Rocco Rossi, a Toronto mayoral candidate for this November’s municipal election, needed some attention. He got it by saying he would remove bike lanes from arterial roads if elected and wanting Jarvis delayed until after the election. He has gotten a fair bit of attention over this, especially from the cycling community. A lot of cyclists would like to put him on a stick and roast him like a pig. Actually, I am pretty tired of hearing their moaning. Herb over at IBikeTO.ca took more of a comedic route with Rossi’s statements. On the face of things comedy is probably the best way to deal with Mr.Rossi’s position.
It is time to take a deeper look at Mr. Rossi’s position. I am not trying to be a smart ass or trying to use some reverse psychology here. Mr. Rossi is pandering to some dislike of cycling infrastructure, especially bike lanes, to get attention. In addition trying to get sympathy and votes in his efforts to stop the so-called ‘War on the Car’. All that Mr. Rossi has done has established himself as the leading combatant against the car in this war. No typo, Mr. Rossi the leading combatant in the ‘War on the Car’. His fire directed right at the cars.
There have been emails and web posts floating around about how to deal with the possibility of demerit points when getting a traffic ticket while riding a bike. The information originates from the Toronto Cyclists Union. I lifted this version from BikingToronto.com,
“Please also note that officers should not be asking you for a driver’s license, though you should provide ID when asked. Demerit Points DO NOT apply for cycling infractions.
If you receive a ticket for an infraction, please make sure that it is noted as a cycling infraction. If you should encounter an officer who says different, please take note of their name/badge number (should be on the ticket i f you receive one) and get in touch with us via info@bikeunion.to – we will share this information with our contacts at Police Services and try to make sure that accurate information is shared with the officer in question.”
While it is true that cyclists should not get demerit points for infractions while riding a bike;
Demerit point system HTA 56. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing for a demerit point system for drivers of motor vehicles or of street cars. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 5.
Their advice is bad, especially so if you intend to plead not guilty. [Read more →]
For some reason Canada Post sees fit to park wherever and whenever they want. Here is some video of them illegally parking in an intersection and it shows the chaos it creates. They block a TTC bus from turning and the Rogers’ van driver seems confused as what to do. Hence you get gridlock. In the end it creates a dangerous situation for everyone.
It was a bad nightmare. It was a crashing sound that shook the bed ever so slightly. The sound was oddly muffled. Then there were these muffled screams. Did I leave the TV on? Are there teens walking home and being obnoxious? The screams are still muffled but increasingly have a sickening feeling to them. I am having a nightmare. Oh good. The wife is getting up to investigate. Maybe something fell in my son’s room. Maybe my obnoxious Siamese are into something. This is a nightmare. Ok. I can go back to sleep. My wife will figure it out. Eyes closed. Just before I drift back to sleep “THERE IS A BODY IN THE BUSHES!”, says my wife loudly.
A car which hit the telephone pole on the corner of our property then cartwheeled over the remainder. Threw one teen from car who died under our bedroom window. Second one did not look so good. They were trapped in car. Canada Post box stopped about a metre away from our bedroom. These were more common prior to the bike lanes being installed on Pharmacy Avenue.
We have all seen it. Drivers trying to race past a streetcar before its next stop. Drivers sitting behind a stopped streetcar and revving their engines so they can blast by as soon as the doors close. Drivers who ignore the doors and run down people exiting.
Below is some video of a couple of drivers trying to get ahead of streetcars. The video was shot on Broadview Avenue going northbound. They were right into it, still at when they hit the stop lights. Trying to squeeze by one another so they could be first through the light. They were either racing or just being very aggressive with one another. I do not think I was on their aggression radar at all, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still scary though, because if they fuck up with their stunts I am the one going to get hurt. They squealed their tires when the light turned green at Danforth only to be stopped by a traffic jam in front of Broadview Station.
The road at this point is wide enough to easily accommodate a car in each lane with a cyclist, me in this case, a metre away from the curve. The camera is turned sideways toward the rear. I was shocked when I saw this video. Stunned. I knew the cars had been close to me, I did not realize that I was missed by mere centimetres(@ the 23sec mark). It is hard to tell with the perspective distorted by the wide angle lens but had I been going just a tad slower there would have been a collision. The three cars involved the rush were the van taxi, the Chrysler Intrepid(model? maybe an LHS) and the Mazda 323.
Days when I cannot commute by bicycle have me taking the TTC. The Red Rocket is not so bad if you are heading into or out of downtown and you have no kids in tow. Occasionally you have some adventures on the TTC. Anyways, let me you tell you about my adventures on the TTC last Friday.
Only read this if you are bored and have nothing else to do. Not very exciting… and no video to show you.
It has not been a good year so far for people who have been Chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee. The start of the year had the current Chair with heaps of bad PR over council’s decision to pay his legal bills. Things were even worse for former Chair Jack Layton who announced last week he is battling prostate cancer. Mayor wanna-be Counillor Adam Giambrone, also a former TCC Chair, proved what cyclists knew best after the Royal York fiasco. I think I will sum it up in an appropriate campaign slogan for him, “I will screw the voters the same way I screwed over my partner”.
The Toronto Star is reporting today on Councillor Adam Giambrone’s Marilyn Monroe. This election is only weeks old and it is already messed up. Now this train wreck. Quite honestly, I never believed these affairs belonged in the news. Anyways, I guess now we know why he needs Navigator. I feel bad for the young woman knowing what is in store for her. Their reputation always comes out more tarnished than anyone else. Sad.
I guess one of the only benefits of a virus is that you have a lot of time to sit around and read news that you would not usually pay attention to. Caught these two ditties from the Los Angeles Times. The first link is to a story about expanded the number of bike lanes in L.A. Nothing earth shattering with the story except the comments section. In general the comments are much more supportive than they would be here in Toronto. Quite telling.
