I live in the City of…

I live in the City of Hamilton, and I often feel as if I am being punished for needing to use my car. I cannot ride a bike to work (also, no one ever mentions how sweaty one can get riding to work. And then I have to be smelly and sweaty all day? No thank you). There are no efficient transit options between home and work and vice versa. I have no choice but to use my car. I also have a bi-weekly appointment where I need to get to the West End of the city. What used to take twenty minutes to go from east Hamilton to west, can take up to an hour. It is quicker from me to take the QEW to the 403 back to Hamilton to avoid all the traffic. It is frustrating that the city thinks it is a great idea to convert Main Street in Hamilton to two-way traffic, which will include bike lanes. There is already gridlock on this street every single day, and now you are going to take lanes out and make it two-way with bike lanes. This will be a disaster. If you want to be environmentally friendly, holding cars hostage in bumper to bumper traffic will actually contribute more pollution from idling vehicles.

This is also why the LRT is an absolutely terrible infrastructure project that will create more gridlock in the city because it is a train that serves one corridor. It is a train to nowhere and will only add to the traffic congestion on other streets as people try to avoid King St.

I have no problems with bike lanes on routes that are parallel to major arteries. I am a road cyclist and it is true that I don't feel safe on the road, but I don't travel on the major streets. I follow all of the rules and regulations, I stop at every stop sign and every stop light, I follow in line when supposed to, but it is the cyclists who are arrogant and act entitled and above the rules that cause drivers to be angry and paint all cyclists with the same brush. So, yes bike lanes, but not on major arterial roads.