We’re all for the Town of Canmore making changes to its traffic and road use bylaw – but it would be nice if there was some followup as far as enforcement goes.
Our municipal governments and administrations in both Banff and Canmore have identified encouraging bicycle usage as a priority, which is great, and is in line with municipalities across North America.
Finally, it seems, the internal combustion engine is no longer seen as the only sensible way of providing power for people movers. Like other locations on our globe, North Americans are finally embracing bicyles as legitimate modes of transportation.
With Banff in particular being suited to cycling due to its small geographic footprint, and Canmore somewhat less so, using bikes instead of cars makes sense.
But (you knew there was a but here), what will be needed going forward is some buy-in from the cycling community as to proper and polite usage.
We feel few folk balk at youngsters riding their bikes on sidewalks, but citizens’ patience shortens considerably when adults are wheeling their steeds on the same sidewalks – as a means of avoiding road traffic and following the rules of the road.
It’s safe to say, we feel, that often cyclists are their own worst enemies when it comes to buy-in from the pedestrian and driving public when it comes to bike use.
Both of our towns have gone to some lengths to provide suitable cycling infrastructure, but that infrastructure is only as good as those using it. Bike lanes, it may be pointed out, were not place with the idea of riding in any direction. Bike lanes are designed as a lane where cyclists will be expected to be found.
Just like the self-destructive habit of wearing dark clothing and riding without lights in fall and winter is offputting for motorists who will not necessarily see said cyclists, motorists are also not expecting bikes to be anywhere and everywhere.
For the sake of self-preservation, cyclists should have a look at the actual rules of the road that govern them. Bikers (again, not youngsters on sidewalks) are viewed as vehicles, with road use governed as such.
If cyclists want to be increasingly accepted on our roads, it behooves them to accept the rules of the road. Stop signs, traffic lights, etc. all relate to cyclists as well as motorists.
If nothing else, adults owe it to youngsters to set an example as far as cycling goes. Often, around schools, kids can be seen to be ignoring cycling rules – just like parents and other adults. Sometimes, those kids are being led, wrongly, in cycling to school by their parents.
Rules of the road are not that onerous for cyclists and were created as much for their own safety as anything.
An odd situation is that adults who drive while obeying the rules of the road suddenly are struck by some form of amnesia, road rules-wise, when they trade car seat for bike seat.
With bicycle usage sure to increase in the future in our towns, and as a means of reducing congestion it’s a good idea, an increase in knowledge of the rules of the road should be indispensible.
