Innocent By-standers

Snow clearing in Montreal is a major financial and physical effort. Woe to the innocent bystanders left along the path of the machines.

Whether they were abandoned by their owners or simply left locked on the sidewalk by people who forgot that winter still exists; it is a sad end for these trusty steeds.

Car-free Day

Cars do have their purposes; especially for visiting family in another city. But the feeling of freedom from bother when returning a rental car is particularly sweet on the day following a record snowfall in Montreal.

Yes, it is clear to see how much more suited a car is to getting around a Canadian city in winter than a bicycle.

This is Montreal

What a difference two weeks makes.

I'm sorry, but no amount of publicity and four season boosterism is going to convince me to try and navigate the snowy streets of Montreal on a bicycle. It makes about as much sense as trying to drive a car through these streets.

Besides, walking through the snow as you watch motorists try to barrel their way out of their parking spots is one of the more pleasurable experiences of a Montreal winter.

Many cyclists decide to leave their bikes down on the sidewalks even as the snow piles up. 

I wonder how many survive the passing of the plows and blowers when the city tries to defy nature, and scoops up the tonnes upon tonnes of snow?

Navigation 101

Last week, I watched the Fifth Estate's updated report on the Costa Concordia accident, which included an interview with the ship's captain.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2012-2013/2012/12/costa-concordia-the-captains-tale.html

Most of the report is actually made up primarily of portions of the first report that the Fifth Estate broadcast earlier in the year.

Still, it was fascinating and disconcerting to listen to Captain Schettino tell the journalist how the accident really wasn't his fault. He mentions the First Mate, the wheelsman, the company, but only refers to himself as almost a victim of circumstance.

Perhaps if the journalist had referred to the Italian government's preliminary report he might have challenged the captain on some of his assertions.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3544291/Italian%20Maritime%20MSC90%20Presentation%20Costa%20Concordia.pdf

As it is, what amazes me is that, if the bridge team had simply followed some of the basic principles of navigation and pilotage, this event would never have happened.

According to the preliminary report, this was the planned route of the vessel:

Even if you know nothing about navigation, common sense dictates that, if you have a hazard on one side of your planned track and open water on the other, you should err on the side of caution and stay in the safe zone.

Still, planning the turn to pass parallel to the island at the point of the nearest danger demonstrated no thought in the planning at all. If the 278 course had been shifted a mile to the south of the course shown on the chart, it would have allowed for the vessel to be turned on to the next course with room to correct even if they had missed the turn.

Additionally, with all the sea room to starboard, there is no reason why the turn could not have been started early and made in a serious of steps, which is not uncommon with a large turn of almost sixty degrees.

These are basic principles followed by prudent navigators throughout the world and throughout history. It is sobering that while technology can help navigators in the performance of their jobs, it cannot save them if they choose to ignore those principles.

Wish List

In a shot from the city of Montreal's 2012 cycling map, I've marked three dead ends or missing links that make the top of my wish list for the city to take some action in the new year.

Number 1 is the dead end at the corner of Bellechasse and Boulevard Saint-Laurent, which causes so much frustration for cyclists and pedestrians. For cyclists heading downtown in the morning because they end up at a one way street heading north when they want to head south. And for pedestrians because the majority of the cyclists choose to ride on the sidewalk between Bellechase and Bernard until they can pick up the bike path on Clark.

Number 2 is the missing link between the corner of Esplanade and Mont Royal Avenue and the bike path on Rachel. This is probably the easiest one of the three to address as it merely requires a small widening of the path on the east side of Jeanne Mance Park in order to define a section for cyclists and a section for pedestrians.

Number 3 is the dead end at the intersection of Prince Arthur and Boulevard Saint-Laurent. It seems madness to define an on-road bike lane on Prince Arthur that leads cyclists to one of the busiest commercial streets in the city. Perhaps it was thought that the bike lane would continue on the pedestrian portion of Prince Arthur towards the north/south Berri bike path, but this has not been done so I am not quite sure what the idea is here. 

An option could be to make Clark Street cyclable from Bernard to Prince Arthur, but it would certainly meet with opposition in the narrow southern section that would require parking spaces to be removed. The city's map is somewhat misleading as it does not show streets where there is only one direction of travel for cyclists such as on Saint Urbain (southbound), which gives the impression that it is available to cyclists to go north on it. 

It is fine to ask cyclists to ride responsibly and respect the rules, but it also should be incumbent upon the people who design our urban infrastructure to provide a system that makes sense for the citizens that use it.

Conundrum

One of the problems with the city removing bike lanes in mid-November is what do the cyclists who continue to ride the streets of Montreal do when their normal route has been closed?

Well, they ignore the fact and continue to use the space as if the bike lane was still there.

Though it does present the conundrum of whether to ride along the left or right side of the road since there is no longer any official bike lane. A few minutes viewing will show that some cyclists will choose the left and some will choose the right, though all the cyclists who are now illegally riding against the traffic on this one way street choose the left side where the bike lane used to be.

I wonder if a cyclist has ever been ticketed by the police in the winter for riding the wrong way on a street that for the rest of the year would have been the place a cyclist is expected to use?

Peer Pressure

Off the ship and back in Montreal, I was all set to leave my bike leaning against the wall till the spring. However, as I walked the streets of the Plateau my first morning back, the sight of so my people bravely bundled up and continuing to ride their bicycles on a cold December day was too much to ignore.

Even though it required replacing the rear tube because of a slow leak that had gone completely flat over the month while I was at work, I set to the task and was shortly trundling my two-wheeled liberty down the stairs.

What a reward! The feeling of content as I rode around town on a day stolen from the fourth season was a real pleasure.

As long as the snow holds off, I will hold off storing my bike; happy to succumb to the peer pressure of the increasing number of cyclists who continue to ride after the arbitrary date chosen by the city to close most of the bike lanes.

Ontario Cycling Death Review

Saturday's Globe and Mail has a piece about the province of Ontario considering legislation for mandatory helmet use for cyclists based upon a recommendation from the provincial Coroner's Review of Ontario Cycling Deaths released in June.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-to-consider-making-bike-helmets-mandatory/article5846776/

The review makes for interesting reading regarding 129 cyclist fatalities in the province over the last six years.

http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/stellent/groups/public/@mcscs/@www/@com/documents/webasset/ec159773.pdf

It has also prompted the government of Ontario to develop a "Cycling Strategy" for public comment.

http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2012/11/ontario-moves-forward-on-cycling-strategy.html

I find the most interesting aspect of all this reporting and reports is that the media chooses to focus on the issue of mandatory helmet use over all the other recommendations put forward in the review such as improving cycling infrastructure.

One of the most striking, yet unsurprising, statistics mentioned in the review is that in 100 of the 129 fatalities, the cyclist was struck by a motor vehicle. In some cases, the cyclist contributed to the accident, in others it was the driver and, in other cases, it was due to the actions or inactions of both.

Still, this glaring statistic screams for the need for infrastructure that will enhance the safety of cyclists yet the emphasis is once again put on cyclists and the mandatory wearing of helmets.