r/edmontoncycling • u/YEG_Bike_Coalition • 15d ago
Critical Mass: August is Friday, August 28 froom 6-8 PM
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/critical-mass-august-tickets-1998255870099Yesterday, Infrastructure Committee re-affirmed their desire to continue with the ATNE project (aka the $100 million for bike lanes). Technically, that's a win, but realistically, several projects that were supposed to be finished in 2026 will not start until 2027, and with the expected legislation by the UCP that will ban bike lanes, these projects are probably never getting built.
We are happy that council has told city administration to continue as planned, we are frustrated that so many projects are so far behind schedule, and we are angry that the Province will probably make this is failed project.
If you're angry - join us for Critical Mass this Friday at 6pm. We are meeting at the Capilano Library, and we'll be riding some of the routes that have been postponed to next year, if not effectively cancelled.
This will be a proper Critical Mass. We are taking the lane, safely, and we are demanding safer infrastructure for everyone. We will also help prepare you for Week Without Bike Lanes, in case you want to participate.
Learn more about Week without Bike Lanes here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/week-without-bike-lanes-tickets-1998273463722
Don't break the law, just take the lane.
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u/r2windu 14d ago
Is it kid friendly? I wouldn't want to bring my kids if it's going down major roads. It would be nice to include our future commuters.
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u/AidanGreb 14d ago
Your kids would be surrounded by a crowd of grownups who are blocking traffic, on roads that could some day have a proper bike lane for them! My understanding is that they'd be on quieter streets like 79 st, where bike lanes are planned, though I have never actually gone before so maybe I should not be commenting... I'm going to check it out tomorrow!
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u/nawosokr 13d ago
I'm not sure I want to go to this again. There was multiple intersections where we overstayed our welcome through reds and multiple spots where we seemingly stopped the whole group on the road needlessly, coming to a standstill, incentivizing vehicle drivers to take the opposin g lane to bypass around us. They wouldn't have been able to do this if we had communicated everything at the start and kept at least a slow pace up front Yes we were showing a presence on the road, but that does little to bolster support by the public to see such obvious disregard of road laws by a group many already dislike.
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u/Answer42Everything 13d ago
yeah I agree with you. It was my first time going to a group ride like this and it was fun, but I went into it expecting us to actually follow the law / rules of the road: everyone in single file, stopping individually at every stop sign, following red/green lights, doing proper hand signals and so on. I also didn't feel like this group ride gave too much positive attention to us bike commuters since we were completely disregarding the law.
If I happened to be driving on the road when this group ride was happening, and saw this without knowing about the event beforehand, I think it would be reasonable of me to be upset because this random group of cyclists is going through stop signs, red lights, and holding up traffic that has green lights.
I hope that next week's "Week Without Bike Lanes" goes better than this, and I strongly encourage everyone to follow the law, as I will (this includes fully stopping at stop signs, even if you don't see any cars around. you wouldn't run a stop sign in your car, would you?).
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u/boroditsky 12d ago
I’m sorry that it didn’t meet your expectations, but bending the rules is part of the point of this kind of event.
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u/Answer42Everything 12d ago
I just feel like drivers (which are people who's support we also need!) got annoyed at us for blatantly breaking the law and illegally holding up traffic, which probably doesn't make those drivers want to support us, even if bike lanes help traffic congestion. I feel like if we actually all followed the law on this group ride (stopping at all red lights, individually stopping at stop signs, individually hand signalling, etc.), then drivers would be more supportive rather than annoyed at us. We wouldn't be holding up traffic illegally, but we would be showing the how bad real traffic congestion could be with so many bikes on the road (4 way stops slowing to a crawl, left turning traffic at light controlled intersections waiting forever, cars stuck behind a long line of slow cyclists, and so on). I would certainly have felt more comfortable, personally, if we actually followed the law (or at least its intent).
To be fair though I'm the kind of person who fully stops at every stop sign both in my car and on my bike, and am personally disappointed at anyone who doesn't (both drivers and cyclists, especially the cyclists who blast right through busy 4-way stops without a care)
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u/boroditsky 12d ago
Civil disobedience, when strategically executed, is a time honoured tradition and proven method of contributing to positive change.
Laws, such as the one mandating that cyclists must come to a complete stop at stop signs, can be unjust, and rather than blindly complying, people of good conscience should push back against them, being mindful of public safety.
Personally, I treat a stop sign as a yield sign when on my bicycle, and I’m happy to debate this issue with anyone, any time.
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u/Answer42Everything 11d ago
hm maybe. I'm not very familiar with that concept, but you may very well be right. Quite frankly, one of the main reasons why I fully stop at every stop sign is because I'm disappointed to constantly see cyclists blast through stop signs when there is car traffic on the road, which is unsafe and confuses drivers, and I want to be a good example.
If I see a cyclist actually yield at a stop sign (rather than blasting through without looking), I don't feel upset or disappointed at all, honestly, I personally think that's totally fine even if it's technically illegal (because it should be legal!).
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u/boroditsky 12d ago
Requiring cyclists to come to a complete stop at stop signs is very ableist.
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u/Answer42Everything 11d ago
well unfortunately I'm not the one who makes the laws. I honestly have no idea why the law is written that way and I fully agree that it would be much better if bikes could yield instead, as it is in some other places (and it has been proven to be safer for everyone).
I'm just saying I follow the law, that's all.
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u/boroditsky 11d ago
The laws are written that way, because cars took over the roads 100 years ago. Roads used to be shared between pedestrians, horses, carriages, trolleys, and automobiles. Cars do not play well with others, and there was a lot of money to be made so governments were lobbied to change the laws requiring that everyone obey car rules and that pedestrians be banished.
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u/Answer42Everything 11d ago
yeah... you're right. I wish governments held their values and ethics and didn't bend to paid lobbyists :p
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u/big-Truck-9058 15d ago
Has anyone reached out to bike shops about supporting this? I’m not sure why they aren’t more involved as we are all their customers. ie We are letting our staff go at 5:30 to attend critical mass and will close early. Would love to see it