cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/30050658

“They are not safe. They are anything but for safety,” said a woman who added vehicles in the two-block section sometimes drive in the middle of Springbrook to avoid the bollards.

Oh, so drivers behind of the wheel of an automobile are the danger. Why remove the bike lanes rather than the car lanes?

I heard that Etobicoke’s NIMBYs are insane, but this is a new level of stupidity from Richmond Hill.

  • @UnPassive
    link
    English
    13 hours ago

    None of what you claim takes place in the area I am referring to

    Ah yes, I’m sure no bikes have to take a left around you. I’m sure you even spoke with the cyclists and found out first hand that they do in fact not want bike paths and prefer to share the road with cars… Like how am I supposed to believe this? Of course there’s a reason they chose to ride in the road. Maybe it is to piss off cars, but you would probably be surprised to learn that cyclists don’t hate cars the way drivers hate bikes. Most of us cyclists actually own and use a car. We just prefer not to when possible.

    …even though they seem to want to share the road but never respect road rules (like stop signs or red lights)

    I like how the connotation of this is that you have some sort of valid excuse to endanger their lives. Anyway, I believe bikes should have to obey all laws. I’m positive that most of the bikes around you do obey laws and that your opinion is the result of observational bias. I’m sure you also see cars break laws all the time (I sure do), but i don’t pretend all drivers are anarchist-suicidal-menaces lol.

    … strawman

    I like how I gave real reasons that I personally occasionally don’t use a bike lane and pointed out that you don’t know why a cyclist might chose to be in the road instead but you’re just like, “not ah, strawman!” Like I for real don’t know what part of my response you think was a strawman, except maybe my sarcastic final paragraph, but you seem to agree with the sentiment, so then I don’t see how I could be misrepresenting you… But here, I’ll give you another chance; what nefarious reason might bikes chose the road over the bike path?

    …accurately highlighting you just had no other way to turn this bad cyclist behaviour on me

    Where I live a cyclist may take the lane for any reason. They don’t have to prove a need or anything like that. So how is this bad behavior? Just because you don’t like it? The bike infrastructure simply doesn’t always meet the needs of a commuter on a bike.

    Imagine if anyone came here claiming they ride the shoulder regularly because it’s less bumpy and saves some time… then insult anyone asking why are people driving on the shoulder

    Yes imagine if busy roads caused cars to choose routes through neighborhoods instead of larger throughput roads; or if cars went into the other lane to avoid potholes; or went around speed bumps; or even went off road to avoid large bumps (common where I live on dirt roads). Like all those things really happen and I’m not criticizing it. But you pretend to be criticizing it to say a bike shouldn’t be allowed in the road to avoid a bumpy bike lane. Sorry, but bikes simply are allowed in the road. No matter how unjust you feel it is, it’s allowed. Meanwhile plenty of those car examples probably would result in a citation.

    Some of what I’ve said comes off as hot headed, I don’t mean to be insulting. At least not overly insulting. But I think you lack perspective. I think if you got on a bike for a while you’d realize how much bike infrastructure is missing. How often you have to get in the road to get to your destination. And how scary it is to share the road with cars. Ain’t no one sharing the road for no reason.

    • @exanime
      link
      English
      02 hours ago

      Ah yes, I’m sure no bikes have to take a left around you.

      It’s actually something like a 3 Km straight run (the path I am talking about). There is 1 service road that opens some times in the year but it sits at a full intersection.

      I’m sure you even spoke with the cyclists and found out first hand that they do in fact not want bike paths

      No, which is why I posted my comment, I don’t get what they do this, sometimes even with kid carries in the back

      Like how am I supposed to believe this?

      Same way I am believing the points on your reply… you know, before you just started getting mad for no reason. Do you want to know what path I am talking about? here it is: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ZZ2eDbovvypowbM8

      Bike path on both sides of the road

      I like how the connotation of this is that you have some sort of valid excuse to endanger their lives

      Did you get that from the part I said I do everything possible to give them space? it is hard when you have a vehicle on the road that does not follow the road rules. A cyclist that goes through a red light is as dangerous as a car doing the same…

      I like how I gave real reasons that I personally occasionally don’t use a bike lane

      The strawman was the sarcastic comment about how cyclists “just don’t want” to use the road… you can’t even keep your argument straight

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        21 hour ago

        Maybe the cyclists don’t like the stop signs that the path frustratingly has but the road does not? Around that stop there are two within a few hundred metres, and frequently stopping (or slowing down fot a rolling stop) makes riding slower and more tiring. That’s probably not nearly the entire motivation, though.

        • @exanime
          link
          English
          126 minutes ago

          Thanks for the reply

      • @UnPassive
        link
        English
        01 hour ago

        Yeah that bike path looks sweet, not sure why a cyclist would go in the road. But lets not pretend the reason is nefarious (unless, again, you have a good reason to think so). I’ll also mention that kid carriers are often used for cargo and not just for kids - I wouldn’t want to bring my kid on a road with cars while biking - but maybe some do.

        mad for no reason | In Ottawa, bike lanes mean nothing

        Mate, you are advocating against some of the infrastructure I care about most, and that saves lives, and your reasoning is literally just that some bikes are still on the road. Bad opinions that disagree with my own (hopefully justified ones) are frustrating. Feel free to help me see your point of view, but you aren’t any more right just because you claim I’m mad.

        Did you get that from the part I said I do everything possible to give them space

        No, I got if from the part I quoted… :

        I do my best to give as much space and look after cyclist even though

        It’s the “even though” part. That rhetoric suggests that you’d be in the right to not give space or something

        The strawman was the sarcastic comment about how cyclists “just don’t want” to use the road… you can’t even keep your argument straight

        As far as I’m concerned those sarcastic comments of mine are still your opinion. I did ask for clarification. It’s in bold lol. This doesn’t mean my argument isn’t straight - at least as far as I’m concerned. But please feel free to clarify…

        • @exanime
          link
          English
          1
          edit-2
          10 minutes ago

          Yeah that bike path looks sweet, not sure why a cyclist would go in the road. But lets not pretend the reason is nefarious

          I never did… I literally said I just did not understand the behaviour… that is all… the entire “bad faith argument” is in your head

          Mate, you are advocating against some of the infrastructure I care about most

          No, I am trying to understand why they are not used when they are, by far, the safest option.

          No, I got if from the part I quoted… : I do my best to give as much space and look after cyclist even though It’s the “even though” part. That rhetoric suggests that you’d be in the right to not give space or something

          So it’s a surprise to you that erratic behaviour on the road may lead to more accidents?! If I had said the same thing about drunk drivers, would you assume I am giving myself the permission to go out and hurt them? I think this interpretation says more about you than me bud. The only reason I even posted here was to try and understand why cyclist do not use their safer options, precisely because I cannot understand why people would choose to put themselves in harms way… it turns out, people like you rather put themselves in danger and blame everyone else for, <checks notes> saving a few minutes in commute

          As far as I’m concerned those sarcastic comments of mine are still your opinion.

          Oh so you issue an opinion, assign it to me and then attack me for it?.. well that’s a new level of strawmaning