Shames on Taxis
I am not a hardcore biker and just bought a bicycle last summer after an over 30+ year hiatus from biking. While the weather has somewhat warmed up it is still not warm enough for me to get the bike out of my bedroom and hit the city roads again. Over the fall and winter I have been watching the Toronto bike-car wars and I have to say its quite discouraging that drivers in general refuse not only to share the roads safely but refuse to follow the rules of the road. Even more discouraging is the fact the Toronto Police refuse to enforce the traffic laws. Case in point – this Toronto Star article on the innate problems with the bike lane on Simcoe Street”
On Wednesday, a uniformed police officer ushered taxis into the centre’s parking lot. He didn’t chastise them for clogging the bike lane, or for idling, which carries a fine of up to $5,000. When the Star asked him to clear the bike lane, he said he’d “call someone.”
Why a Toronto Police officer couldn’t do it himself is beyond me. Who knew traffic law enforcement remains the exclusive purview of only some cops? The Toronto Star article goes on:
Minutes ticked by. A cyclist stopped to make the same request. “I’m pissed off and frustrated,” said the cyclist, Daniel Hall. On his way south to the ferry docks, Hall was attempting to use the lane for the first time. Instead, he found cars backed up all the way from Bremner Blvd. to Front St.
The officer finally said he’d notified parking enforcement. While waiting for them to show up, the Star chatted with a few drivers. When told it was illegal to stand in a bike lane, some said, “No it’s not,” and others, “It’s only for today.” Beck and Royal taxi dispatchers said they’d get their cars to leave the lane, but no one did.
Twenty minutes after the officer called for parking enforcement, no one had shown up. So, the Star called and was told a car would be sent out. Thirty-five minutes later, the lane was still full of idling cars.
Believe it or not there is a $60 fine for parking in a bike lane and if your car is idling the fine can go up to $5,000. The first time I rode south on Sherbourne from Bloor Street East in the designated bike lane I had to merge into fast moving traffic or hit a delivery van in front of the Sherbourne Medical Centre. Not only was the van in the bike lane he was strategically parked on the clearly marked “No Parking or Stopping Anytime’ sign. A pedestrian waiting at the bus stop just passed the parked van kept screaming at me “Lady don’t do it – just use the sidewalk for G-d’s sake. It wasn’t a one-off experience and the driver was parked there just after 4pm everyday I rode home. This year I am ready for him.
I have a Jewish friend in The Center Of The Universe who once told me that when one drank red wine, one should have food & water with the wine.
), and you need to refresh yourself on friends’ said good advice….look in the mirror!
Ignoreing this good advice, I drank a bottle of Dr Zen Zen Noir, then got on my bicycle, (obviously couldn’t drive!), and went to the local elementary school.
Which is another story in itself.
By the time my ‘ride’ was over, I had a fat lip, a layer of skin on my cheek was missing, and a small shiner developed under the eye above my skinless face.
My hands were fine, because I didn’t get them out in time to stop myself from kissing the sidewalk.
I have decided that biking is not for me.
Be careful out there, Kateland.
So on the off chance that my comment is deleted,( accidently of course
There is no morale to this story.
See it all would have worked out if you had only drunk Israeli red instead and ate a little food. You should have been here last weekend when I was cooking sambuska washed down with a nice Yarden merlot. I’m careful Beachnut…but its the other guys on the road who cause the problems.
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!