Bike Lanes

[Ranty Looney]

Have you ever wondered why bicyclists figure they are entitled to bike only lanes throughout the city of Vancouver?
Do bicyclists pay road and transit taxes when they ' fill-up' their tires with air?
Do bicyclists pay a license fee and display a plate for use on city streets?
Do bicycles have to have mandatory insurance against collisions with other bikes and cars when on the city streets?
Do bicyclists have to pay outrageous parking fees when in the city, or can they just chain
themselves to every planter, handrail, and no parking sign post for free?
Are city bicyclists exempt from helmet laws, stopping at red lights, riding on the sidewalks,
going the wrong way on one way streets, or other bylaws and rules of the road?
They may be healthier for riding a bike, but I ask, should it come at a cost to all the car drivers that pay the road taxes, fees, and insurance on their cars, just so cyclists can get a free ride?
Let's level up the playing field and charge them accordingly, and have them follow the same rules of the road as drivers, then they would have earned the right to those separated lanes.

Grumblings By,
Ranty Looney.

[slowhand]

You barely touched this whole issue from the pedestrian's point of view.

How would you like to be yelled off the sidewalk by a cyclist because he doesn't have room to get around you when he is travelling (down a hill) at something in excess of 50 km/hr.? Been there, done that. They are called a side-Walk for a reason. Dunno about your community, but mine still has a law that says that riding a bike on a sidewalk is illegal.

What happens when a biker hits a pedestrian, causing significant injury. He rides like hell to get away, to avoid any possible costs or responsibility. Even if he is ID'ed and caught, there is no hit and run law that penalizes him. Leaving the Scene of an Accident in a motor vehicle can mean jail time. Not so on a bike.

Some might argue that pedestrians don't pay road taxes either. I say sidewalks aren't built with road taxes. They are paid for with property taxes which all of us pay either directly or indirectly through rent.

Not to say I haven't seen death wishes on two wheels while driving. Like the guy who passed me across a solid yellow line while I was waiting at a stop light with my left flasher on, just as the light just changes to green. He wonders why I honk him off the road. I would have killed him had he pulled that stunt just a few seconds later. He spent the next mile or so shouting obsenities at me as he dodged in and out of traffic and through red lights, which I waited for, allowing him to continually catch up to me.

[Mike Cleaver]

And how about the fact that our greengrasshole mayor in Vancouver has told Vancouver Police not to ticket cyclists for traffic and bylaw offenses?
But they're told to increase ticketing motorists for any and all violations and enforcing parking fines.
All of the previous points made in the preceding posts are valid.
If you're going to use public roads, you should pay your fair share of the costs and you should be forced to obey the same laws motor vehicle drivers do or pay the consequences.
Bicyclists are getting a free ride at the expense of all other drivers and taxpayers.
Bike lanes already in place are drastically underused while those kamikaze bikers weave in and out of traffic on busy streets such as Burrard which now is overcrowded because Hornby Street is all but inaccessible to cars and trucks because of bike lane construction.
And do you realize motor vehicles will no longer be able to turn right southbound from Burrard onto Pacific Street after the current construction is completed?
The Burrard Bridge bike lane should only be the east sidewalk.
There's more than enough room there for bikes to pass in single file, especially if that ugly construction barrier concrete divider is replaced by a much more aesthetically pleasing railing.
Hopefully, these idiots will be voted out in the next election and the new mayor can jump on a caterpillar dozer and scrape these bike lanes off the roads.

[Howaboutthat]

And how much new business will cyclists be bringing to the merchants, while drivers are looking for a place to park any place close to the affected stores?
Will they be doing their Christmas shopping by bike? I think not.
Other towns seem to manage just fine with lines on the road, why does Vancouver feel the need to make a simple application as difficult and inconvenient for the vast majority.
Gregor must be expecting to only serve one term, then run for the NDP leadership.

[yathink]

Gregor must be expecting to only serve one term, then run for the NDP leadership.

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.

[Dan Sys]

Gregor must be expecting to only serve one term, then run for the NDP leadership.

I can just see it now; designated bike lanes (with concrete dividers) on the Coquihalla Highway all the way from Hope to Kamloops. Then the Alaska Highway so our greengrasshole premier won't be able to cut in front of any buses during his weekend cycle jaunts to Watson Lake.

[Karen]

Mark your calendars. The last Friday of the month is approaching and once again it'll be time for the clowns from Critical Mass to hold us all hostage
as they do their monthly ride and play havoc with rush hour traffic. This month they are being urged to wear a Halloween costume as they ride.

Why is this bullshit tolerated? If they're holding up traffic and not using designated bike lanes, Vancouver's finest should be writing out ticket after
ticket to these thugs. They should also be enforcing the helmet laws to the fullest extent.

Maybe as an anti Critical Mass protest on Friday, all motorists in the downtown core should get into Halloween mode too and wear Gregor Robertson
face masks as they tangle with the two wheeled terrorists.

[Jack Bennest]

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.

I heard that stated a bit differently.

Dissent from the status quo should be cherished. Only through dissent can change happen.

or “Status quo, you know, that is Latin for : the mess we're in.” ~ Ron R.