Take the Safer Route

Should cyclists bike wherever they like? Surely not on highways in and around the city. I think we all can agree on that. Well, maybe not all … I was amazed to see someone biking on the Don Valley Parkway the other day. Clearly not a bright idea. But beyond making the obvious decision to not bike on the DVP, where else shouldn’t we bike?

I regularly ride along Danforth Avenue (a busy road in Toronto) to get downtown. Some may balk at taking this route, but although there are no bike lanes, and the road is usually busy, I don’t feel particularly unsafe on this street. It is reasonably wide, and there is usually adequate room for bikes. For the most part, I can keep far enough from parked cars to avoid the perils of the opening door. Cyclists regularly use this road, and there are usually at least a few others on it, even in winter. So, provided you ride defensively and sanely, a busy road like the Danforth is usually a safe bet.

The danger to cyclists increases when they get on stretches of road where bikes are a rare sight. For example, I sometimes take O’Connor Drive when I am making my way to the DVP in my car (going west from Woodbine Avenue to Don Mills Road), and cyclists are almost never on this section of road. Because drivers aren’t used to seeing cyclists there, they likely won’t be watching for them. I actually think cyclists are risking their lives biking there. Also, the lanes on O’Connor are narrower than those on the Danforth, which also increases the chances of a cyclist being hit. Plains Road, a side street, parallels O’Connor just to the south, and I can’t imagine why any cyclist would favour O’Connor over it.

Another issue to consider is the time of day and the resultant likely mindset of drivers. The stretch of O’Connor I mentioned is heavily used by drivers who are on their way to and from work. So, in the mornings and late afternoons, it is packed with cranky, sleepy drivers battling heavy traffic. They may be impatient with cyclists and less inclined to share the road with them. Especially, by the way, with yahoo cyclists who flout the rules of the road and cycle dangerously.

Just because cyclists are legally allowed to be on a given road doesn’t mean they are wise to be there.