Mandatory Driving Helmets A “No-Brainer” 25
Driving helmet photo by Jeffrey Beall The Toronto Sun recently posted an entertaining editorial calling for mandatory bicycle helmets, labelling cyclists who oppose mandatory helmets “stupid, arrogant, self-entitled jerks”. We thought it would be appropriate to swap the word “bicyclist” for “driver” to make the case for mandatory driving helmets: OPINION EDITORIAL Driving helmet law ...
Stupid, Arrogant, Self-Entitled Jerk 24
Screenshot from an absurd Toronto Sun editorial The title of this post may aptly describe whomever was in charge of the editorial desk for the Toronto Sun newspaper on Tuesday evening. The Toronto Sun posted an “opinion editorial” entitled “Bike helmet law a no-brainer”, which appears to be more of a childish diatribe than anything ...
Bikes & Kayaks 6
Bob with his home-made kayak – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Despite the fact that Canada’s economy is largely built on debt, Canada is still no doubt a rich country. In rich countries where most people don’t need to worry about feeding themselves or putting a roof over their heads, they look ...
Preventable Deaths – Asking All The Wrong Questions 82
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country (via Instagram) Yesterday morning a 30-year-old woman who was walking downtown was hit by a truck, pinned under the wheels and later died from her wounds. The woman’s death is eerily similar to the death of Jenna Morrison last November. Jenna was also run over by the ...
Toronto Taxi Drivers Resort To Victim Blaming 24
Toronto taxi line – photo by Gabriel Perez Last week a Toronto taxi driver was charged with second degree murder after 28-year-old Ralph Bissonette was killed on a longboard (a surfboard-style skateboard) in what appears to be a result of road rage. As reported by the Toronto Star: “What occurred is still under investigation, but ...
Urban Car-Free Camping 17
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Growing up in Canada, camping in the outdoors has always been a significant part of my life. Camping can bring us closer to nature and allow us to appreciate the simple conveniences of modern life. Before now, I had always relied on a car to go camping. ...
Motorist Convenience Trumps Safety 43
“Driving the Volvo” – Photo by Thomas Anderson Toronto’s chief medical officer made headlines in the Toronto media for recommending that the city reduce its speed limits to 30km/h on residential streets, and 40km/h on other city streets to “support the increased use and safety of walking and cycling”. The Doctor’s recommendations were mocked by ...
Bicycle Transportation Should Be Taken Seriously 26
“Beautyful Amsterdam” – Photo by Michael Stallmeister via RateMyVelo.com Bicycles are a serious mode of transportation. It is about time we treat them as such instead of treating bicycling as a hobby, a sport, or a mode of transport for the working poor and students. Bicycles are an often overlooked mode of transport that with ...
A Renewed Faith in Newspapers 8
“Places To Go, People To Meet, Things To Do” by Amsterdamize (via ratemyvelo.com) Over the years as a citizen bicycling advocate I have lost my faith in the media. I had found that news outlets have a bias toward car culture that has contributed to the animosity on our streets and the stifling of progress ...
Bicycles & World War II Spies 10
Agents practising being interrogated. The rural situation of camp X can be glimpsed from the background. (From the Pelham-Burn collection, reproduced by courtesy of Lynn-Philip Hodgson) On 6 December 1941, just one day before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a British spy training camp opened in Whitby, Ontario, some 50 kilometres east of Toronto. The ...