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A Critical Mess? Yes It Is. If We Lock Up All Those Responsible for Current Traffic Problems, the Traffic Jams Would Be Gone.
The Vancouver Sun editorial criticizing the Critical Mass bicycle ride did not go nearly far enough.
While the editorial cited cyclists for breaking the law, everyone knows the real reason for public anger is the traffic jams the rides create.
Well, I say everyone who causes a traffic jam and disrupts the peace of our city should be arrested and sent to jail for a long time. That would send a message and quickly clear our streets for the enjoyment of its citizens.
So, in descending order of responsibility for traffic jams, the following scoundrels should be arrested and locked up by police officers who should refocus away from less important duties, such as catching murderers, busting meth labs and chasing bank robbers. I say arrest and imprison:
All the developers over the years who built the houses which sprawl for scores of kilometres, making it almost inevitable that hundreds of thousands of Lower Mainland residents will use private vehicles to go to work, shop and go about their daily lives.
All the politicians and city planners who enabled these developers to build our sprawling suburbs.
All the developers, politicians and planners who continue to build roads and bridges that will funnel ever more traffic onto our streets.
Everyone who argues that wider and more roads are the solution to traffic problems, because all the evidence instead demonstrates more cars and therefore more congestion is the inevitable result. All those who choose to live too far from work to use public transit or walk or ride a bike.
All those who could use public transit or walk or ride but instead choose to drive, especially those hundreds of thousands who commute alone in their vehicles.
All those who object to well-planned densification of single family neighbourhoods.
Everyone in the tens of thousands of households with two or three or more vehicles when fewer would easily do.
All those who drive a vehicle that takes up more space than is absolutely necessary.
All owners of businesses, especially those located downtown, which provide free or subsidized parking to their employees.
All those who object to the expansion of rapid transit because they don't want to pay more taxes or for other reasons, including those westside residents who have blocked the building of the SkyTrain line to UBC because they wish to keep the riffraff out of their neighbourhood.
All those who object to the expansion of bike lanes and other means of getting people out of their cars and into more healthy ways of transport.
All those who discourage pedestrians and cyclists by aggressive driving because everyone who walks or rides made to feel unsafe is less likely to give up their car.
Finally, all those who promote an economic system that requires us to choose between ever more growth or the misery of depression/recession. In this car-addicted society that inevitably means more automobiles and therefore more traffic jams. One could argue that these people are the worst of all and should go to the top of the list, as the ultimate bad seeds.
Imagine how many fewer traffic jams there would be if all these people were put behind bars. If they were locked away before the next Critical Mass, my bet is that even10,000 bike riders in the downtown core would barely be noticed. But if they still cause a traffic jam and disrupt the peace, I say arrest them too and throw them in jail.
Gary Engler is a Vancouver Sun news editor (currently on a leave of absence), a cyclist and a recovering car addict who hasn't owned a vehicle in two-and-a-half years.
21 Comments so far
Show AllHow about a "separate, but equal" transportation system for your fair city? Two systems: bike paths and auto routes that rarely come together? Costs a bit of money? Surely, but maybe it's worth it. Imagine--an expressway network for bikes! Might encourage more to ride...
That would be a great idea except that I doubt that the automobile drivers would be willing to cede any pavement to the cyclists. An expressway for bikes is enjoyable. We have a few in Kitchener, Ontario and they work great when they coincide with your route, at least until they meet pavement and the cyclists must wait and detour to the convenience of the automobiles. In most places the cyclists are encouraged to take alternative (longer) routes rather than use the main roads so as to not slow down automobile traffic. That it slows down bicycle traffic does not much concern anyone other than cyclists.
How about instead we have the majority of streets "shared and equal". This would be practical if the speed that automobiles travelled on residental streets were reduced to say 25 mph. Or better than a speed limit would be a moving speed range where vehicles could legally cruise between 10 and 30 mph. Where we have a speed limit the speed limit effectively becomes the minimum acceptable speed on the road. A speed range more effectively says that slower moving vehicles have a right to travel the roads too and that the speed limit is not the effective minimum speed.
So how about a system of a few freeways for motorized vehicles to get them to the "shared and equal" residential and city streets.
Out here in St Louis, there's always budget cuts for public transportation until our current governor had some brains to try to reduce those cuts. But then there's metro overcharging and yet giving poor quality on the buses and rails. Fixing that and extending it to the suburbs would reduce the gas guzzlers big time.
Bang on.
I agree with the Mr. Engler, but , when I saw the title of this article, I thought maybe it was about the frustrations of healthcare reform going nowhere or the financial gridlock where our 'leaders' decided that putting billions of dollars into the limos that caused the jam would make the economic traffic run more smoothly. I guess I was correct!
I'm sitting on, and am doing nothing with, a transit system that is maybe a factor of ten better than what's out there. It would help to make the streets safe for bikes.
It's too bad various governments don't (for real) lift a finger to explore reports about transformative innovations.
And let's not forget to lock up all those who refuse to acknowledge that our nation and our planet are overpopulated, including those who don't believe it and those who just refuse to talk about it because it's politically incorrect.
Dave Gardner
Producing the documentary
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
www.growthbusters.com
Aye
I agree with Mr. Engler. In addition:
They had a great system in So. Korea when I was stationed there. You can remove your rear view mirror and you hardly need turn signals. You won't need them. You only need to worry about the cars in front. They can cut you off at anytime and you can do the same to the cars behind you. So you don't need to worry about the cars behind you. It sounds crazy and it feels like it until you try it. No traffic jams. Regardless of traffic congestion, it moves along.
Here in So. Florida, I-95 keeps getting more lanes but it doesn't prevent three cars staying abreast, each poking along in a different lane keeping you from passing. Worse yet are the slowpokes in the fast lanes, making you risk an accident by changing lanes to pass. This could be solved by having a speed limit on each lane, from fast to slow, enforced by video camera, a legitimate use.
I am all for bike lanes here in Vancouver BUT...
It a fact that far too many of the peopl eon Bicycles IGNORE them..as in there a Bikelane down one side of the street and they ride down the other just because it more convenient at the time.
I have been run off sidewalks by bikers while I am walking parallel to a bike lane that they refuse to use.
People on bicycles can not be both vehicles and pedestrians. It should be one or the other.
They closed down an entire lane on the Burrard street bridge for bicycles. This quite a stretch of roadway when one crosses it but the most I ever see using it is one or two bikes on the entire span...for whatever reason they prefer the sidewalk.
Having biked in Vancouver for a couple of years I noticed that it was the auto drivers who had no frickin clue about the rules of the road. Didn't matter where they were from, the colour of their skin, or what sex they were, once behind the wheel of a car they drove like they were on a racetrack. The reason some bikers in Vancouver prefer the sidewalk is that they've nearly been hit once too often by morons who weave about while talking on their phones, or having a beer, while driving.
I found that my survival on two wheels in Vancouver depended on driving in the middle of the lane and not trying to be polite about sharing the damn road. It was more dangerous to drive a bike in Van, than cycling thru an alberta winter.
I know that there are lots of good bikers out there. I also know from living in the city that there are a lot of asshole bike enthusiasts, who seem to think that they have a right to the sidewalk and its ok for them to fly at you so that you have to move. Personally, living in the city I just assume most people hate each other when they are in motion of some kind.
As far as who is responsible for traffic jams, maybe we should say it all of us who drive and stop blaming Mega corp/evil politician. If we actually planned our car usage to minimize it, and reduce gasoline consumption, I'm pretty sure we would have a lot less traffic. We would carpool, we wouldn't go back into town for one thing from the store. And we would avoid congested routes. I blame us.
I have no idea how half the drivers in Vancouver got their licences. The worst are those ones in the BIG vehicles that can not even park them.
Your point is well taken. was waiting in traffic the other day signalling a right to turn at the next intersection and the fellow behind me was honking his horn because i would not swing into and drive in the bikelane to do so.
Thats ONE Issue I have with those bikelanes. Drivers have to use them in order to parallel park or turn at intersections. My understanding is in Europe this never happens because they are seperate systems.
The facts are while a lot of folk can leave their cars at home, the nature of my business is that it impossible.
The problem is this as I see it. The asshole bikers give everyone the impression that it the asshole bikers because THEY are the ones who stand out, and the asshole auto drivers give the impression it the car drivers because THEY stand out.
Bicycles are neat. Most people can ride them. There are new models out now that you do not pedal. These are called stepper bikes and work quite nicely. For those with balance problems, there are three and four wheeled light vehicles with bicycle like tires. All these vehicles can be accesorized with batteries for power assist, lighting and heating. Winter weather proofing options are available. Small tow trailers that can haul a full load of groceries are easy to obtain. They weigh so much less than a car that governments should PAY people to ride them to and from work. We would have a healthier populace. Along with that you would need to police the bike ways well because, unlike a car, bikes are not much of a defence against mugging.
All this isn't done because our transportation system is beholden to big oil and actively resists any effort to improve quality of life if that improvrmrnt will result in less profit for big oil.
I think you forgot the main culprits: first, we should lock-up the CEOs/principals of the huge, international Oil conglomerates - BP, EXXON/Mobil, Chevron, etc., etc., etc.
For they are the ones who've objected to, lobbied against and obstructed almost anything that would have lessened the worlds' dependence on that crummy, sticky oil.
I think you forgot the main culprits: first, we should lock-up the CEOs/principals of the huge, international Oil conglomerates - BP, EXXON/Mobil, Chevron, etc., etc., etc.
For they are the ones who've objected to, lobbied against and obstructed almost anything that would have lessened the worlds' dependence on that crummy, sticky oil.
I ride a motor scooter these days, and get more chauvinistic about it with each passing week :) .
City centres need to be pedestrian/bike/light-rail only, except for goods vehicles (6PM-7AM) and emergency vehicles. Light rail to be fully integrated with the heavier passenger transport systems (Melbourne Trams are a nice example).
The oil peak won't automatically take care of these problems, you know. Cities used to be congested with a major public-health threat: horses and horse-shit, cholera and tetanus.
http://www.users.bigpond.com/pmurray
http://www.paulmurray.id.au/ageofworms
Lock up (and throw away the key) all who cell phone or text while driving, then smash into something they weren't watching, causing massive traffic jams.
Also, we're told cell phoning and texting while driving is as dangerous as driving while drinking. Penalties should be, then, identical.
I've been to Vancouver once, years ago; a great city, but no room for bikes. I live in Europe and it's not city planning, it's attitude. The moment you use your bike as often as possible (Germany, Denmark, Holland), you know that when you're driving a car, bikers and pedestrians are equals in traffic. We don't always have lanes for bikes, but it works. I wouldn't recommend it to a North American, though; my Canadian brother-in-law thought us all nuts, taking the kids to school by bike without armour-plating them!!
yeah, i've heard the complaints before about cyclists using the sidewalk and have to admit i've seen cyclists behaving stupidly ALMOST as often as motorists. i will admit, though, to using the sidewalk at times myself as a cyclist and tell you why.... safety. when i need to go across the city and bikelanes don't exist where i need to go, i'll choose the sidewalk over the streets often because the roads are often so narrow and set up for cars, not bikes...and so bikes (unless you can dress yourself fluorescent and make noise and flail arms around making yourself visible to otherwise BLIND drivers oblivious to pedestrians or bikes both) are not considered at many major intersections with turn lanes and light signals that barely accommodate athletic sprinters, let alone elderly or cyclists to get across in one piece. when i need to use sidewalks i go intentionally pretty slow, too, since curbs are inconsistent and sidewalks themselves pretty wonky to navigate due to disrepair, plus every alley and driveway is a potential hazard, so it just pays to be super vigilant and on the lookout for drivers, for whom the idea of watching for cyclists is an afterthought, if a thought at all. i just hope it won't take decades for us to get (as ani difranco said) 'off the sauce' and out of the private-car addiction/entitlement mindset. i love my bike and find it amazing that so few people i know who HAVE bikes use them to commute to work or utilize public transit....but then i intentionally live where bikelanes and access to bus routes is relatively simple. anybody know of a good AA-style 'recovery program' focused on CAR addiction?
When I am a pedestrian I hate cyclists on the sidewalk and would love to see them ticketed. It would help send the message that bicycles belong on the roads and not the sidewalks.
As for a 12-step recovery program for car addiction, the first step, admitting the problem is fairly easy. The next one is difficult, ie believing that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Steps 5 to 12 will be relatively easy, but step 4, deciding to turn our lives over to that higher power and live differently, that is the difficult one.