Uncommon Sense

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I hope cops ticket every single cyclist on the Osborne Bridge.
   
In recent years, I’ve come out in defence of cyclists on a number of occasions, mostly because I ride my bike regularly and support active transportation. I’ve also criticized ignorant cyclists whose behaviour makes all cyclists look bad and creates dangerous situations on the roads.
   
You know the kind. They’re the ones weaving in and out of traffic, playing chicken with motorists, running red lights and blowing through stop signs without even looking for oncoming traffic. Cyclists have every right to be on the road, but they do not a right to behave like fools. Follow the rules and I’m on your side, pedal-pushers.
   
Which brings me to the Osborne Bridge.
   
With construction underway, cyclists have been told they must dismount before crossing on the sidewalk — as if that law wasn’t in place years ago. Yes, the "dismount on sidewalk" signs have been there for a long, long time, and yet now police are suddenly enforcing a law that should have been enforced all the time. And cyclists are upset.
   
I’ve been hit by several cyclists on the sidewalk of the Osborne Bridge, and I’ve had all manner of discussions with those cyclists in attempts to explain why they do not have the right of way on the sidewalk. These discussions never go well, despite the fact that I have just been struck by a bike that has no right to be travelling on the sidewalk.
   
I more than understand the issues with cycling in this city. Winnipeg is brutal for all forms of traffic, and cyclists definitely get the short end of the stick. That situation is made worse by the construction on the bridge, which creates the most ridiculous traffic jams at all hours and traps residents on one side of the river or the other.
   
But I have zero sympathy for cyclists who get ticketed for riding on the sidewalk. They know the rules and they break them. Cry me a river.
   
Think about this: one of the improvements to the bridge will be a barrier between the sidewalk and the road. Thank God and it’s about time. Currently, nothing but a small curb separates pedestrians from buses and, with increased foot traffic on the bridge, a speeding bike can force pedestrians into traffic. Or, in the event of a collision, the cyclist bails into traffic. Good times all around.
   
I laugh long and hard when I hear people call enforcement of this law "ridiculous," as happened in the May 10 Winnipeg Sun story "Police ticket sidewalk cyclists." What’s ridiculous is people who completely ignore instructions, endanger other citizens and then cry about a $110 ticket.
   
If a cyclist considers the roadway unsafe, then he or she is more than welcome to dismount and walk across the bridge with the other pedestrians. That’s a great alternative to battling rush-hour bottlenecks in which too many vehicles are fighting for too little room on a crumbling bridge.
   
It takes about three minutes to walk over the Osborne Bridge. Once you get to the other side, you can laugh at the dumb cyclists receiving tickets, hop on your bike and be on your merry, environmentally friendly way without having endangered yourself or others.
   
Mike Warkentin now avoids the Osborne Bridge like country music.