RE: Road safety for some, sometimes

I appreciated Albert Koehl’s excellent editorial piece regarding the serious hazards bike riders face as underlined by the recent death of a young female cyclist on Bloor Street. 

Construction projects and aggressive motorists indeed present a serious challenge to bike safety especially in situations where there are merge points. 

I absolutely agree that the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in those situations must be paramount as they are the most vulnerable. However, in the same way that cyclists are at risk from aggressive motorists, pedestrians are at risk from aggressive cyclists.

I live at the corner of St. George Street and Lowther Avenue and frequent the Annex neighbourhood as a pedestrian. I have to say that most of my near-death experiences have been related to cyclists rather than cars. 

On St. George Street many cyclists interpret stop signs as mere roadside decoration as they whip through intersections with nary a pause. 

At night one often encounters cyclists dressed in black with no lights or reflectors on their bikes. 

My wife and I have both had close encounters with cyclists riding on sidewalks, the supposedly safe domain for pedestrians. Rarely do the cyclists dismount as they should. 

Albert Koehl has also written in a recent newspaper article about the virtues but also the challenges of e-bikes. They are heavier and faster. A physician friend in her seventies was recently on holiday in Vancouver walking on a pedestrian path in Stanley Park when she was struck from behind by an e-bike. 

She sustained serious injuries including a concussion, broken nose and kneecap, herniated disc, among others. There was a bicycle path beside the pedestrian path.

I have been a cyclist in this city and support the expanding cycling infrastructure. However, with opportunity comes responsibility. 

The cycling community must make a serious effort to comply with the laws of the road and have more respect for the rights of pedestrians. 

In addition, as Albert Koehl states in the aforementioned newspaper article, the government should introduce educational programs for cyclists as well as legislation governing the classification of e-bikes.

—Yours Sincerely,
David Sisam

READ MORE:

• FORUM: Bike lanes are a solution to congestion, not the cause (Oct./Nov. 2024)
• EDITORIAL: Road safety for some, sometimes (Summer 2024)
• NEWS: Bike lanes to extend to High Park (Sept. 2019)
• CHATTER: Ground-breaking bike lanes launch on Bloor Street (AUGUST 2016)
• FOCUS: An early advocate for bike lanes (JUNE 2016)
• NEWS: Bike lanes for Bloor Street (May 2016)
• The faster we lower speeds, the more lives we save (October 2015)