In a word or two, ridiculous, asinine, poorly thought out, daft, dopey, flakey, dangerous, expensive, too much for a very few, useless in the winter, confusing to both biker and car driver, and many more adjectives to numerous to mention, and might stray into the unprintable.
First of all, I would be very interested in why, and by what person, this program was initiated in the first place. As I drive around our fair city, I would guess the ratio of cars and trucks to bikes might be dose to 5,000 to one, if not more. In a real world, this would not usually warrant a drastic change in traffic patterns to accommodate the one.
The bike lanes on 55th Street do not indicate the use of common sense.
A route that I have used most for the last 30 years has been along 55th Street to my home in Michener. It has changed from two lanes with parking to four lanes without parking, which was a smart move, and for many years this has worked really well. There is some congestion during school terms at the turn into the high schools. This is acceptable as it is only for a couple of hours a weekday. This street is now a nightmare of two lanes, turn lanes, single lanes, and bike lanes.
This is progress? This makes our traffic run smoother? The old four-lane road, with the bikes on the sidewalk, has worked great for many years, and would continue to do so.
The website lists a half dozen or so new signs to tell us what to expect. Watching for all these signs, and trying to figure out what they mean, is probably as confusing as talking on your cellphone while driving down the road.
Another question comes to mind: Who was the architect of this fiasco?
One would doubt that he or she has not had any intimate knowledge of the city traffic, its long winters, and the type of vehicles that inhabit our streets and avenues. I would hope that our own city fathers would have been smarter than this. Why did they not see the fallacy of this idiotic program and stop it before it got started?
One might even compare the bike lanes to the wheelchair access program. Are we soon to see yet another lane for those little ride ’em carts used by folks who cannot walk? This would make about as much sense as bike lanes, and I am sure the riders of these carts would have the common sense to stay off the roads.
Wheelchair access is required by those who need them! They did not choose their predicament and helping out here only makes sense, and tax money spent on this is a good thing.
Bike riders, on the other hand, have free choice whether to ride safely on the sidewalk or take their life into their own hands and use the roads and bike lanes. I hope the city fathers have consulted our attorneys as to the liability hazard of this program. On the face of it, one might think that the liability hazard is too great for the alleged benefits of the program.
Motorcycles are rarely at fault in collisions with automobiles. They happen because they are much rarer than cars on our roads, and mostly because they are difficult to see. Pedal bikes have a much smaller profile and are even harder to see. Telling them that it is OK to ride on main thoroughfares is akin to sending them off to maim themselves or commit suicide.
Most government projects usually have a base for funding in taxes, which are directly or indirectly related to that project. Where is the funding for the three-quarters of a million dollars spent on the bike lane project? Do we collect taxes on bikes? As a car owner, I pay extra taxes on my house because I have a garage to house my cars. I buy cars from dealers who pay city taxes on their business, who employ staff who have houses who pay taxes on their garages, et al, for gas stations, automotive stores and the like. We pay our fair share of taxes to maintain the roads for cars and trucks.
As you might gather, I am vehemently opposed to this hair-brained scheme. I hope the powers that be in our City Hall see fit to cancel this project forthwith, and give 55th Street a new lift of asphalt, which it needs, so as to cover up all those goofy and dangerous markings thereon, before we have a fatality with a cyclist.
I remain a proud Red Deerian.
Ron Simonson
Red Deer