bmo

An extremely bizarre article in the National Post about cycling to work. The author claims people do not cycle to work because it is unsafe and that the solution is dedicated bike lanes/paths/roadways. I’d suggest people do not cycle to work for a whole whack of reasons - safety being one, but hardly the main reason.

aside: (Most bizarre is the author’s plan for bike expressways, replete with heated coils underground which would melt snow and ice in the winter and bridges that would allow cyclists to sail over busy Toronto intersections. wOOt!)

yet another: (I sometimes wonder if it’s a backroom policy at media outlets to print/air/ ‘whack’ stories that run contrary to corporatism in order to entirely discredit an idea or movement. I’m never sure if I’m having my leg pulled or not.)

I’m sure there are a number of reasons people do not ride bikes to work. There are probably a number of reasons why people do not drive cars to work, and a number of reasons why people do not take public transit to work. But I’d have to think with cycling - if it’s within a person’s capacity, capability, or is even a fleeting wistful desire in the first place - safety is down the list. Put in dedicated bike paths and you still have a whack of easy optouts and excuses.

Factors: Distance (time) and weather have to be the big two. Nothing worse than spending twelve hours working tired with wet feet or a sore ass. Vanity another (nothing worse than going into a presentation with helmet head unless it’s wet feet and a sore ass. But bad hair, wet feet, and a sore ass together? Have a nice day. And this idea about showers at work? Right. That and at-work daycare facilities.) Daylight. Or lack thereof rather. Hills. (Though TO is relatively flat leaving work from the core in the evening means riding uphill unless your commute is east west along the ancient lines of the lake). Having your bike stolen is certainly a ‘fear’. I ride a $20 bike. I’d never ride and lock an expensive bike anywhere in the city. I’ve had a good bike stolen (off my front porch actually) and it’s just flat out depressing. Cargo. If you carry anything more than a laptop bike riding becomes a problem (and a safety concern.) For muitl-taskers - those that might pick up groceries on the way home from work or head to the gym - the concomitant gear is, again, a problem. Car love is huge. People love their cars. More than their spouses and children and in some cases even more than their cats and dogs. And, yes, safety. People - cyclists, pedestrians, motorists - should feel unsafe on the roads because they are unsafe.

Toronto is first and foremost a Car City. That is not going to change anytime soon. As much as some people might want it to change, might like the place to be more like Amsterdam, it ain’t in the works. Getting to and from work and getting to and from shopping are the things TO folk love to do in their cars. It’s church, refuge, escape, and mobile phone booth. Driving in the city is a passion. Cycling is recreation and for that there are bike paths. Commuting to work on a bicycle is a non-starter for 99% of the gen pop. Might as well work on initiatives that ban work.

Still, I’m stunned and encouraged by the number of people who do cycle to work in Toronto.