Re: NOTEBOOK: New bike repair station at Village Square Park
Further to your article regarding bicycle infrastructure safety. I was travelling south on Stittsville Main the other day and a teenager was riding his bike on the sidewalk going in the same direction facing the traffic on the opposite side of the road.
An SUV was exiting Bradley’s Insurance and I guess she wasn`t expecting a bike coming from her right while she was looking at traffic coming from her left. The bicyclist did a quick turn out onto the roadway to avoid being hit.
Every day you see people riding their bikes on the sidewalk which I believe is illegal. I can see young children riding on the sidewalk on Stittsville Main, but not adults.
Someone is going to get killed or very badly injured. Perhaps we can be pro-active in telling people to obey the rules rather than spending a lot to time following up on something that is preventable. As an elder bike rider, I’ll take my chances on the road. At least drivers know they can expect a cyclist on the road.
Bob Johnson, Stittsville
I had a very similar experience in Stittsville. I was driving down Beverley St. towards Stittsville Main St. I came to the traffic light at Stittsville Main St. and was waiting to turn right on Main St. Traffic was heave and I was looking left and looking left for an opportunity to go. There was an opening in the traffic and I took my foot off the brake when a young cyclist going north crossed the sidewalk at high speed right in front of me. He didn’t look to see that I was looking and crossed right in front of me when I was about to go. That was scary and I would have felt terrible if I hit him. I was not expecting to see a bicycle crossing at high speeds across the sidewalk.
Thanks for your note Stacy.
Does not make a difference what safety measures are discussed to inform or planed in the future.
Bicycles vs Cars, Cars win. This fact is undisputed. A bicyclist for decades I will never cycle on a busy road. I will never put my life in the hands of a motorist.
Thanks for your comment Doug. There’s clearly a need for safe, separated bike routes in our city.
Human rights cost money, for example, license all bicycles and their operators, establish enforceable rules for safety. Vehicle drivers are having difficulty trying to figure out which it is you want to apply: bicycle rules or vehicle rules.Presently cycle has it both ways, one legal and the other against the Law. Because of the cost, it will be difficult to change… are stuck with what we now have presently in place, not to mention common sense. With uncle Donald T setting unorthodox standards to our South, and the other, a North Korean dictator threatens our very right to life and liberty, the least of our worries are not with sidewalks and bicycles; be kind to each other “share” our resources as the threat is becoming too real for us to be tied down with who is right or who is wrong when we both know there are no winners! It is what it is!!!