Enough already

I was sitting down to write a post on a subject that caught my eye this morning, however upon opening the newspaper, I discovered that in fact, there was something much more dearer to my heart and pressing in the Ottawa area. Three – not one, not two, but three…. 3 PEOPLE!!! Count that people! That’s a lot! Three cyclists in Ottawa were hit by cars today in the Ottawa area. For anyone who doesn’t know Ottawa, the population, particularly for a national capital, is sparse. So three? That’s many. We suffer from what many recently-industrialized North American cities suffer from – a great degree of sprawl that is not only an eyesore, but a reflection of virtually no urban planning stemming from the massive growth that occurred in the late 1960′s and early 70′s, and seems to continue today. Though many of these areas were not originally considered part of Ottawa, they have been amalgamated into one big municipality, where 90% of the city is considered “countryside” with less than one million people in the 5,000 square kilometers that the city comprises. Anyhooters, that is not my main concern here. Just an insight into how small our city actually is, and how 3!! Yes THREE! is a big number.

These accidents bring the total number in Ottawa this summer to twelve. Twelve reported. Anyone who cycles and has friends who do the same knows the number is far greater. They just don’t make the press. As an avid cyclist, this frightens me. Yes, I am now more vigilant when cycling, as I should be. I constantly shoulder check. I take bike paths whenever possible. I am extra cautious when making turns or at stoplights, knowing that drivers don’t always see me. I try to be more courteous than I was previously, if only to show drivers that we are not all evil misfits trying desperately to rush the light and show how we are better, more virtuous people than they are, saving the environment with every turn of the peddle. However, things here have turned ugly. Motorists and cyclists are increasingly clashing, no doubt as a result of each party trying to assert their rights to the road. The discussion boards on the issue are horrendous and make me terribly disheartened and enraged, which makes me want to stop reading the discussion boards. I’ve been in numerous clashes with motorists, where I will admit, my redheaded temper got the best of me and I said things I am not proud of.

The battle is not – should not – be between the cyclists and the motorists. I understand. Motorists are in a rush. A single mom has to get to daycare to pick up her kids. She doesn’t have the luxury of biking to work, as she has to live out in the middle of nowhere in order to afford rent. Her daycare will charge her extra for being late – money she does not have. Traffic to the suburbs is not moving (see lack of urban planning above). She has to then move around the cyclist in her lane, requiring yet another lag in her trip. And so she takes it out on the cyclist. I get it. However, our city – a city that is, comparatively, flush with available cash to deal with the issue, chooses to ignore the problem. A city that claims it has “embraced a strong, cross-departmental environment agenda”, still sees no issue with what is happening, and that in fact, cyclists are choosing to drive or bus to work rather than bike and risk their lives. Only last week, a cyclist was killed when she ended up cutting in front of a bus. In a shared bus/bike lane. Where the bike lane ends and you are forced to cut across the bus lane to make it back to regular traffic lanes. The councillor responsible for this planning? Doesn’t think anything is wrong with buses and bikes sharing a lane.

I understand where all the anger is coming from. Both camps think they are entitled to the road without condition. And unfortunately, the Traffic Act does little to clarify this. Forget the fact that most of us have not read any excerpt from the Act since we were 16. We’re all pissed off. We all have our own shit to deal with. Much of our own shit comes to mind when we are faced with our commute home. Not excusable, but reality.

I know and regularly see many cyclists that do completely dickheadish things when in traffic. I see motorists that are just as guilty. That is just life. If I could steal a line from my ex, my point is this: we need better city planning that provides options for people who don’t want to drive. We need better city planning that doesn’t make drivers enraged. Ottawa has numerous new road and expansion projects on the go, none of which involve building dedicated, barrier-protected lanes for bicycles. I find it absolutely ridiculous that in today’s day and age, our city is not being more accountable for the ideals it professes. I do not for a minute think that someone else should be accountable for our own actions. In fact, having had the career I have had, I am on the opposite side of the liability spectrum. However, in this case, a little planning and management would not be excessive.

Today’s accidents, from what I’ve read, have little to do with driver error. They were unfortunate incidents. Yet taken as a whole, with the glut of accidents recently, they indicate something greater. And when the city does little to address the problem and encourage safe cycling, I am, well, a bit disgusted.

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