To the Editor,
Re: Protected bike lane meant to improve safety, Aug. 18.
Up until this article I have speculated why on Earth they would put the bike lane on the inside of the cars.
With the clarification of the dedicated bike lane being for safety, I know for sure that this design is a complete failure. The article refers to bike lanes in Vancouver, however, Vancouver bike lanes are segregated two-way lanes for bikers travelling in both direction separated by a meridian on one side of the road.
The real flaw in this bike lane design is the visibility. With this bike lane being around a hospital, the parallel parking spots along the bike lane are always filled with either staff or patient vehicles.
Every single time that I have been making a turn from Boundary Avenue onto Nelson Street and there is a cyclist wanting to travel through, I stop because I see the cyclist and the cyclist has to stop because they are unsure if the driver is able to see them.
I support the infrastructure change to encourage more cyclists, and really hope to utilize bike lanes throughout the city in the future, but there is no way in my right mind I would feel safe cycling through that intersection.
Craig TalbotNanaimo
To the Editor,
Re: Bicycle lanes help city pedal toward 21st century, Letters, Aug. 20.
A recent letter to the editor gives me an opportunity to clarify some misconceptions that many people seem to have about who is and who is not paying for our roads.
Motorists pay less than a quarter for every loonie we spend on the roads. The rest of the road maintenance budget comes out of general revenue. That pot is funded by taxpayers which includes, besides motorists, people in wheelchairs, people in retirement homes, cyclists, pedestrians and others who may not own a car. So please say thank you to all those people who do not drive a car but who pay for others who do drive.
The other point you must not forget is that automobiles pollute the air, whereas bicycles, mobility scooters and pedestrians do not. In addition, the car itself costs society dearly in environmental costs, not only in manufacturing but also at the end of its life cycle.
Cars also are the main cause of traffic accidents (well actually, motorist are), which is a main reason why the insurance costs are so high. Those accidents cost all taxpayers dearly in health-care costs. Add to that the fact that motorists do not do well when it comes to having a healthy lifestyle. It is no wonder that our health-care costs in B.C. currently take 40 per cent of our government’s budget.
Kudos to the city for moving forward to making Nanaimo a liveable city.
Leo BoonNanaimo