There is an article in the Metro News today about Bylaw setting up their sting operations on cyclists -
http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/218438/calgary-spring-brings-out-pedest...
...which makes me absolutely crazy with frustration!
I've posted about this issue before and the gist of my frustration is this - why does Bylaw seem to only focus on cracking down on cyclists? Where is the enforcement of rules for walkers, joggers, stroller-momma gangs, running groups, and those dog walking services - some of which are a menace to other pathway users becuase they cannot control their dogs?
Walkers on Bike Only Paths
Submitted by Smokey Crow on
I do hope they ticket the walkers/joggers on the 'no walking' portions of the paths too! I especially like it when they walk/jog side by side taking up the entire stretch.
I am all for following the rules, but for speed limits being limited to 20km/hr along all stretches of the pathway seems a bit unreasonable. I can see areas where the path is shared but along areas, such as the Riverwalk, where it is bikes only then crank it up to 30km I say. Perhaps this would encourage more cyclists who think it takes to long to get to work. A first time cyclist getting a ticket for going to fast may think it isn't worth it, especially since speeding in a car can be done with limited policing (people wizz past me everyday who I know are going well over the speed limit).
Not really an issue for me though, I don't have any paths on my route so I can just go as fast as I am able.
CPS doesn't ticket unless it
Submitted by Richard Z on
CPS doesn't ticket unless it's at least 10kmh over the limit, right? Is that because the radar isn't precise enough? What does bylaw do? Anyone fought a speeding ticket successfully?
probably...
Submitted by mikewarren on
...a combination of radar and speedometer accuracy on top of court precedence (e.g. "your honour, my client can't *possibly* see a mere 10km/h difference on his crappy speedometer!"). I don't know for sure, but I think radar is pretty damn accurate.
That aside, though, everyone
Submitted by Richard Z on
That aside, though, everyone should be respectful pathway users. Pointing to the dog walkers over there is not an excuse for not slowing down on congested stretches of pathway.
Agreed
Submitted by DarrenB on
Agreed. That's what motorists often due and I know it enrages cyclists: "I don't care if I pass that cyclist too close with my car! They are all scofflaws who run red lights and stop signs, anyways -- so why should I follow the rules around them!"
Is there any traction out there for some exploration with the City and Parks Department for some meaningful engagement around realistic speed limits? A start would be to raise the speed limits on the bike-only sections and get some enforcement to keep the pedestrians off. Another one would be to make speed limits only applicable when there are pedestrians or other slower users present on the segment of the pathway (i.e. 20 km/h max when within 50 m of a non-cyclist on the path). We would need a large unified voice to push these kinds of things along, but I am not sure whether cyclists would get behind ideas like this. Thoughts anyone?
Darren I think having an
Submitted by Julie Gregg on
Darren I think having an "except when" speed limit is a problem (and even more difficult to enforce) What if there is another cyclist who is a senior citizen out for a leisurely roll along the pathway. Not all people on bikes are commuting from A - B and in a hurry. I get the point you are making, really it boils down to riding in a reasonable fashion for care and safety of other users.
Good point
Submitted by DarrenB on
I was just tossing out ideas as a starter.
Bike Calgary supports the speed limits
Submitted by winterrider on
In the past Bike Calgary have been explicit and vocal supporters of the speed limits. There was a well written and reasoned blurb about this on the website. I'm not sure where it is now.
If you want to lobby for increased limits, I believe the Calgary Tour de Nuit group was lobbying against the current limits.
I believe the gist of the argument for the current limits is the closing speeds of oncoming traffic. At 20km/h the closing speed of cyclists travelling in opposite directions is 40km/h, and a collision at that speed is bad, but not really bad. At 30km/h the closing speed is 60km/h and a collision is much more serious.
This one?
Submitted by Richard Z on
This one?
http://bikecalgary.org/node/1869
Couldn't agree more
Submitted by snowandscience on
You're right Richard, we shouldn't be demonizing other users of the MUP - they are MUP's after all, and cyclists should be respectful there. Pedestrians and dog walkers can be cyclists and drivers too. However, with Calgary's lack of reasonable on-street infrastructure, I think if I ever got a ticket for speeding on the pathway, I'd take the lane on Memorial for the week with a big sign on my back saying "GOT A SPEEDING TICKET ON BOW RIVER PATHWAY: WRITE YOUR ALDERMAN TO REQUEST A BIKE LANE".
It does make me a bit angry that they think a "crackdown" is necessary - very adversarial approach to what should be a friendly reminder.
B
Last year they warned first
Submitted by winterrider on
They set up one week, and warned people. Or at least they warned me and I was doing 15 over the limit. The next week I was on Memorial Dr when they set up, I presume they were handing out tickets that day.
I think the "crackdown" terminology is more an attention getting device than a serious campaign to punish cyclists. Also the word crackdown was used by the writer of the article, it was not attributed to the bylaw officers interviewed. It is likely that bylaw services did not use this term as they indicated by their comments that warning are often issued except for obviously reckless behaviour.
But as CritNinja points out, do they ever do a similar campaign against dogs on the path?
Right on all counts
Submitted by ryker on
Heh. Drivers are reliably angry if you ride your bike on Memorial parallel to the MUP. If you do this, you'd get the most bang for your buck if you alert the media. And bring a couple of cyclist friends along for support and safety (as in safety in numbers).
Of Course
Submitted by Smokey Crow on
I don't see any problems with slowing down around walkers, dogs, etc. When it is a shared pathway that is definatly important. I believe that the issue here is when the other non-cyclist users are on the 'bike only' sections and this happens lots (on the weekend anyway). Most times they are listening to their iPod's and in their own little world. This is where I hope that if the bylaw officers are going to be ticketing cyclists for going too fast that they also need to issue tickets to those who are on the wrong pathway (including cyclists on the non-bike sections). They cannot just focus on one offence but should take into account all infractions because if they don't and just focus on the speeding offence then it is just a crackdown on cyclists and not other users.
Incongruent signals from city hall
Submitted by RTRT on
HAHA Ben, That IS a good idea.
My biggest problem with the "crackdown" is that it unfairly targets cyclists at times and in areas where accident risk is minimal. I saw them ticketing people last year at 8am on the river pathway west of crowchild!! At that time of morning there are almost no pedestrians and many cyclists on that stretch. Never once have I seen the bylaw officers handing out Information pamphlets to pedestrians or rollerbladers that urge a sharing of MUP space. What kind of message does this send to cyclists, while the council says they want to increase the number of cyclists two-fold but discourages commuting? Wouldn't an education campaign targeted at MUP users be more productive?
I'd love to see this type of "education campaign" hit the river pathway on a sunny friday at noon when I've trying to commute (very slowly) home but can't navigate the groups of 6 wide pedestrians traveling in both directions.
city finally looking at bad dog owners
Submitted by critninja on
I am relieved to see that the city is looking into what IMO is a serious problem of bad dog owners, story here - http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/20walkers/6633404...
Whether anything will come of it is up for debate, just glad that they recognize that there may be a problem and are willing to investigate.
Here's the survey
Submitted by winterrider on
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/ABS/Pages/Animal-Services/Animal-Services.aspx
I think this is more for users of off leash areas than MUPS, but for those who are interested...
Tickets?
Submitted by Wyldkat on
My bike has a bell, lights, reflectors and even a mirror but no speedometer, didnt know I needed one, anyone know how many revolutions a 26" wheel makes at 20kph? Nevermind, I dont think I can count them while I dodge dogs, rollerbladers and pedestrians walking side by side.
I think I will stick to the roads for now.