Looking east down the Laurier segregated bike lane.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Look both ways before you cross the street!
One of the first rules you learn as a child is how to safely cross a street. Look both ways! How many times do we hear this as children? And yet, as adults, we often forget to do this. Last week I spoke to a cyclist who had been involved in a collision with a salad toting pedestrian (that red line in the photo is the salad trail). According to the cyclist and another passerby, the pedestrian just entered the bike lane without looking. I hope that had they made it safely through the bike lane that they may have looked both ways before crossing the avenue. Perhaps not though. The cyclist involved in this collision said he had a number of close calls with other pedestrians. It seems they are ignoring this simple rule that they learned as children. For myself, if I am not making eye contact with a pedestrian near the bike lane I am going to assume they are not going to look. A good place for the bell as well. The Laurier segregated bike lanes are only a month old. The police and paramedics were called to this scene but it seemed precautionary rather than necessary. According to the City of Ottawa there have been no major incidents along the SBL. Let's hope it stays that way.
Looking east down the Laurier segregated bike lane.
Looking east down the Laurier segregated bike lane.
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I use my air horn every time that I cycle on the Laurier Bike Lanes. Another big problem is with cyclists turning right onto the bike lanes without looking left first to see if another cyclist is coming at full speed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Dan. I know what you mean. I see this often. Hopefully the learning curve will be short.
ReplyDeletecities are not meant for bikers. too many angry drivers and jaywalkers.
ReplyDeletethat must be frustrating
ReplyDeleteOttowa Bike Guy,
ReplyDeleteYou're interests seem to match mine, for although they do not have the same reasons, you are captivated by biking and other things such as Roman Architechture - and these things fit in also with my own reasonings. Riding bikes is an excellent way to help the environment, and it's fantastic that you are spreading the word about the other assests of biking. This is a great cite!
I love to ride my bike, its broken right now tho :( I need to take it into the shop. You've inspired me to do so!
ReplyDeletehttp://meowiel.blogspot.com/
Here in PR wee see accidents with bikes very often, roads are not in the best conditions and most people do not care for them when they see them.(We do not have bike lanes in streets)
ReplyDeleteIn amsterdam we have tourists. Not that we mind having them but on an average journey you have to avoid 5 tourists. This in addition to dodging trams, cars and other bicyclists can get a little stressful at times. So if you are in the Netherlands please don't stand in the middle of a bicycle path for your photos or architecture gazing :)
ReplyDeletebhanu, thanks for the comment. However, the bike lane was closed while the police did their business. Otherwise I would have been run down too :)
ReplyDeleteDan - that shouldn't happen. Turning right on red from a side street is banned. No signs giving exceptions to cyclists.
ReplyDeleteZerli - cycling is very safe, healthy, popular and efficient in Ottawa. I am currently in Istanbul, where cycling is genuinely unsafe, and I can count on one hand the number of bicycles I see each day. I can and do ride on any street in downtown Ottawa, and I would be comfortable riding a bike in New York, but you couldn't get me on a bike in Istanbul, where traffic is literally every person for him- or herself. If you don't like Ottawa's positive attitude towards cycling, you're free to not come to our city.
Bike is always dangerous. The cars do not know mercy and you do not want to fall on your head.
ReplyDeleteLife is dangerous. You will not escape from it alive. Perhaps the problem is that our culture of safety and danger avoidance has created a society that is averse to all risk.
ReplyDeleteThere is a risk when you cycle, of course there is, just as there is if you walk or run or drive a car or take a boat or a plane. If you swim in the ocean a rip tide could carry you out to where you are never seen again. If you stay on the sands tanning you could get skin cancer instead. If you want to cool yourself with a glass of something iced, hepatitis could be waiting for you in your glass.
But we have to continue living. My advice would be for people to try to accept that risk is inherent to life - maybe even to nuzzle up to the controversial idea that sometimes risk can actually be part of the pleasure!
Pedestrians are always walking in the bike lane. I'd like to see a bike lane where there are walls on either side of the lines so nobody except bikers can be in the bike lane!
ReplyDeletewww.comicdaverusso.blogspot.com