this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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They really need to educate cyclists in peel about bike lanes. My neighborhood and every street around it has bike lanes, yet I regularly get passed by bikes on the sidewalk as the road and bike lane sits empty. Those bikes zipping past me are just as scary to me as cars are to cyclists, so just use the bike lanes
Do you feel safe biking on a road with a painted line "protecting" you from drivers?
I don't feel safe as a pedestrian, walking with my kids and having a jackass on a bike zip past us at high speeds. Why bitch that you want bike lanes then cry cause you're too scared to use them. Then fucking put the bike away. You're as dangerous to me on your bike as a car is to you. Inconsiderate fucks, and then you wonder why people hate cyclists in this city. You finally get the bike lanes and now you refuse to use them while continuing to bitch. Fuck.
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.
See the following video for why this happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDf8CwcBdiw
I also dislike being passed by cyclists on the sidewalk but, it’s not really equivalent to cars.
Car hitting a cyclist is far more likely to have severe injuries/death than a bike hitting a person.
I'm all for biking and reducing car lanes for bike lanes. But the original argument was being passed on the sidewalk (which bikes should not be on, even if there aren't bike lanes) when bike lanes are present right there.
Obviously getting hit by a car is so much worse. No one is debating that. Is this an example of a straw man argument?
Anyways, bikes should not be on the sidewalk and more bike lanes are a good thing.
Responding specifically to “those bikes zipping past me are just as scary to me as cars are to cyclists”
I do agree that if there’s a safe bike lane, cyclists should be using it, not the sidewalk. I wouldn’t classify all bike lanes as ‘safe’ tho