Hi Pacpost. I just used that hilarious link in my latest blog – https://averagejoecyclist.com/?p=1128 – I have been so stressed out by all the rage from the anti-cycling lobby lately, that I decided I needed to lighten up a little – chill out. I will be doing a guest post using your information within the next week.

That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in ages – thanks! I will definitely find a way of sharing that …

Hi Joe,

You’re welcome. I look forward to the post(s).

I think you’re right about the quiet majority, which dovetails with Geoff Meggs pointing out that this new protected bike infrastructure is about trying to accommodate the 60% of the population too afraid to try cycling.

As for that proportion of motorists who are irrationally angry, I think the following is the best parody I’ve come across yet of this small but very vocal bunch of loonybins:

http://bamboobadger.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-i-hate-pedestrians.html

thanks – I am going to post those links so as many people as possible see them … and also check them out myself, of course

Council minutes now available: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20101005/regu20101005ag.htm

If you load this in Windows Media Player (http://www4.insinc.com/ibc/mp/md/play/c/317/1199/201010051910wv150en,003.asx) and jump to 2:33:50 you can hear Gordon Price’s speech.

Thank you! I am definitely going to put this together as a guest post (I don’t want to take credit for it myself, but I really want to get these ideas out there. The timing is appropriate – today the net is full of motorists metaphorically foaming at the mouth over the vote. Time for another reminder about how much they owe us … not that it will ever sink in, but it’s therapeutic to say it anyway. Also, I have noticed that there is another, quieter group – people who are undecided, and will actually listen to both sides of the story. These people rapidly become pro-cyclist when they realize we are pro-planet and have reason and research on our side; while the motorist lobby shoots itself in the foot with its ugly hatred and its obvious ignorance.

Yes, I cannot wait to use it! I am fortunate that I seldom have to bike downtown. But when I do, I scoot around the edges. I am pretty brave most of the time on my bike, but Hornby near Georgia right now just feels like mayhem. Even lower down you don’t know what to expect from minute to minute, because at any second a car could hit you from either side. So I hate it, and I avoid it.

I HAVE to get more techno-savvy! I would have loved to have been listening to that! At least with this blog, I am learning more every day …

Looking forward to trying it. Every bike trip to downtown for me right now uses Hornby for the trip in and Burrard for the trip out. The southern part of hornby has always been fine (except at nelson), but gets dangerous feeling around georgia and even worse between dunsmuir and pender. Coming back south on Burrard, that last block between Drake and Pacific is the worst. Looks like it’ll be much better now.

Please feel free to post the information in any way you like. I’m just passing along the excellent work of others. ;-) No need to mention me, but if you must, go with ‘pacpost’. Thanks.

The only thing I’d add concerns the comparison of cars versus bikes, and their relative impact on roads. From a simply physics perspective, it’s not just the weight difference which is important.

The average commuting cyclist can probably generate about 150 watts of power when accelerating (Lance Armstrong and company can max out at around 450 watts on mountain climbs, but there’s maybe 10 guys in the world who can do that, and who knows what’s fuelling them).

The average car (nowadays around 200 HP) can generate 150,000 watts. So, while the average car weighs 20 times more than the average cyclist on a bike, that car is capable of putting down 1,000 times more kinetic force through its tires. It’s not just acceleration, there’s also the act of braking which imparts tremendous forces on our roads. That, much more than weight, accounts for the tremendous wear and tear that cars dish out to roads.

Just something else to keep in mind when we’re talking about the different costs of building and maintaining roads and bike paths. Feel free to use the above in any future post you’d like to put up. ;-)

Glad you liked it! I found those stats in Business in Vancouver magazine – reputable source. I was pretty surprised by them – they put it in perspective for me too. Someone else was saying that it’s not about the money, or losing a bit of parking – it’s about an anti-cycling culture in Vancouver. And that same person was saying that Toronto does not have this problem, and it’s time for Vancouver to grow up!