Raise the Hammer
By Letter to the Editor
Published May 27, 2013
I'm completely behind the Yes We Cannon campaign for bike lanes on Cannon Street by 2015. And I'm going to be biking downtown for the city Bike to Work and School Day event on Monday, May 27. So when I started reading the email that arrived this morning from The Yes We Cannon Organizing Committee about a ride down Canon to Gore Park that morning, I thought: What the heck; I'll head out early and join the Canon Street ride at 7:30.
But then I read this paragraph: "We are excited to announce that we are going to be escorted by an Ambulance, and we will have safety vests to keep us all visible and safe."
An ambulance. And safety vests. What better way to send the message to anyone walking or driving past that cycling downtown is a dangerous thing to do, and damned weird to boot.
I think I'll just ride with the Westdale group again this year.
Kenneth Moyle
Hamilton
.... THAT SAID ...
... while I cringe at the though (and sight) of the implicit message of flashing emergency lights and LOOKOU!TIMDOINGOSOMETHINGDANGEROUS! vests, I was thrilled to see so many kids at Gore Park this morning. Kids who not only biked there but did so on city streets in the heart of the town. There are many, many places - especially in the States but also here in Canada - where parents wouldn't think of having their kids bike anywhere unless they could do it on sidewalks and bike paths.
And congratulations to Ryan McGreal and RtH for the media award handed out by Councillor Farr on behalf of the city this morning.
By Mal (anonymous) | Posted May 27, 2013 at 09:20:01
Notably, Ontario has a Bike to Work Day while BC has a Bike to Work Week.
Arg.
Dear Editor,
I buggered up the links to the photos. And there's no edit button.
Help,
Ken
By Core-B (registered) | Posted May 27, 2013 at 09:28:24 in reply to Comment 88994
Your links weren't clickable but a copy and paste worked. It was a nice turnout.
By reuben (registered) - website | Posted May 27, 2013 at 10:57:20
At the risk of speaking for them, I think part of the message the YesWeCannon folks were trying to send is that it IS dangerous to ride Cannon right now - which is why they are advocating for bike lanes along that route.
Personally, I also cringed at the mention of the ambulance and police escort.
I was along for their ride this morning however, and a group ride on an arterial street with 30+ elementary-aged children does require additional safety measures.
By Pxtl (registered) - website | Posted May 28, 2013 at 13:46:50 in reply to Comment 88998
Oh, I had assumed it was a policy change and not a bug.
By Pxtl (registered) - website | Posted May 28, 2013 at 13:47:21 in reply to Comment 89000
Interestingly (to me, at least) far-left-bearded-dude is my brother.
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