🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <JMoulins-0506961107490001@news.mindlink.net>,
   JMoulins@sprynet.com (Joe Moulins) wrote:
>
>Did anyone notice how smoothly traffic moved across the Burrard  
>Street bridge this morning?  (Wednesday)
>
>I was out there with my tape recorder this morning, looking to 
>interview angry motorists.  I couldn't find any.  Traffic was 
>maybe just a tad more congested than usual, but flowed right along.
>Seemed to be enough cyclists to warrant their own lane too.
>
>So does this mean the experiment is a success?   Does this mean 
>cars and bikes CAN co-exist in Vancouver?

We don't need a bike lane on the Burrard Bridge in order to show that 
cars and bikes can co-exist in Vancouver. I ride to work every 
morning without benefit of bicycle lanes. I cycle on normal arterial 
roads, and everything is just fine: motorists give me all the space 
and respect I need. I find riding in traffic to be both easy and fun. 
If you like, you are welcome to join me for a ride in traffic, Joe. 

I agree that cyclists should be on the road on the Burrard Street 
Bridge, not on the sidewalk.  So why not just let us ride on the road? 
Put up some "bikes on roadway" signs to let everybody know about the 
change in policy, then let us ride on the road as we cross the bridge, 
just the same as we ride on the road everywhere else. No special 
facilities are required. 

I don't think bike lanes are the way to go, because they create more 
problems than they solve. (See 
http://www2.portal.ca/vanbike/advocacy/bikelane/ for more 
information.)

I've ridden in bike lanes, and I think they're a disaster. I'd be more 
than happy if this bike lane stuff were to disappear into the sea, 
just as long as we get to ride on the road. If the city wants to go 
out of its way to make cycling easier, fine: do some re-striping to 
give cyclists an extra-wide curb lane. This works very well on the 
Cambie Street Bridge, and it would work equally well on the Burrard 
Street Bridge. A wide curb lane does provide extra room for cyclists, 
and it avoids those nasty bike-lane problems.

Christine Code
Can-Bike Skills Instructor





--
Christine Code                     Vancouver cycling information:
Vancouver, CANADA
cmc@portal.ca                          The Vancouver Cyclist
http://www2.portal.ca/~cmc/        http://www2.portal.ca/vanbike/