Removal of bike lanes in Canada.

[barbelfisher]

Just wondered if anyone has seen this awful piece of news?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17914504

[profpointy]

i don,t know if bike lanes are somehow better in canada, but in the UK i've yet to see one that was of any benefit to me as a cyclist so my instinctive view, would be "good thing too!" even if the bloke is generally anti-bike, he may be doing cyclists an inadvertant favour.

[horizon]

I don't wish to be too psychological but at the very heart of this is one man's insecurity over his masculinity. This has little to do with cycling and much more to do with his discomfort at being unable to externalise his male energy in the unbalanced way that he wants. This man is sad and needs treatment. That's a medical issue not a cycling issue.

[patricktaylor]

It's not the removal of bike lanes in Canada. Less inaccurate would be the removal of (three) bike lanes in Toronto.

"Last year, the Toronto city council voted to remove three bike lanes. The city council did, however, also agree to upgrade a couple of existing bike lanes to physically separated traffic lanes, which are safer for cyclists. A few more lanes could be added after a further study is conducted."

[horizon]

patricktaylor: I think the bike lanes are a red herring. This is much more about the "Oi, why don't you get off the road!" mentality than bike lanes in particular. Unfortunately one of these inadequate individuals has been elected by his equally inadequate fellows to a postion of power from where he is able to play out his deepest psychological fantasies. I don't think any cyclist should waste their time on him. Quietly and without a fuss the sensible administrators will foil his worst excesses. When someone is able to displace his personal psychology onto a wider platform the results are short, albeit devastating as the Germans discovered. Something about cyclists triggers an irrational but powerful reponse in these people - it's a huge failure of their ability to resolve issues of obstruction - real authority stuff from infancy. Nothing to do with cycling.

[patricktaylor]

I agree that Mayor Ford seems a lone nutter. My point was that the headline "Removal of bike lanes in Canada" makes this sound as if the whole nation is involved. For all his bluster, only three lanes seem to have been 'voted out' in one city, and there was a sweetener as well. No-one would get very far campaigning to remove all the bike lanes in Canada.

[horizon]

I agree that Mayor Ford seems a lone nutter. My point was that the headline "Removal of bike lanes in Canada" makes this sound as if the whole nation is involved. For all his bluster, only three lanes seem to have been 'voted out' in one city, and there was a sweetener as well. No-one would get very far campaigning to remove all the bike lanes in Canada.

Yes, quite right, the thread heading is certainly misleading. In fact it seems as though despite a strong opponent, bikes lanes actually continue to be well protected in Canada, such as they are.

[patricktaylor]

Typical BBC as well. Root out a few individuals with a point of view (opposing points of view even better) and make it seem as if something important is happening, when it ain't.