An occasional update on items from the Velo-city.
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FROM OUR FAVOURITE CEMETERY
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Bike through 106 acres of the Mountain View Cemetery!
Explore 125 years of history with Civic Historian John Atkin
September 11, 2011 at 1 pm
$10.00 per person – cash only please
Rain or Shine
Meet at Celebration Hall – 5445 Fraser St. at 39th Ave. (within the Cemetery grounds)
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A BLOG FOR EVERYTHING
A collection of scenes of bicycling on sidewalks. Because the City doesn’t believe there is a problem. And this is only for the times I have a camera in hand.
There is absolutely no artistic intent. Recognisable faces have been deliberately hidden as the point is only to show the problem exist.
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SERENDIPITY
Observations captured on the fly and in the saddle.
From Michael Alexander in San Francisco:
I was riding through Hayes Valley, a neighbourhood near San Francisco’s City Hall that has blossomed since an elevated freeway was removed, to be replaced by a gracious boulevard. [See for yourself in this issue of Price Tags.] In a survey, researchers found that people almost never crossed under the freeway viaduct. Now they do, and the neighbourhood is filled with restaurants, coffee houses, arts programs and events, and is one of the city’s most in-demand residential areas.
She crossed in front of me, from the side street. It was foggy and cold and I was anxious to meet my friend for dinner, so I thought, “Do I really need to chase her down to get a photo?” “Yes,” I answered, and turned right and caught her at the next light. Click, click, click. “Hi,” I said. “I had to get a picture, because you are proof that cycling has truly arrived in San Francisco.”
“Well, it’s so much safer than ten years ago,” she replied. We smiled and chatted until the signal changed, and off they went.
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From Dianna Waggoner in Vancouver:
Last evening on the seawall a Dad rode toward me pulling a trailer with kid inside. From the trailer I heard a little voice singing, “It’s a good day! It’s a good day! Good day!”
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Re. bikes on the sidewalk: this is a great way to show how many people would use a separated bike path if it existed. The people are clearly wanting to bike, but the current infrastructure does not match their needs. (Though, to be fair, I have seen people riding their bikes on the sidewalk on Burrard, next to the separated bike lane. It made me sad.)
Glad someone is documenting cycling on sidewalks. This is very useful information in the planning of where separated bike lanes are needed. The city identified Smithe and Nelson in the 1999 bike plan and still there are no cycling facilities on them.
So many people bike on the sidewalk at Beatty and Smithe because it is by far the most sensible, safe way to get to the east side of the Cambie Bridge to access the bike path. Also fascinating that there are so few pedestrians in the pictures. The issue of bikes on sidewalks is frustrating for everyone, from cyclists who want to obey the law, and find themselves facing inadequate facilities, to pedestrians who feel uncomfortable sharing space with bicycles. We need to distinguish between the sensible rider traveling at a few mph on a sidewalk and taking up less space by being astride their machine, and the yahoos who disregard others’ safety with reckless speed and unpredictable behaviour. Once we do that I think it will be easier to find solutions acceptable to all.