This video link,courtesy of Urbanophile, promotes cycling in Rotterdam, whether by regular bikes, sport bikes, utility bikes, mangos, and for all types of people.
Notice particularly the teen boy from the opening scene who delivers the newspapers and eventually is handed the yellow leader’s jersey from the old cyclist.
Rotterdam is slightly bigger than Ottawa. Can you ever imagine a similar video of Ottawa?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRksR1jdt3c&feature=player_embedded
So, what does one do from the end of October to the end of April or into May, with our snow, ice, and frigid temperatures??? I’m 67 and unable to bike due to physical disabilities, and with our ever aging poplulation, things will only become more difficult. What do you suggest for us???
The video is a nifty film with a good use of emotive values, of youth, middle age, and elderly people cycling, passing the baton/yellow jersey, etc. It doesn’t suggest that Rotterdam has ONLY cycling. Indeed, of all the dutch cities I have visited, Rotterdam is probably the most “north american” since it was largely rebuilt post 1950 and reflects the auto-centric era, with freeways, arterials, etc. and is much less “walkable’ than other dutch cities. For all that, it is still miles ahead of us.
I cycle in the summer, and walk in the winter. I’m pretty cheap, so I minimize my transit use. Occasionally I rent a car. I get my groceries delivered — many people are unaware that Loblaws will deliver your groceries right to your kitchen counter. It is necessary to chose your neighborhood so many places are walkable. That pretty much rules out most of suburbia, unless you find a location near a grocery store or mall and excellent transit (the areas around Lincoln Fields are still affordable…). This of course is the appeal of westboro, ottawa south, etc.
It has taken us more than half a century to build a totally auto-centric city and society; before you have a car (ie, under 16) and after you can’t (elderly) or cannot afford one, you are basically screwed unless you choose your neighborhood carefully. And all sorts of unpleasant diseases and obesity seem to be directly related to your amount of automobile use whilst you do have one. While it took us a long time to get into this predicament, as an individual you can opt out of the mass market model, and find your own niche. Maybe, over time, many more people will join you/us.
So true…and the reason behind the migration back downtown for so many people, the success of car shares and the whole concept of liveable (one could say walkable) cities.
So, what does one do from the end of October to the end of April or into May, with our snow, ice, and frigid temperatures??? I’m 67 and unable to bike due to physical disabilities, and with our ever aging poplulation, things will only become more difficult. What do you suggest for us???
OBVIOUSLY, there is no solution from all you avid bikers, who think that the answer to everything is to pop on a bike and head to work or to your local grocery store.
If there is no such option, maybe you’ll go easier on those of us who have no access to a bus, are to far from stores and pharmacies, and need cars. We are to old to change residence to make walking an option, and we can’t get younger, so stop talking as though everyone has the options that you are speaking about.
Wanderer, the two responses to your inquiry in the first comment did not give the answer “cycling”. They talk about active transporation, and walkable cities, closer distances. Are your reading into the responses a pro-cycling bias? if you have chosen to live in an area with no transit, located far from stores and pharmacies, and are “too old” to consider changing your residence or to consider walking anywhere, you have put yourself in a real bind. What are you going to do when your eyesight deteriorates, or alzheimers sets in, and you can no longer drive? Self euthanasia? Forcible removal to a retirement home? You have choices, you can do new things. These may not include cycling. But for thousands of years humans have existed without personal automobiles, you can too.
I like the idea of people cycling in their regular clothes. If only we could solve the “helmet head” problem. I’ve been hit by cars three times while riding, and the last time my helmet saved my life. I don’t think I could ever ride a bike without my helmet.
How long before the anti-cyclists find your blog and comment on the teens riding on the sidewalk? Or how the kids should have helmets?
You cyclists are SO selfish and for too long you’ve had your own way. This Laurier bike lane nonsense is just the last straw.
Is THAT your vision of the future, Eric, a city where cyclists ride on sidewalks, don’t wear helmets, listen to MP3 players while chewing gum, demand expensive infrastructure at taxpayer expense, terrorize pedestrians and punish car drivers until they’re ready to explode (or at least write a letter to the Sun)?
That’s certainly not our vision in Bells Corners where we LOVE our cars and HATE our taxes. Thank goodness we have a forward-thinking councillor to protect us from bike-riding Glebe pinkos like you.
You are advocating dangerous and irresponsible cycling practices by promoting this disgusting video, and I demand that you publish a full retraction immediately.
Craig
president,
Citizens for Unfettered Driving
P.S. I must say that the bike-taxi featured in the video is pretty cool, but everything else is EVIL.
I think CFRA was surprised when they interviewed your councillor RC the other day no doubt expecting a negative response on the bike lanes. Instead he was strongly in support of it. The interviewer actually paused as she was caught off guard. But I wouldn’t expect to actually see him on a bike.
OBVIOUSLY, there is no solution from all you avid bikers, who think that the answer to everything is to pop on a bike and head to work or to your local grocery store.
If there is no such option, maybe you’ll go easier on those of us who have no access to a bus, are too far from stores and pharmacies, and need cars. We are to old to change residence to make walking an option, and we can’t get younger, so stop talking as though everyone has the options that you are speaking about. Not everyone has the means to pick up, sell their family home and move to some location that is closer to all amenities. Not everyone is well off enough to make this an option. And when the core of the city is filled, where do people move then??. How much infill will there be available over time? Blaming us for decisions made over 30 years ago, when popular opinion was to move away from the centre to the suburbs, where it was safer to raise kids, schools were more accessible, and life was quieter. Leaving a home one loves, with a pool, great neighbours, backing onto a park with playgrounds and a tennis court, churches and schools nearby, little traffic – sounds insane to me. I guess I’ll enjoy my car and my life just as it is for now. ( :>)
Sure hope you realize that, in time, you too will grow old, you too could become handicapped and you too could be afflicted by that dreadful disease, Alzheimers. I wouldn’t be so arrogant about your way being the only way, and that car use should be banned as much as possible.’
You too are human, with human frailties.
Your talk of self euthanization and forcible removal to retirement homes (or nursing homes if you can’t afford retirement homes-the fate of many), I hope was tongue in cheek – if not, you truly are an arrogant, selfish person that I hope never to meet.
Wanderer makes some good points – life was pretty idyllic back in the Fifties when developers and land speculators like Bill Teron and Lloyd Francis laid out their car-centric suburban communities.
And we certainly can’t blame our senior citizens for ripping out the tram lines and favouring sprawl – almost everybody was on board back then. Gas was 10 cents a gallon, global warming was only a twinkle in David Suzuki’s eye and the American Dream was unsullied.
The car is still king in Ottawa, but it’s going to have to learn to share power a bit.
So much of the anti-bike lane grumbling is driven by CFRA/Sun demaogues.
Thanks for being one of the few who don’t beat me about the head for growing up in the
‘good old days’ when the further you could move from down town, the better for you and your family. When we moved to Bells Corners, they had minivans that would pick us up at our homes and take us to the nearest bus shelters. That made sense in BC, and probably in a lot of other areas, but considered a non-essential service. Walk, move, or change jobs. How realistic is that attitude then, and now.
I wonder what the pro-bikers would have thought of the Home Care physios, OT’s, social workers, nurses, etc. For 20 years I plied the roads of the whole ROMC, (look at an old map to realize the distances we had to travel) delivering our services to those who couldn’t get out to outpatient clinics, and were house bound. We went out despite the weather, never cancelled because of bad weather, froze our buns off in the winter and drove in un-airconditioned cars all summer, with in-car temperatures at 140 degrees with the thermometers under the seat. We weren’t even allowed radios so we could be warned of heat waves, traffic jams, inclement weather, etc. We never ever got a thank you, from the ROMC beauraucrats or anyone else. I actually had one supervisor who thought that maybe we could drive to our designated area and walk or take the bus to our patients. This with the mandate to see 7 or 8 patients daily, with an hour of paper work and travel time not included in our time. Our mileage in a day could run up to 60 km. I’m sure the pro-bike folks would think we should have been able to do this riding a bike!!!
I’m retired, on disability, and would be grateful if I could take a bike to do my local
shopping, pick up my meds, etc.
I resent being picked on by those who are hale and hearty and assume that the rest of
the world is in the same boat. Maybe you will be lucky and remain hale and hearty, and maybe life won’t be as kind to you. I hope you are so lucky.
Wanderer, you really are not understanding what people are saying. No one is suggesting everyone get rid of their cars and move downtown. My 83 year old mother still lives in her home with her garden and pool and is not a good candidate for getting on a bike. Many others are in the same boat. You sound like you love your home and I hope you can live in it as long as possible. What the bike thing is really about is an alternate form of transport for those that are able to use it. I own a car (and use it) and 2 bikes which I also use. I used to go to the grocery store (less than 2k away) by car. I realized years ago that this was silly. It’s easier, as fast and more healthy to go by bike. There are many trips that people make by car that they can easily make by bike and many people can commute to work if they are given the infrastructure to do so. Biking is not for everyone and but it is an option many more could be using. That will make for a healthier city and less congestion for car drivers. If, at times, cyclists appear to be aggressive defending bike lanes it is because for so long we have not been taken seriously as a transportation solution. We deserve more than the piddling amounts spent on us.