer that a World War 2 Sherman or Panzer tank. It doesn’t help that the average SUV driver can’t see a child in front of their car in a parking lot. It doesn’t help that the maximum legal speed limit isn’t even the minimum socially acceptable speed. Hence the need for separated bike lanes, and, YES, build a connected system and it will be used.
Regarding the quip about cyclists running red lights. The scale of this issue is a true urban myth, especially compared to drivers. Multiple studies have shown that cyclists break fewer laws than drivers and I am not aware of a study suggesting otherwise. One large study using cameras at intersections showed about 5% of cyclists breaking laws when on bike paths and 14% when not on bike paths. However, an earlier study showed that 66% of drivers were found to be breaking laws. The myth comes from bad driving behaviour being normalized and thus not noticed while bad behaviour from ‘others’ stands out.
Finally, we often say we want a ‘family friendly’ city. Don’t separated bike lanes move in that direction? Wouldn’t it be nice for a family to be able to cycle to City events or even for kids to cycle to school? Is that so bad?
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I responded to an article posted by David Johnson re 6th avenue bike lane. The article was a pretty typical rant. My response:
The City just spent $3.4 million to add an extra turning lane onto Pacific Way. I believe the City is paying for all of that and some of it through long term debt. That is only one of a great many vehicle centred projects this year. So, yes your grand daughter is going to inherit debt but bike lanes aren’t going to be much of it.
There are issues with the 6th Avenue bike lane in that it can be argued that it is overbuilt. However, it isn’t an issue of not needing a bike lane, rather it really is an issue of connectivity which was much too casually dismissed by Mr. Johnson. We could argue 6th vs 5th Avenue forever, but really the problem is the bike path ending at Lansdowne. Council decided to not approve a bike lane on Lansdowne, noting it would remove a few centimetres of width from the vehicle lanes, so here we find ourselves. A road to nowhere until additional Active Transportation infrastructure is built out. That may happen when the Performing Arts Centre is built so don’t damage our options before that by spending a lot of money to remove the lane.
Cycling in Kamloops became a much more viable option for many with the rise of the eBike. It essentially flattens the city so the trail in Peterson Creek (Xget’tem Trail) isn’t just one way or limited to Tour de France cyclists. However, most people considering riding a bike, need to be separated from traffic to feel safe. It doesn’t help that cars are on average a foot wider than they were in 2013 and the F150 is longer that a World War 2 Sherman or Panzer tank. It doesn’t help that the average SUV driver can’t see a child in front of their car in a parking lot. It doesn’t help that the maximum legal speed limit isn’t even the minimum socially acceptable speed. Hence the need for separated bike lanes, and, YES, build a connected system and it will be used.
Regarding the quip about cyclists running red lights. The scale of this issue is a true urban myth, especially compared to drivers. Multiple studies have shown that cyclists break fewer laws than drivers and I am not aware of a study suggesting otherwise. One large study using cameras at intersections showed about 5% of cyclists breaking laws when on bike paths and 14% when not on bike paths. However, an earlier study showed that 66% of drivers were found to be breaking laws. The myth comes from bad driving behaviour being normalized and thus not noticed while bad behaviour from ‘others’ stands out.
Finally, we often say we want a ‘family friendly’ city. Don’t separated bike lanes move in that direction? Wouldn’t it be nice for a family to be able to cycle to City events or even for kids to cycle to school? Is that so bad?
@RobHiggins Very nice job, Rob! I see your comment has become the current "featured comment" on the front of the armchair mayor's site.
