Amidst the cattle corral cacophony that pervaded much of Montreal the past several weekends, serious questions arise about the salubriousness of bicycles and the sagesse of elected officials who champion their use — and abuse.
Two Saturdays ago we lived through the international women’s bicycle race. Last Friday night it was the Tour du Nuit. And this past Sunday the mother of all bike races, the Tour de l’Île. In the first two cases the city’s centre-east core turned into a rat maze. Pine Ave. heading east seemed akin to the packing line into an abattoir. On Sunday the whole city seemed to be an armed camp. Nothing could move with any reasonableness. To get to Decarie from MacDonald for example one had to go south to Sherbrooke!
All that was bad enough. To one extent or another we’ve gotten used to these races over the past several years. But what really stunned us were the statements of several elected officials and commentators that bicycles were the logical extension of Montreal’s public transit system expansion of bus and metros. What on earth are they smoking?!
Time for some facts. This is a winter city. Today, in mid-June, we’ve only had three days above 20 degrees in the past 30 days. A small percentage of Montrealers ride bikes to work regularly. If the city is doing all this for environmental reasons, it is also nonsense. Dr. Wendell Cox, arguably North America’s leading urban transport planner, has estimated that all the “green” policies of all North American cities have reduced greenhouse emissions by under two percent. We all know that the internal combustion engine is a problem. But that problem can only be addressed by federal governments offering tax credits to make hybrid and electric cars affordable. At $20,000, not $40,000.
The frivolous attitude of our city “fathers” toward bikers’ lawlessness also surprises us. At a time when pedestrians are accosted daily by police on jaywalking charges; motorists stopped everywhere for everything from seatbelts, to cellphones to baby seats; taxi drivers harassed on the slightest pretext, why are bikers getting away with breaking every traffic rule? We have seen very few bikers stop at stop signs, pause at corners, look behind them or even stop at red lights if they are bike paths! Where are the police?
Is it possible that certain politicians who have been exploiting the green vote have instructed the cops not to enforce the rules just so they can pander to votes? Do we now have two standards for Montreal’s citizens?
Don’t the politicians realize that people who drive are not the enemy? And more than that, that the people will wake up to their hypocrisy. We have even heard of plans to make 30 blocks of the downtown core free of cars permanently. What a great way to kill what’s left of downtown. Montreal is two-thirds of Quebec’s GDP. Downtown is half of Montreal’s. Do the math.
But more than destroying the city’s productivity through anti-car measures, the politicians are creating two classes of citizens. Law cannot be applied that way. It is green fraud. Oh yes, we forgot, it’s for our own good.
Montrealers are tired of being treated like statutory idiots. The various “Tours” we’ve seen aren’t quite that at all. They are “towers.” Towers of Babel. Incomprehensible mindlessness leading mediocrity. And here’s a thought. If the rest of us have to put up with the bikers, then give the 92% who drive something.
We’re not idiots. We know what’s good for us. Another thing the city officials have been saying for years is that Montrealers aren’t smart enough to turn right on red. Well guess what? If bikers can be given the freedom of the city, we can handle right on red. Hey guys, how about a little bone to the vast majority of silent sufferers of your social engineering? It’s about time.
