Bike Lanes

I am a bicyclist, and I support bike lanes on two conditions:

1.      Common sense

I use St. Olaf Avenue a lot. It takes me most of the way to the Mill Towns Trail to Dundas.

The signs on St. Olaf Avenue and other streets say to motorists and bicyclists, “Bikes May Use Full Lane,” “Share the Road,” etc.

For 34 years, that’s what I thought we were doing – sharing the road. I stay to the right and cars swerve around me. In other words, we have a compact with drivers: we both want to get to our destination safely.

City Council decided that two-lane bikeways (near Carleton) is what we need.  No, we don’t. Bicyclists ride with traffic, so putting bicyclists on the left is not common sense. Similarly, before installing any bike lane, we must have data on the number of cyclists who use that street and the projected growth.

You can also have a safe bike lane without concrete barriers. If council or staff insist on a concrete barrier, there must be evidence for why. Start with the data on usage, provide the pros and cons, and end with a policy that meets the common sense test.

2.      Neighborhood Buy-in

My second condition is about our neighborhoods. I understand those who want everyone (or at least more of us) to bike. It’s climate friendly and fossil fuels should be kept in the ground, and we can maybe encourage more people to bike if there are dedicated lanes, however, the city should not force neighborhoods to accept the bike lanes that city planners want. The neighborhood must have input. They live there!

Many of the current bike lanes are controversial because the residents were ignored. Those lanes are not even on an artery (major roadway). Again, listen to the neighbors. They live, drive, walk and bike there.

I will support fixing ALL of the streets in need of repair BEFORE another bike lane is laid down. That’s in the interest of drivers and bicyclists.