Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith P.
Well, 100 years ago the govts of the time did not build roads to encourage vehicle use. People realized they were a solution to a lot of problems and bought vehicles to replace horses and buggies. Only then was adequate street/road infrastructure developed. Cycling is just the opposite. There has never been a critical mass *cough* of cyclists large enough to justify the amount of money HRM is wasting spending on bike lanes and their associated foolishness.
Speaking of which, Wednesday mid-afternoon (so not a particularly busy time of day) I passed 8 vehicles queued up on Wyse Rd waiting to make a right turn onto Boland which were prevented from doing so by Sam Austin's absurd "no right on red" rules for the ghost cyclists who allegedly ride there. It was ridiculous since there was nothing that would have prevented them from making that turn safely both for them and anyone else. HRM doing its part for climate change I guess.
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Road networks evolved from walking paths to wider roads to accommodate horses and wagons. Sidewalks were built so that people could have a place to walk, away from the horse and wagons. Cars came along which were faster and heavier, roads were paved, more sidewalks were built as it was becoming even less safe for pedestrians to mix with moving traffic. A sidewalk network was created, even in areas where there wasn't a lot of pedestrian traffic, so that people could walk from one area to another, safely. It was an evolution in infrastructure.
Now, we are faced with massive population growth, and the threat of climate change. Road networks to facilitate cars grew to be massive and ubiquitous, and sidewalks have followed. More people want to travel independently of public transit, but they don't want to (or can't afford to) drive cars. Bicycles are this neat little piece of technology that have been around forever (even before cars), are compact and light, don't require fuel, and are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Their use has caught on in other cities, and they have become a recognized alternative to the car in urban areas around the world.
Problem is, riding on the street with vehicles that have become larger, faster, heavier, and in many cases more difficult to see a cyclist out of (try driving one of those massive pickups that are all over the place now), has become much more dangerous now. Vehicles now have infotainment units with touch screens that require taking your eyes off the road to operate. Drivers are still using cell phones while driving, despite that it has been made illegal to do so (I see it every day). Vehicles have all kinds of sensors and nanny systems that give a false sense of security, and (IMHO) drivers have become even less attentive and less skillful than ever. People are more stressed and more aggressive than ever, and it shows in their driving.
Cyclists rightfully feel unsafe, and the theory is that if infrastructure is further evolved, more cyclists will come out of hiding and start to use their bikes on the cycling infrastructure, to the benefit of everybody, actually, as it helps reduce pollution (i.e. helps mitigate climate change), plus less motor vehicles on the road would theoretically result in less wear and tear on the street network, and yes, less vehicle traffic, making for a better driving experience for those who still use cars.
As I see it, evolving the infrastructure to include a cycling network, will potentially draw cyclists to that network, and away from more contentious roads. As usage grows, the network will be optimized for efficiency and cost, and mistakes made along the way (like those signals you like to complain about, perhaps) will be worked out of the system and cycling networks will become standardized infrastructure, just like sidewalks have become.
Also, if the network is built, but never used, new cycling infrastructure projects will likely not be created out of a cost/benefit calculation. I suspect, though, that this won't be the case as the infrastructure in places like Montreal, as discussed, is well used, and optimized (like temporary lanes that exist in the nice weather seasons but disappear in winter when they are not used so much).
The past will always be the past, and the present will also become the past, but the future is what we have to anticipate. Cycling growth is something we anticipate, but we don't know how it will go until we actually make an effort to do something about it. We have to try, and then let the cards fall as they may...
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