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11-28-03, 04:50 PM
Our local paper is running "Gridlock - a 10 part report on how we can get things moving again in our city"
It started with a survey that 2700 completed and has featured stories on different types of commuters and how they commute, traffic reporters and what they see, bottleneck areas, and municple planning experts all describing what the problems are and what we can do to improve them.
I was featured in todays paper representing commuting by bicycle. During the interview, that lasted over an hour in which we talked about many things, his eyes lit up when I let out that I had been in an accident with a car. I quickly stressed that people walking and travelling in cars and get into accidents too, and that riding a bicycle is not any more dangerous tan any other way of getting around, but, as I expected, the headline this morning read, Hit by a car, he loves riding bicycle anyway.
I sent off a rebuttal letter, but I think the damage is done even if they do print the letter.
Is this irresponsible reporting because they have scared off potential riders because they don't want to be in an accident with a car as I have been and therefore, kept people in cars, worsening the traffic situation?
I'll clip the article and response letter.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1360/581012441_f9ee90a7d3.jpg
The Province Specials
Hit by a car, he loves riding bicycle anyway
Biking to work is a lot of fun, unless you get hit by a car.
Brad Kilburn went over the side of a car one day on his way to the airport, but he mentions it almost as an afterthought.
"My knee was wrecked and I had surgery," says the 43-year-old Richmond resident. "The fault was the car's. She pulled out and I bounced over the hood and tore knee ligaments."
After 18 years of commuting, nothing can get Kilburn off his beloved $180 special. He's one of up to 17,000 Lower Mainland commuters who cycle to work each day. Those on two wheels make up two per cent of all commuting trips.
Co-workers at Air Canada tease him every night as he pulls on his tights for the 13-kilometre, 27-minute ride home over the flats.
"Their comments are a combination of scorn and admiration," says Kilburn. "I tell them I've got an extra pair if they want to try them on."
Kilburn's love affair with the two-wheeler goes back to the early 1980s, when he was settling into life as a husband and father.
After putting away the drums in a band -- "We were signed by A&M at the same time as Bryan Adams" -- Kilburn decided to clean airplanes for Air Canada and bike to work from Steveston, partly to save money.
"Before you know it, I had the bug. It was easy and I enjoyed it."
Neither wind nor rain, sleet nor snow will keep him off his pedals.
"Once you're out, the rain is no big deal," says Kilburn. "it’s OK, I own a towel.
"You don't have to pay a lot of money. I bought a used police bike for $90 and picked up parts on sale. A bike is so simple, just about anybody can fix it."
Over the years, Kilburn has saved more than $5,000 per year on car payments, maintenance, insurance, gas and parking.
The money has allowed him to live close to work rather than further out in the Valley.
"My Abbotsford friends saved $40,000 on their homes, but if you eliminate their car, it would have paid for the difference in housing," he says. "Bike maintenance runs under $100 a year. New tires are $40 and brake pads $10."
If Kilburn could change anything, it would be traffic enforcement.
"Some guys squeeze an inch by you every time. People get away with what they can because there is no enforcement."
Vancouver statistics show that about one cyclist dies on the road each year.
"People think I'm an oddball for riding my bike," says Kilburn, "but I think they're odd for driving their cars."
kspencer@png.canwest.com
© Copyright 2003 The Province
I must commend The Province for running an in depth series of stories that deals with the important issue of gridlock in the Lower Mainland, and I appreciate the coverage given to commuting by bicycle. However, I have to express my disappointment at the inaccurate emphasis on the risks of commuting by bicycle when in actuality all road users face similar risks.
Many people have told me they would ride their bikes to work, but don't because they are too afraid of being in an accident. Yes, I was hit by a car which resulted in an injury that was (somewhat) serious, but so did 34,500 other motorists or pedestrians in B.C. that particular year. There is no evidence that shows cycling to be any more dangerous than any other form of transportation. Your article also mentions that every year, one cyclist dies on the roads in Vancouver, but what is not told is that every day, one motorist dies on the roads in B.C.
Brad Kilburn
It started with a survey that 2700 completed and has featured stories on different types of commuters and how they commute, traffic reporters and what they see, bottleneck areas, and municple planning experts all describing what the problems are and what we can do to improve them.
I was featured in todays paper representing commuting by bicycle. During the interview, that lasted over an hour in which we talked about many things, his eyes lit up when I let out that I had been in an accident with a car. I quickly stressed that people walking and travelling in cars and get into accidents too, and that riding a bicycle is not any more dangerous tan any other way of getting around, but, as I expected, the headline this morning read, Hit by a car, he loves riding bicycle anyway.
I sent off a rebuttal letter, but I think the damage is done even if they do print the letter.
Is this irresponsible reporting because they have scared off potential riders because they don't want to be in an accident with a car as I have been and therefore, kept people in cars, worsening the traffic situation?
I'll clip the article and response letter.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1360/581012441_f9ee90a7d3.jpg
The Province Specials
Hit by a car, he loves riding bicycle anyway
Biking to work is a lot of fun, unless you get hit by a car.
Brad Kilburn went over the side of a car one day on his way to the airport, but he mentions it almost as an afterthought.
"My knee was wrecked and I had surgery," says the 43-year-old Richmond resident. "The fault was the car's. She pulled out and I bounced over the hood and tore knee ligaments."
After 18 years of commuting, nothing can get Kilburn off his beloved $180 special. He's one of up to 17,000 Lower Mainland commuters who cycle to work each day. Those on two wheels make up two per cent of all commuting trips.
Co-workers at Air Canada tease him every night as he pulls on his tights for the 13-kilometre, 27-minute ride home over the flats.
"Their comments are a combination of scorn and admiration," says Kilburn. "I tell them I've got an extra pair if they want to try them on."
Kilburn's love affair with the two-wheeler goes back to the early 1980s, when he was settling into life as a husband and father.
After putting away the drums in a band -- "We were signed by A&M at the same time as Bryan Adams" -- Kilburn decided to clean airplanes for Air Canada and bike to work from Steveston, partly to save money.
"Before you know it, I had the bug. It was easy and I enjoyed it."
Neither wind nor rain, sleet nor snow will keep him off his pedals.
"Once you're out, the rain is no big deal," says Kilburn. "it’s OK, I own a towel.
"You don't have to pay a lot of money. I bought a used police bike for $90 and picked up parts on sale. A bike is so simple, just about anybody can fix it."
Over the years, Kilburn has saved more than $5,000 per year on car payments, maintenance, insurance, gas and parking.
The money has allowed him to live close to work rather than further out in the Valley.
"My Abbotsford friends saved $40,000 on their homes, but if you eliminate their car, it would have paid for the difference in housing," he says. "Bike maintenance runs under $100 a year. New tires are $40 and brake pads $10."
If Kilburn could change anything, it would be traffic enforcement.
"Some guys squeeze an inch by you every time. People get away with what they can because there is no enforcement."
Vancouver statistics show that about one cyclist dies on the road each year.
"People think I'm an oddball for riding my bike," says Kilburn, "but I think they're odd for driving their cars."
kspencer@png.canwest.com
© Copyright 2003 The Province
I must commend The Province for running an in depth series of stories that deals with the important issue of gridlock in the Lower Mainland, and I appreciate the coverage given to commuting by bicycle. However, I have to express my disappointment at the inaccurate emphasis on the risks of commuting by bicycle when in actuality all road users face similar risks.
Many people have told me they would ride their bikes to work, but don't because they are too afraid of being in an accident. Yes, I was hit by a car which resulted in an injury that was (somewhat) serious, but so did 34,500 other motorists or pedestrians in B.C. that particular year. There is no evidence that shows cycling to be any more dangerous than any other form of transportation. Your article also mentions that every year, one cyclist dies on the roads in Vancouver, but what is not told is that every day, one motorist dies on the roads in B.C.
Brad Kilburn