Vicious cycles

The other day, walking across Danforth on a green light, I barely missed being flattened by a cyclist blowing through his red light. He didn't even slow down.

Everyone has a story like this, or worse. Cyclists barreling through stop signs, red lights, crosswalks, cutting off motorists making turns, riding the wrong way down one-way streets and, increasingly, zipping along sidewalks. They don't warn you they're coming, and they don't slow down. If we object, they toss out insults as they speed on by. It's frightening to see how much chaos, unpredictability, and risk cyclists have created for motorists and pedestrians.

As cycling grows in popularity, so does its culture of entitlement. After all, cyclists are easy on the environment, reduce traffic congestion, and they're getting exercise too. So I understand, though can't condone, their attitude of moral superiority to motorists. But it's beyond me to see how they manage to apply this to pedestrians.

Think about what's happening on a typical city sidewalk. There are no lanes, no speed limits. People are moving in all directions, up and down the sidewalk, in and out of stores and cars. There are babies in strollers, parents with little kids, seniors using canes and walkers, people in wheelchairs, people walking their dogs. And the sidewalk is full of obstacles too: lampposts, trash bins, mailboxes, newsboxes, planters, signs, benches, bus shelters. There just isn't much room to manoeuvre. Seniors are particularly at risk, because we might not be able to hear the cyclist coming up from behind, and we might not be able to leap out of the way in time. Cyclists say they ride the sidewalk because it makes them feel safer. Of course, they're doing it at the expense of the safety of pedestrians, who have nowhere else to go.

Why do they do it? Because they can. They knock down pedestrians and speed off, knowing that they can't be identified. Anonymity can bring out the worst in people. You see it in all those venomous, bigoted comments posted anonymously on internet news sites. Cyclists enjoy the same shield of anonymity, with the added thrill of actually seeing their victims suffer. Where entitlement meets impunity, you've got one dangerous intersection.

Here's what needs to happen. First, all bikes should be sold with mandatory bells or horns, so if a cyclist gets a sudden attack of social responsibility, he can easily warn us he's there. Next, the horizontal bar on men's bikes should be angled enough that the cyclist can jump off the seat and stand with both feet on the ground. That way he doesn't have to hover, but can easily come to a true stop. Finally, regardless of the cost to taxpayers, all bikes should bear registration plates with highly visible characters hanging from the back of the seat. That way victims, witnesses, and security cameras have a fighting chance of identifying the offender. If we can't break down the culture of entitlement, at least we should put an end to the anonymity.