NOW featured a letter by the daughter of the man hit and killed by a cyclist on the sidewalk this month. She felt people were quick to blame cyclists when in fact her own father loved cycling but found it hard to bike in the suburbs:
I want to thank Enzo DiMatteo for writing Dundas And Huron, A Complicated Corner (NOW Daily, July 11). Although my response comes almost two months after this article was published, DiMatteo’s insights are still current and appreciated.
My father passed away in the hospital after being hit by a sidewalk cyclist in the Jane and Finch area earlier this month. DiMatteo astutely illustrates the complicatedness of transportation issues. Cycling is an affordable mode of transportation for Jane and Finch residents. Unfortunately, the lack of bicycle lanes and the precarious traffic conditions along Finch West, and other inner suburban streets, for that matter, compel cyclists to ride on the sidewalk.
My father instilled a love for cycling in me since childhood. It is devastating for all of us to see his life being taken away by something we enjoy greatly. As a cycling advocate, I know the complicatedness of the situation that led to my father being killed by a cyclist. As DiMatteo points out, a situation like this in Rob Ford’s Toronto easily calls for blaming cyclists when the issues are far more complex and troubling. Thank you for the insightful journalism.
Karen Okamoto
Toronto
Serves as a reminder that we all switch between different ways of getting around. We're not different species. I've yet to find very many people (except a few hardcore people who happen to ready this blog) who are actually willing to ride out in the middle of car traffic on roads like Finch. Most of those who've written editorials have given scant thought on how cyclists will actually get around up in those neighbourhoods - not their problem. And if all those people really cared about pedestrians getting hurt, they'd be just as loud and outraged about all the cars hitting pedestrians as well. If they really cared they'd support streets being made safer for pedestrians and cyclists: safer intersections, bike lanes on more main roads and so on. The blame game is useful only for selling ad space.
Comments
Random cyclist (not verified)
"they'd be just as loud and
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 16:26"they'd be just as loud and outraged about all the cars hitting pedestrians as well." well yes, we should be. Because everyone knows that cars jumping curbs and hitting innocent pedestrians is a HUGE problem. For crying out loud, if the cyclist isn't to blame, who the hell is? I get that many situations compel cyclists to choose the sidewalk, but that's the active word: choose. If you choose the sidewalk, you had better choose to ride very differently than you do on the road. This particular cyclist obviously didn't. Should all cyclists pay for his poor choice? Of course not. But let's not be pathetic "it's the system that's at fault" about this. That merely serves to remove personal accountability from the mix. How about this: We all work together to find new solutions to the problem, while individually we all take greater responsibility for our actions.
W. K. Lis
I dare Councillor Denzil
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 17:07I dare Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, the chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, to ride his bicycle on Finch or Jane in the area where the incident happened. He'll see we need bicycle lanes on those streets, even if it is just to get to the bicycle path on the hydro corridor.
fabien (not verified)
1+ on W K Lis' dare to the
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 21:131+ on W K Lis' dare to the chair of the public works and infrastructure committee. And for that matter I would like to extend the dare to our tough-talking mayor.
Dear mayor, if you agree to cross Toronto on a bike during rush hour and agree to testify you found the experience pleasant and safe, you have my blessing to halt the further development of our bike infrastructure. From now on, ANY politician who deals with bike infrastructure should be asked to do the same. We'll call it the "ride for credibility" tour :-). In other words, Toronto politicians, don't tell us what it's like to ride here unless you have done it yourself.
locutas_of_spragge
@Random: I did a little
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 01:32@Random: I did a little research into the subject and discovered, somewhat to my alarm, that it takes nothing more than knocking a person off their feet to produce a serious skull fracture. Among other things, this implies that any cyclist-pedestrian, automotive vehicle/pedestrian or even pedestrian-pedestrian collision carries with it a slight but measurable risk of a serious injury.
In my opinion, that says that no cyclist can ride on a sidewalk in complete safety. It also implies that Mr. Okamoto's injuries do not, in and of themselves, prove special recklessness on the part of the cyclist who hit him. The decision to ride on the sidewalk plus a simple misjudgment could produce a lethal accident. Having met a sober, responsible and indeed highly ethical and community minded individual living near Finch who considered me mad to cycle on that street, and who insisted on riding on the sidewalk, I believe plenty of responsible people ride on the sidewalks with their families in that area because they consider the street impossibly dangerous. As well, at least one mainstream auto journalist, who should know better, advocates for sidewalk cycling.
Based on misperceptions of the risks by people living near Finch, as well as myths retailed by other people, a decent prudent person could believe they saved themselves from a serious risk by riding on the sidewalk, and did not unduly endanger pedestrians by doing so. Tragically, it only takes this decision plus some bad luck to lead to the death of either a pedestrian or the cyclist, since sidewalk cyclists actually run substantially increased risks.
Random cyclist (not verified)
If cycling on the sidewalk is
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 12:55If cycling on the sidewalk is illegal, than it should certainly be illegal for Rob Ford or any other large person to run on the sidewalk. F = M x A.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
Ford is a blob of jello, an
Wed, 09/21/2011 - 22:02Ford is a blob of jello, an e-scooter is steel
There is a difference when colliding... though i'm sure Ford would love it if you thought of him as a man of steel.
Random cyclist (not verified)
If sidewalk cyclists would
Tue, 10/11/2011 - 18:22If sidewalk cyclists would actually YIELD to pedestrians then this wouldn't be a problem. Since biking on the road on busy roads like Jane and Finch is ridiculously dangerous and biking on painted white line "bike lanes" on busy roads is dangerous, what alternative do bicyclists have?
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
Actually, it will be a
Tue, 10/11/2011 - 20:00Actually, it will be a problem, yeilding is what most cyclist do but pedestrians follow no rules so they will move to the left or right and eventually you'll hit them. Not to say you won't hit them when the j-walk, but at least you can blame it on them there.
Unless by yield you mean stop and move off the sidewalk, but i doubt that since it would talk a while to get anywhere.
Seymore Bikes
Why apply some derived logic
Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:53Why apply some derived logic over common sense?
A sidewalk is restricted for pedestrians (and yes cyclists under 16), if you ride on one you assume responsibility for your actions; and should act accordingly.
Riding a bike raises your centre of gravity & speed - so it's not at all like running.
A busy road may displace cyclists onto a sidewalk, but does not absolve them of the responsibility to do so safely
There are really no excuses.
simplicius2wheels
We need no excuses for a
Wed, 10/12/2011 - 15:17We need no excuses for a cyclist's failure to consider pedestrians -such excuses are counter-productive and only pitch us against the pedestrians. That would suit the car herd just fine.
Let this case just serve as a reminder how badly we need bike lanes in the burbs. That's what the victim's daughter put forward and I applaud her for it!