Originally Posted by rousseau
I agree, coalminecanary. There is a fundamental mindset about the perceived superiority and preeminence of motorized vehicular traffic that predominates here (and, let's face it, everywhere in the world outside of Amsterdam) that really needs to change. Grassroots activists are working to raise awareness towards making streets more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, but ultimately what needs to happen is a combination of legislation and public education, similary to what has happened with smoking over the past twenty or so years.
Problem is, not everyone was hooked on tobacco back in the day, and the analogy grinds to a halt when you consider the utilitarian nature of motorized traffic. It's one thing to make smoking as prohibitive as possible, as even the die-hard smokers in their 60s and 70s will admit that it's a filthy, disgusting and unhealthy habit, but it's quite another to convince the "soccer mom" that she doesn't need a Ford Explorer.
Further to that are the obvious infrastructure issues. Ms. Soccer Mom probably does indeed need to drive her mammoth gas-guzzler everywhere because the closest grocery store is 10 kms away in the Meadowlands.
Still, we need to start with the obvious, like making streets and roads more pedestrian friendly, and slowing traffic down. Main Street in Hamilton is ridiculous. Synchronized lights affording you a 10-minute trip from the 403 to Gage Park are a travesty (hell, I'd sooner have seen James South and John South stay one way and have streetside parking on the length of both sides of both streets, but that's another issue).
I don't think it is disrespectful in the slightest to hold up this terrible accident as yet another example of how wrong-headed we are when it comes to traffic safety. If real legislation and changes to infrastructure resulted from this, or were inspired by or gained momentum due to what happened, then I would think it would result in a very small sense of consolation for those who are grieving.
Granted, obviously many traffic accidents are purely the fault of the drivers or are simply accidents, but it seems to me that in this case there is cause to point the finger partly at our general mindset, in that we indulge motor vehicles at the expense of flesh-and-blood pedestrians and cyclists far too much.
[Rant]
Further to biking: I'm in Stratford, so 5 minutes in any direction gets me to quiet country roads for my rides. Still, those 5 minutes are as urban as can be. The other evening I was actually hit by a minivan. I was right on the broken line separating the vehicular lane from the parking lane (where I'm supposed to be, though some people argue for "taking the lane"), and while going along a stretch where there were about four spaces with no vehicles parked in them I got a jolt on my elbow and felt a solid object moving along my leg and shoulder. A minivan buzzed me! It wasn't going much faster than me, and didn't knock me over or injure me at all. Still, I was furious. I caught up to the van, knocked on the window, and berated this middle-aged couple for hitting me. You know what they said? They said that I had so much room, so what was I doing in their lane?! I swore at them liberally and told them they had to give me room when passing. They shook they heads and took off, so I scampered over to the cop shop and reported them. The cops were sympathetic, and actually filed an accident report. They later called me and said they would have the driver call me to apologize. I was still angry when they called, so I let my answering machine take it. The driver said that they were motorcyclists (!), so were aware of the dangers of traffic, but they weren't sure of what had actually happened back there, and since I was still on my bike when she checked the mirror she figured that nothing had actually happened. Then, when I caught up to them, she said they would have been willing to talk about it, but my attitude was so aggressive that no further discussion was possible. Yeah, I tend to think people can get a little aggressive when they get hit by complacent people in cars! I like to think that my reaction and the fact that the police contacted them gave them pause for thought, and perhaps next time they won't be so quick to buzz by a cyclist in his or her rightful place in the lane. I hope so, anyway.
[/Rant]
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