The Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society November 2016, Volume 33, Issue #11
President’s Report John Pringle
A little of this and that (or could it be This is That?)
“Be careful what you wish for lest it come true” is a long used idiom and one I’ve been contemplating of late. As CCCTS President one “wishes” for hard working, conscientious Board members. Clark Woodland is the Club’s Secretary, and Jenni Linnea is Director of Membership. A secretarial job description can be unending; for the Club it starts with the recording of minutes, through the filing of important organizational documents, to the development of meeting agendas, etc. There is a ton more tasks one can take on if one is so inclined, and Clark has corralled many of them. He works non-stop; no doubt burning upwards of 4,000 calories/day. Little wonder he’s so thin. But his enthusiasm for work and organizational thoroughness wends its way to enhancing my workload. Last week, while I fulfilled a two-day task for another seniors club, little attention was being paid to Clark’s requests of me. The October Board meeting agenda was chalk-a-block full; since the meeting’s end Clark has been hell bent on sweeping the to-do list clean. He’s gone beyond the call of duty, which generated numerous requests of my time. He, not having received a response within four or so days, became concerned; “John you’ve not gotten back to me on …”. Yikes. I watched Clark work with Allan Buium, and was thus delighted when he stayed on to work with me; ever ready, fully charged and raring to go. But it seems there’s a constant indebtedness to him that builds and builds; a phone call here, a comment on another issue there, and so on. Wiping my “to do” list clean for Clark is out of the question. It’ll just not happen.
Similarly Jenni. The Club’s Membership Director’s role is what you make it, and Jenni has taken the role on with the enthusiasm of Elizabeth May taking on Stephen Harper over climate change policy. She can hardly wait for the dawning of each day I’m sure. In fact I received and E-mail from her at 6:35 this morning with the orders “Skip the survey now and consider the process …” (the bold is her’s, no doubt for emphasis, which I read to mean, “Don’t go to the gym this morning nor eat breakfast ‘til you’ve made a decision on this important topic.”)
More seriously folks, these two have been most valuable members of the Board, and you, dear members, should be most thankful for their hard work on your behalves. Purchase them a treat next time you coffee with either of them; Clark, in particular needs the calories.
Short snappers:
- Membership Survey: Jenni has designed a survey seeking information from each of you that will allow us to make better Club decisions. It is based on a Dave Charles survey of some years back where a free online technique, Survey Monkey, was used. Watch for the request or use this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FXVGMC6. Please participate. It takes only minutes. A cash prize may be yours for participating. The results will be presented at the AGM.
- Support a BC MP in a cycling-worthy cause: A national cycling Strategy. Gord Johns, Member of Parliament for Courtenay—Alberni has developed a Private Members Bill that was presented to Parliament, October 4th, 2016. He asks Canadians to “Help make Canada a cycling nation. Sign the petition today for a national cycling strategy: http://gordjohns.ndp.ca/help-make-canada-a-cycling-nation . There might not be a better cause for CCCTS members to get behind.
- The Club’s Liability Insurance. The Club holds third party liability insurance through SBC Insurance Agencies Ltd., an agency established by Sport BC “ … to provide affordable accident and liability insurance for British Columbians participating in sport, recreation and leisure activities.” We’d earlier decided to render the 20 page policy into a more reader-friendly piece for you. Saner minds prevailed, however: None of us are insurance experts, thus we decided it’s best that you, the potential benefactor, interpret the policy, and then make a decision as to whether you require insurance over and above this policy. To this end we’ve posted the policy on our website. If further information is required, Clark Woodland works on our behalf with SBC Insurance Agencies Ltd; he may be able assist.
- The Annual General Meeting is planned for December 5th in South Delta. Please attend if at all possible. If you haven’t been to one it tends to be a joyous affair, in line with the prevailing festive season. We’ve been working on the formation of chapters as a Club governance model. The concept will be presented to AGM attendees, and if passed, policy will be created to permit the creation of chapters based on geography and population density. Tentative Chapters might include Comox, Ottawa, Okanagan, and Fraser Valleys, and the areas of Vancouver, and Victoria. We believe the concept will yield a more democratic decision making model than the current top-down approach. Other benefits are visualized including the formalization of leadership roles (Chapter Leader, Day Ride Coordinator, Day Ride Leaders, Sweeps, education/road safety coordinators, etc.), which will better ensure insurance coverage. A more formal organizational model with CCCTS will allow the creation of legal Chapter financial systems and the possibility of benefitting from the Club’s central treasury. Do come help us make this and other important Club decisions, provide us feedback, and break bread with good friends. Demonstrate that Clark and Jenni and others’ hard work on your behalf is appreciated. Thanks Muchly.
Upcoming Tours
New Trip Report
Christmas in Victoria
Join your CCCTS Friends for a Dinner & Dance
Place: Cedar Hill Golf Club
1400 Derby Rd.
Wednesday 7 Dec. 2016
Happy Hour 6 PM
Dinner 7 PM Dance 8 PM to ………..
with the Gary Preston Band
Ticket Price $ 45
Tickets go on sale Nov. 1st For tickets contact:
Alex Laird 250 384 8398 email alaird212@gmail.com Rolf Petersen 250 370 6006
Dear cyclists riding at night without a light: Do you have a death wish?
MARCUS GEE
The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 3:52PM EDT
Dear cyclist in dark clothing riding at night without a light:
Do you have a death wish? Don’t you know that you are next to invisible when you come tearing out of the gloom? Don’t you understand that my car could hit you before I even see you coming?
I honestly don’t get it. Bike lights cost a few bucks. They are easy to find and they come in all sorts, from the white flashing kind you can mount on your helmet or handlebars to the red blinking kind that you can attach to your bike seat or seat post. When I was a year-round bike commuter, I used both. Even hanging a little light from your backpack can make you much more visible.
Are you too cool to use one? Are you afraid your friends will sneer at you for thinking about something as banal as your own safety? Or are you simply a little dim?
Maybe there is another explanation. Maybe you are one of those people who think cyclists are a superior breed that doesn’t have to lower itself to obeying the rules of the road. Maybe you believe that because cycling is good for the environment and cars are destroying the planet, you have permission from the Earth goddess to act however you please, drivers be damned. Or maybe you just think that because you are young, you are invincible.
You are not. Cycling is a great way to get around the city and mostly a safe way, too, but there are obvious risks to piloting your fragile metal frame among one-ton heaps of hurtling steel.
The least you can do is make sure that drivers can see you. If they can’t, you are gambling with your life. A car moving along the street at 30, 40, 50 kilometres can’t always stop on a dime when you come out of the darkness dressed, fashionably, all in black. Most times, the driver will see you and manage to avoid running you over. No doubt this is how it has turned out for you before as you dash heedlessly around the darkened city, lord and master of the road, fearing nothing. Perhaps you assume it will always turn out that way. I wouldn’t bet on it.
Don’t go telling me that when I’m behind the wheel of a car, it’s my job to avoid hitting you. I know that already. Those in charge of the bigger, more dangerous vehicles must always be on watch. Drivers have to learn they are not the only ones on the road any more.
The onus is on them to be aware of cyclists, and, when I drive, I am. I check my right-side mirror all the time, especially when I’m turning right. I check my left-side mirror when I’m parked at the curb to avoid “dooring” passing riders. I listen for bike bells. I leave lots of room on the curb side for passing bicycles. These are my responsibilities when I’m in the car and there are cyclists around, which in downtown Toronto is always. I take them seriously.
But you have responsibilities, too. The first is to avoid acting like an idiot. Don’t weave in and out of traffic. Don’t blast through red lights. Pause, at least, when you come to a stop sign. Don’t whiz past open streetcar doors. Don’t dodge across the street on the crosswalk at the last minute as if you were a pedestrian.
And, cyclist in dark clothing riding at night without a light, please, please get one. I don’t want your death on my hands.
Victoria breaks ground on first protected bike lane
Two-way lane will let cyclists travel in both directions on one side of the street
By Megan Thomas, CBC News
The protected bike lane on Pandora Avenue will allow cyclists to travel in both directions and will feature signals for bikes at intersections. (City of Victoria)
Dedicated traffic signals. Refuge areas for making turns at intersections. A barrier to keep cars at a distance. These are the amenities cyclists in Victoria will soon enjoy — at least on a few blocks of a downtown street.
Construction has started on the city’s first two-way protected bike lane on Pandora Avenue in the city’s downtown. While the lane itself is only a few blocks long, it’s part of a larger plan dubbed Biketoria that aims to vastly improve cycling infrastructure in the Vancouver Island city.
“The whole Biketoria network of corridors is transformational for the city of Victoria,” said Brad Dellebuur with the city’s engineering department. “It is going to fundamentally change how you move around in the city.”
The bike lane on Pandora Avenue, which is three metres wide, will allow cyclists to travel in both directions along one side of the street. The entire cycling lane from Cook Street to Store Street will be separated from vehicle traffic by a physical barrier.
One lane of traffic will be eliminated on parts of the street to make room for the cyclists. In other sections, vehicle lanes will be narrowed or on-street parking will be removed.
The goal is to persuade more people to use cycling as a main mode of transportation by providing a safer space for bikes on city streets, Dellebuur said.
Lanes address safety concerns
“People want to ride their bikes, but there’s a large percentage that don’t feel safe riding with moving traffic,” he said.
“The physical separation will provide just one more incentive for people to try biking as a way to get around town.”
The City of Victoria has begun construction on the first bike lanes in a network it has dubbed Biketoria. (Megan Thomas/CBC)
That’s been the experience of other cities that have moved ahead with protected bike lanes, said Edward Pullman with the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.
“When it gets you to your destination without having it end abruptly, so a complete network, certainly when we see those built, you do see large increases in the number of cyclists,” Pullman said.
But persuading more people that cycling is a safe and efficient way to get around may not happen until there is a full network of protected bike lanes in Victoria, he said.
“While Pandora is an excellent first step, we will need a bit more time to build out the rest of the route, and routes going not just into the downtown core, but going into the various communities around Victoria.”
First phase to cost $8 million
The first phase of the Biketora plan calls for a minimum of 5.4 kilometres of protected lanes in the downtown area by the end of 2018, and comes at a cost of nearly $8 million.
Some parts of the plan have met with stiff resistance from from local businesses. However, the city says the new bike lanes will put Victoria’s downtown on par with Vancouver.
The city of Victoria plans to build a grid of 5.4 km of protected bike lanes in the downtown core by the end of 2018. (City of Victoria)
The City of Victoria has received some provincial funding to help cover the cost of building protected bike lanes, but funding for cycling infrastructure remains a challenge for communities across the province, said Gord Johns, the NDP MP for Courtenay-Alberni.
Johns has introduced a private members bill calling for a national cycling strategy that would create safety standards and set targets for improving bike infrastructure in all communities.
The bill was inspired in part by the uneven distribution of safe cycling routes in island communities, Johns said.
“There’s been a lot of piecemeal work in terms of building safe bike trails in my riding,” he said. “Other communities in my riding are just getting started.”
With the federal government planning to roll out major infrastructure spending, Johns said a national cycling strategy could help ensure federal funds are earmarked for bike-related projects.
In Victoria, cyclists can expect to take their first ride on the new protected bike lane on Pandora Avenue next spring when construction wraps up.
NEWSBRIEF
Published at least ten times a year by The Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society, a non – profit organization for retired people and others who enjoy recreational cycling. The NEWSBRIEF is available, in colour, to paid up members, on the CCCTS website.
Items for the NEWSBRIEF must be received by the 28th of the month. The Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity and suitability of publication. The views expressed in “NEWSBRIEF” are not necessarily those of the CCCTS or the Editor.
Submissions for NEWSBRIEF may be mailed to J. Klein, Newsbrief Editor, 1421 Wende Road, Victoria, BC V8P 3T6 or emailed.
E-mail: jklein@3web.com or derailler@gmail.com
Please be sure to notify the office of any changes in your personal contact information; be it address, phone or e-mail.