Put Bike Lanes On Quiet Streets: THE VOTER

One of the big problems with putting bike lanes on downtown streets is that you’re essentially retrofitting the existing streetscape.

There is little physical space to add anything so the lanes end up shoehorned into the already-full space. That being said, anyone with half a brain would have recognized that putting bike lanes on streets such as Laurier Avenue was a recipe for disaster. In the case of Laurier, it’s a truck route and had been, for many years, the site of vehicle-vehicle, vehicle-pedestrian, bike-pedestrian and bike-vehicle conflicts. Adding a bike lane has just magnified existing problems.

There’s no reason why the bike lanes can’t be installed on less-busy streets. Using the Laurier example, why don’t they put it on one of the streets south of Laurier where there’s little truck traffic and some are even one-way?

On the other hand, cyclists could take themselves out of the danger zones on major roadways. You don’t have to use Wellington Street or Laurier even if there’s no dedicated lane on the side streets.

Yes, you may have to travel an extra block or two but at least you’re alive.

The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.

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