RCC letter to Ottawa Citizen

Post date: Jul 18, 2011 2:52:25 AM

The Ottawa Citizen July 16, 2011

Re: Separate bike lanes the best approach, July 12.

In his letter, James O'Grady fails to make it clear why he thinks The

Responsible Cycling Coalition's opposition to bike lanes is

"irresponsible and self-serving."The mandate articulated on the

coalition's website states that the organization's purpose is "to

locally promote skilled and law abiding cycling.

The coalition acknowledges the rights and responsibilities of all road

users and advocates skilled driving regardless of vehicle class. RCC

opposes roadway designs that make cycling more inconvenient or more

dangerous."

The website also cites solid evidence that runs counter to the

popular, but false, view among cycling activists that such lanes make

cycling safer.

Additionally, the city's own data - only 24 bike accidents in a

fiveyear period from 2005 to 2009 - show that Laurier Avenue was

already safe for cyclists anyway. Of those accidents, 15 occurred at

intersections where segregated bike lanes have been shown to increase

the accident rate rather than reduce it.

It would appear that the coalition is not alone in its assessment. An

online poll by CTV (Monday, July 11) showed that more than twothirds

of the Ottawa public doesn't believe bike lanes make our roads safer

either.

Bruce Lowe,

Ottawa Co-founder, The Responsible Cycling Coalition

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Rights+responsibility/5111788/story.html#ixzz1SJpG1KK5

Original letter: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Separate+bike+lanes+right+approach/5086745/story.html