San Francisco Man Equates Cyclists to Islamic Fanatics
Some people really hate bikers. They're rare, but I encounter them on my commute every few days and always regret not taking down the company names and numbers of the cab drivers who lean out the window to hurl insults at me simply for pulling up beside them. That's nothing compared with the San Francisco man who has singlehandedly derailed plans to put in more bike lanes by suing the city. Rob Anderson, sick of bikers' holier-than-thou attitudes, claims (1) that bike lanes will increase congestion by causing more traffic for car drivers and (2) that we shouldn't try to alter America's carcentric ways. Meanwhile, bikers are protesting for their safety. In a summer in which the amount of riders have increased exponentially, bikers across the country are getting injured or killed in horrible collisions with drivers who aren't used to their presence on the road.
Nothing beats this quote, though, from Anderson's blog: "Regardless of the obvious dangers, some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings—because they are politically motivated to do so."
Um, bicyclists are the new terrorists? We want our space on the road, of course, but not at the expense of life-threatening road rage (A heads up: The photo may be a little upsetting).
Tags: exercise and fitness | transportation | environment | cycling
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (3) | Print
Reader Comments
For every treadly - that's an extra car space and cheaper gas for the rest of you
Gas prices are high, Pollution from cars is causing climate change which is causing world food shortages from droughts and wild storms and you want to keep the car?
European cities have made cycling to work much much safer, and big numbers of treadlies are being used. This has a multiple beneficial effect.
1. Health benefits for each cyclist.
2 Fitter people, skinnier people - keeps health costs down for everybody. USA has an obesity epidemic and you want to keep using your cars to commute?
3. About Eight treadlies and riders can fit into the space normally taken up by a car with one occupant - the driver - so this must surely reduce the traffic problems. This has been the European experience. And as Chinese take up driving cars - their cities have been choked with cars, traffic jams and pollution. There's your real evidence.
4. The reduced space occupied by treadlies - means more parks in town for people who really need them.
I don't know why I'm surprised at Ron's attitude or the support he's getting. Look who you voted President of the USA.
For those cities where winter is icy - perhaps you could have more buses and park and ride - so people park in their satellite shopping centres or football parks and ride the bus to work, or better still - work from home, part or all of the week.
Doesn't he have a point?
Aside from the overblown and stupid rhetoric about Islamic fanatics, doesn't he actually have a point worth considering? Is it not plausible that more bike lanes could lead to more cars idling in traffic, and thus even WORSE pollution?
This is an empirical question that deserves investigation. It shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
advertisement
