Comments on: on bicycle commuting in calgary

By: dnorman

dnorman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:05:24 +0000

that’s a whopping 2 blocks of my 14km commute.

By: maze

maze — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:08:22 +0000

you could try using bikepaths along 32ave, if you’re traffic concerned.

By: Jason Fry Tennis

Jason Fry Tennis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:46:54 +0000

I’m a bit of a fair-weather cyclist, but I live in the UK and as you probably know our weather is notoriously bad even in summertime, so I think I have a genuine excuse.

We introduced legislation to outlaw the use of cellphones while driving a few years back and it definitely makes cycling safer. Not everyone abides by the law, but the consequences for the driver if they injure someone are very severe, so it’s very risky.

By: Kaldrin

Kaldrin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:58:28 +0000

So, I started commuting last week. There’s already been some close calls and some points I just shake my head at the stupidity and ignorance of the general public. I try to be courteous (though I probably don’t always succeed) and I definitely have my eyes wide open. I know I won’t win in a conflict between a three tonne truck and my bicycle, so I just avoid the conflict. Maybe riding a motorcycle for a number of years helped me realize that, but it’s about the only thing I can really try to drive home to people.

On the whole though, it’s a great experience. I love getting home after riding and getting to work makes the start of the day easier. Stress, is pretty minimal and I gotta say passing traffic that’s stuck by a train is great too.

The only real gripe I have with the path right now is that it is poorly designed and implemented. There’s a few places where the path stops for a bit, then just starts up like nothing happened. As well, there’s two places where they cross railways, which is muddy and dangerous because the only rideable spot brings you dangerously close to the road (which has no shoulders at all… and which people typically travel at around 80kph or more). I wish they would at the very least take care of those railway crossings.

By: dnorman

dnorman — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:36:09 +0000

@Kaldrin the city of calgary maintains a pathways map on the city website.

By: Kaldrin

Kaldrin — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:21:15 +0000

Great insight into the drivers in this town. I noticed last year they ran a bike path almost the entire distance down 52nd Street (which is a major part of my route to work) from 17th Ave to Glenmoore Trail. Do you know of any other initiatives by the city to create bike-friendly options like these paths? Is there a map somewhere I can find which gives all the safe bike routes around town?

By: dnorman

dnorman — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:24:39 +0000

@itsamoto I’d say the law is the law. Just because car drivers are dangerous and belligerent at times, does not give bicyclists the right to ignore the traffic laws… If a bike is on the road, it’s a vehicle and is bound by the same laws as cars. Although (some? many?) car drivers ignore the laws on a regular basis…

By: Itsamoto

Itsamoto — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:18:34 +0000

Great post and an excellent idea by Guy Davis as well.

I want to make the move to bicycle commuting – but would like your opinion on your comment “Bike riders say they want to be treated like a regular vehicle – and then pull crap like blowing through 4-way stops or ignoring traffic signals. Can’t have it both ways…”

Many years ago – we were taught in school that bicycles were to use the road – due to their speed and conflict with pedestrians on sidewalks, etc. Is this the rule of thumb or ideal to try and maintain? Something that we have had to give up with hostile automobile traffic?

What is the traffic law in regards to bicycling in Calgary?

By: Guy Davis

Guy Davis — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:25:49 +0000

I love to cycle commute as well, but Calgary has to be one of the worst places to do it with the arsehole drivers we have here. The municipal support we get is really weak here too. Bike lane, d’uh… what’s that? I dream of cycling commuting in Vancouver, Portland, or Europe…

I cycle straight down 10th Street into downtown from near 40th Ave NW. I got so sick of drivers blasting past my left side with only inches of space to spare, that I mounted a big orange flag and bent it over at 45 degrees to give me some space. I still get the occasional jerk who will risk my flag scraping his car’s paint by driving too close, but the numbers are way down.

Photo of my bike flag: http://www.guydavis.ca/photos/viewer.jsp?id=1768

By: Marcus Jarvis

Marcus Jarvis — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:23:40 +0000

Hi I fell up on your blog during a search on “Calgary bicycle commuters…”I have commuted for ten or so years in Calgary and I have to say it has become more dangerous. I am fortunate I can ride on mostly bike paths and through quiet parking lots. I do get nervous on the road, especially with big city busses almost running me over. I am that guy who wears a bright orange traffic vest while riding just so they can’t say “I didn’t see him”. With the growth of the city the driviers have become more ignorant.