Cyclists and pedestrians

[LolaB]

There are always news about either cyclist or pedestrian being hit by a car in this city. Yes, there are for sure many careless and ignorant drivers but there is also an equal amount of people who feel they own the road while biking or crossing the road.

Brains are under utilized when it comes to a personal safety. YOU as a cyclist are firstly responsible to be properly equipped to even enter the road. I saw a cyclist after 10 pm on Friday night whom I would not be able to notice until I was very close because he/she was in a middle of the road in a dark clothing, no REFLECTIVE anything on him or a bicycle!!! Careless, stupid, drunk...????

Police should start ticketing cyclists who do not obey the road rules for example driving in a path of vehicles on a fast road - if your line is covered by a large snowbanks keep your bike at home, walk or do whatever is safe but do not try to slow a fast moving traffic (often seen on Springfield, Gordon towards Clement...). Who ever uses the road is responsible for being properly prepared to do so - wear reflective clothing or vest as the road workers do (and cyclist in other countries too), have reflective back light on your bicycle, have the bell installed to inform pedestrians you are approaching (maybe only 40-50% of cyclists do have the bell) and think before you "wobble" into the traffic riding erratically in and out your designated line. It's your life and health so WHY aren't you protecting yourself???? And of course there is another side to the story with ignorant drivers who forget to share the road etcetera...

Important thing is that many paths of this city are not designed well. Bernard has the car parking all along the street and it's so easy to forget to look into your side mirror when opening the door ... NOT a GOOD road planning here! But let's face it - Kelowna has no educated PLANNERS - it's simply pathetic. If the road is not safe get off the road and push (not ride) your bike using the sidewalk for a block or two rather than die. If you are drunk your bike should be temporary confiscated by RCMP and you should get a ticket as the drivers do. Too many accidents are happening just because people think they are superheroes (or are simply dumb).

[spooker]

And how many people when they read about a cyclist being hit wonders first "were they wearing a helmet?"

No, cycling shouldn't be automatically discounted when the conditions change ... On the other hand, cycling in winter conditions is not something you do without some thought ...

If you ride Bernard and are properly thinking about it, you ride further away from the parked cars than the door will be when it's opened ... sad that drivers can't park properly and end up hanging the left-side wheels into the road ... and it's not just Bernard ... riding along Richter, Water, short section of Enterprise, Sutherland, Dickson and more will be the same situation where a cyclist is stuck between moving traffic and a potential dooring ...

Cars are "safe" when the weather gets cold and the ice lies on the pavement ... so safe that people forget that they have a great responsibility to other road users ...

No, the infrastructure in Kelowna isn't perfect ... and as a road user, on 4 wheels, 2, or even 2 feet ... it's on you to use the road responsibly ... but considering that anyone driving a car has the greatest potential to harm others that would also mean they have the greater responsibility ...

And yes, cyclists are ticketed for infractions ... on about the same rate as drivers are ... which is sadly minimal in both cases

Being in a car is easy, you buy the lights, horns, etc with the original purchase price ... very few bicycles come the same way ... might be safer if they did ... but considering that you're 7-times more likely to get a head injury in a car it would make sense to wear a helmet while in a car just the same

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Cyclist riding (not driving) in the path of other vehicles, are often doing so legally..
And its only legal for you to pass them,when...and only when...it is clear to do so..

If you are not cognizant of those two points, then perhaps you need more driver training..

[GordonH]

Cyclist riding (not driving) in the path of other vehicles, are often doing so legally..
And its only legal for you to pass them,when...and only when...it is clear to do so..

If you are not cognizant of those two points, then perhaps you need more driver training..

Then I guess it's best cyclist stay outside of outer white lines on Harvey/97, unless they can cycle at 50km/per Hr west of Burtch & 60km/per Hr east of Burtch. If not they would be impeding flow of traffic.
Other roads around city on most part have bike lanes.

[spooker]

Then I guess it's best cyclist stay outside of outer white lines on Harvey/97, unless they can cycle at 50km/per Hr west of Burtch & 60km/per Hr east of Burtch. If not they would be impeding flow of traffic.
Other roads around city on most part have bike lanes.

If the shoulder is safe to ride on, then yes, a cyclist has a responsibility to ride as far right as that ... but by law they have as much right to the full lane of traffic as any vehicle, no matter the speed ... doesn't matter if there are bike lanes in other places ... legally your statement doesn't have any meaning ...

[GordonH]

[Even Steven]

Police should start ticketing cyclists who do not obey the road rules for example driving in a path of vehicles on a fast road - if your line is covered by a large snowbanks keep your bike at home

I like how you talk about importance of following the road rules while not even knowing the road rules.

It's perfectly legal to bike in traffic. Yes, it means you have to go slower. Deal with it.

[spooker]

^^^ wish you good luck with that, knowing amount of aggressive drivers in the area.

For eight winters now I've had "good luck" ... of course I get the occasional bozo who rolls down the window and yells at me ... I smile and wave back (with my whole hand, never just a single finger) ... the biggest point I try to make to anyone is that it's surprises that cause collisions ... act predictably, communicate, make sure you're visible and that won't happen ... same reason why I'll roll down my window when I'm driving or try to get the driver's attention somehow when I find a car without their lights turned on after dark ...

Just like you say there are aggressive drivers, I've met aggressive cyclists too ... no segment is better than another, it's just human nature ... we all have to play nice and know what the heck is going on around us

[lesliepaul]

Vehicles can be ticketed for driving to slow and impeding traffic............NOW cyclists can do what they want if the shoulder or bike lane unavailable? I rode for many, many years and my #1 goal was to make it home with out incident........NOT to make a statement about MY cycling rights to the road.

[GordonH]

[lightspeed]

Vehicles can be ticketed for driving to slow and impeding traffic............NOW cyclists can do what they want if the shoulder or bike lane unavailable? I rode for many, many years and my #1 goal was to make it home with out incident........NOT to make a statement about MY cycling rights to the road.

Common sense overload.

[spooker]

A cyclist would have to be blocking the "normal and reasonable movement of traffic" to get a ticket (Sec 145) ... it's too subjective to try and say what that means without being in the middle of it and being an officer who's been trained to make that decision ...

I use Harvey at times ... mainly because it's the most straightforward route to get from point A to point B ... sadly we don't think about the fact that providing a shortcut for bicycles actually makes sense since they are typically powered by breakfast and not gasoline ... cars get all the shortcuts while cyclists have to ride an extra 4km to get around the 6-laning project currently impacting the route to UBCO ...

Everyone is afraid of mixing cars and bikes because they have the wrong perspective ... just like the media has scared parents with all the amber alerts ... or riding a greyhound because you might get decapitated ... we imagine the worst because that's easier than actually thinking about how to get the best outcome out of something ...

We need more cyclists, reduce the amount of traffic that damages the roads and costs us a freakin' arm and a leg ... increase the base health of citizens through regular movement and wow, medical costs come down ... park 20 bicycles in a single spot that is required for a car and hey, we don't have to asphalt everything ...

No, cycling won't work for everyone ... I'm not trying to instigate a war on the car ... but everyone has the idea that cycling is dangerous, I'm alive because it's not ... being in a car has tried to kill me a heck of a lot more, I have the scars to prove it ... stop complaining and start figuring out how to work with the reality

</rant>

[alfred2]

A cyclist would have to be blocking the "normal and reasonable movement of traffic" to get a ticket (Sec 145) ... it's too subjective to try and say what that means without being in the middle of it and being an officer who's been trained to make that decision ...

I use Harvey at times ... mainly because it's the most straightforward route to get from point A to point B ... sadly we don't think about the fact that providing a shortcut for bicycles actually makes sense since they are typically powered by breakfast and not gasoline ... cars get all the shortcuts while cyclists have to ride an extra 4km to get around the 6-laning project currently impacting the route to UBCO ...

Everyone is afraid of mixing cars and bikes because they have the wrong perspective ... just like the media has scared parents with all the amber alerts ... or riding a greyhound because you might get decapitated ... we imagine the worst because that's easier than actually thinking about how to get the best outcome out of something ...

We need more cyclists, reduce the amount of traffic that damages the roads and costs us a freakin' arm and a leg ... increase the base health of citizens through regular movement and wow, medical costs come down ... park 20 bicycles in a single spot that is required for a car and hey, we don't have to asphalt everything ...

No, cycling won't work for everyone ... I'm not trying to instigate a war on the car ... but everyone has the idea that cycling is dangerous, I'm alive because it's not ... being in a car has tried to kill me a heck of a lot more, I have the scars to prove it ... stop complaining and start figuring out how to work with the reality

</rant>

simple both use common sense, some bikers are idiots as are some drivers.

[lesliepaul]

http://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/up ... 52951.jpeg


This will be Kelowna in the future if the car hating, tree hugging save the planet hypocrites have their way. Can't wait to see these "cyclist's" on Springfield Road. Then the crying "we need wider bike lanes"..........no Spandex on these cyclist's and no doubt more courteous.

[lightspeed]

the car hating, tree hugging save the planet hypocrites

Cycling is communism.