Bouts of terrible weather notwithstanding, the snow and cold have finally dissipated and allowed the active members of Western to ride their bicycles to campus. And by “ride their bicycles to campus,” I mean “endlessly weave through crowds of slow, vulnerable people who insist on walking on the bike paths.”
One would think the giant, white stencils of bicycles painted on the ground would be enough to—at the very least—get people to be aware of their surroundings, but this is not the case. In fact, people seem to view these bike paths as sidewalks for slow-moving groups of pedestrians.
Not only do pedestrians feel the need to saunter along these paths, blindly unaware of their surroundings, but the added width of the second lane allows them to do so in large groups that completely cut off any possible passing lanes.
Not everyone has the luxury of living right on the edges of campus, and there is nothing more frustrating than riding uphill from downtown London, only to be confronted with the cliff that is University College hill. After hopelessly shifting down to first gear and putting in full effort, everything is for naught, as the lane is clogged up by a group of people oblivious to the presence of a biker behind them.
Imagine the scenario from my point of view. I try to ring my bell to notify them of my presence. Except I don’t have a bell, or the minimal funds it takes to buy one. There is no way pass them. The curb looms on the left of the path, and a concrete barrier separates a congested lane of cars on the right. A sad, dismounting biker stands in the middle.
The bitter reality that these hordes of people represent is the fact that every bike path on campus has a sidewalk immediately adjacent to it.
Even when ignoring the people who walk down the bike path, the people who cross the bike path cause just as much trouble. The very people who worry about getting hit by a car when jaywalking will blindly step into a bike path without a moment of hesitation.
Whipping down UC hill towards a green light—an exhilarating experience—becomes terrible when a person using their headphones to shelter themselves from the sounds of the outside world steps directly into the path of your speeding bike. Excitement quickly turns into fear as the biker is forced to weave around this new obstacle.
For some reason, people refuse to show respect to a large hunk of metal potentially speeding towards them at over 40 kilometres per hour. One would think that people would not want to risk getting into a crash, based solely on the fact that an object is powered by humans, rather than by electricity. As someone who has been hit by a bike before, trust me—it hurts. A lot.
So, for those of you who have not gotten the message yet—stop walking in the bike lanes. Stop it. You wouldn’t walk in the middle of the road, so why are you doing this? Stop it.
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Cars often pass me without even changing lanes traveling at 50km/hour+ “because it suits them best.” It is not uncommon for a car to pass with less than 2 feet of grace where a slight misjudgement of distance could take a life. Indeed, If cars can get ahead quicker by squeezing by, they will.
I squeeze by crawling/stopped cars on the road when a) I’ll be making a right hand turn and the cars ahead of me are waiting at a red looking to go straight and b) when there are blocks of gridlock. I dislike waiting in the fumes.
Let’s face it, pedestrians j-walk, motorists speed, cyclists find ways to cut ahead in slow moving traffic. So I guess nobody should be whining here.
…and I’m not, while cycling, I get home faster, get some exercise and have some fun.
@JD
You’re right about the necessity of investing in a bell. In fact, it’s required by law, so any cyclists without a bell or horn can’t really complain about pedestrians.
You seem a tad resentful at cyclists, as if they have more privileges. In reality, cars can only drive safely on roads, and pedestrians can only walk safely on sidewalks, but the safest route for cyclists varies depending on the situation, so it makes sense to give them the ability to choose their route. Additionally, drivers and pedestrians both have dominance in their respective mediums, but bicycles are outsiders on any terrain. On the road they are abused by drivers, on the sidewalk they must yield to pedestrians, and the bike lane isn’t even respected by the university, which routinely places obstacles in it’s way.
Even lane splitting, which is the technical term for cycling between lanes at stopped traffic, isn’t illegal in Ontario, although you will be at fault if involved in an accident. You should feel grateful that each cyclist that whizzes by you in traffic is one less car to contribute to the congestion.
Great piece Ryan. As a cyclist on campus I am constantly astounded by number of idiots I see walking in the bike lane with their heads down, texting on their blackberries.
I’d highly recommend buying an AirZound. They are only $20 at MEC, and pack a hefty 115db of attention-getting power. You are required to have a bell/horn by law, and this guy will even get the attention of drivers.
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cycling/BellsMirrorsReflectors/PRD~4013-597/samui-air-zound-cycling-horn.jsp
Our bicycles used on public roads are supposed to have a bell, horn, or gong for exactly your concern.
bell: $3
air horn: $20
set fine for lacking one: $85
Of course, sleighs have it easy with a $5 maximum fine.
1.) Invest in a bell or learn to scream really loud.
2.) Cyclists are probably the only group who regularly use the sidewalks, bike paths AND city streets.
“For some reason, people refuse to show respect to a large hunk of metal potentially speeding towards them at over 40 kilometres per hour.”
The exact same thing can be said about 90% of the cyclists in this city when it comes to cars. They routinely dart in and out of traffic, adopting whatever form suits them best. If they can get ahead quicker by squeezing between cars at a stop light they do, and if they can use a crosswalk with pedestrians they’ll do that too. They’re a car and a pedestrian, all at once. Before I’ll listen to any whining from a cyclist I need to see a drastic reform in the behaviour of most, particularly with their adherence to the rules of the road. A good start might be to drop $6 on a bell.
But of course I’m sure you’re the exception; the perfect cyclist who obeys every rule and never impedes the travel of others…but if you’re going to generalize about pedestrians, I’ll generalize about cyclists.