City council debates future of Saskatoon bike lanes
City council debates future of Saskatoon bike lanes
Despite lots of support, local business express concern over new infrastructure
Catherine Steier, owns a business along Avenue C North, and was not a fan of the idea.
“Bikes lanes on Avenue C North are dangerous and unneeded. The amount of traffic and big trucks that drive down it will make it even more dangerous than it is when you add these unneeded bike lanes,” Steier wrote.
I don't know about anyone else, but bike lanes are needed specifically to separate cyclists from "traffic and big trucks".
But if people think that traffic and big trucks are the danger, then perhaps the City should put in bike lanes AND measures to restrict traffic and big trucks from those roads 😀
More specifically, speaking of "Avenue C North", much of it is residential (one lane each direction with parking on both side, so cars end up turning itnto one lane...😆). The more commercial/industrial parts don't even have sidewalks for pedestrians!
I think Saskatoon has a major car problem. And in the spirit of accessibility and safety, they absolutely should be addressing the car-centric infrastructure they've got on that road.
“I am afraid some of the plans will make drivers angry and actually make it more hazardous for bicyclists with drivers’ aggressive actions,” Elliott wrote.
I live in a very car-centric area with lots of massive pickups and whatnot, and I have literally never had an issue with aggressive drivers trying to kill me. I'm far more worried about distracted drivers accidentally killing me, and restricting space usually encourages drivers to be more alert.
So this is nothing but scare tactics. I don't know the area, but I'd be very surprised if this doesn't improve cycling safety.
I love when the argument against something is "You better not take away my privileges or I might hurt you."
I was on a group ride where a pickup passed our group, then brake checked us, and one of our guys nearly hit him. Then he made a turn (the same one we were making), stopped, got out, and told us how dangerous it was for cyclists.
Basically, threatening us. It was only dangerous because of his actions. Everything was fine until he showed up. What an asshole.
...Or helping the homeless, and making the streets safer.
By adding more transportation options maybe. 🤔