I am writing to express my disagreement with the Richardson Street bike lane plan. First, I feel we are trapped in the clutches of a mayor who is what you might choose to call a ‘bike bigot.’
As someone who drives down Pandora on a daily basis, I would say it is now less safe for cyclists than before we spent millions on the bike lane conversion – due to all the visitors and locals who are not used to bike traffic lights, and the danger of green-marked lanes such as when people turn into McDonald’s. And I see much the same thinking coming to Richardson – only worse as it will divert so much traffic onto Fairfield which is in no position to accept it.
Secondly, all this bike lane cash would be much better spent ensuring the safety of our citizens downtown. Mayor Lisa Helps has presided over a historical degradation of the quality of life walking the streets of downtown Victoria. Our police offices, our citizens, plus our shopkeepers and their staff have never seen such a degree of violence and theft as they are now facing.
And yet Mayor Helps has her sights firmly focused on building more bike lanes, and adding to her rising count of automotive impediments, while our downtown burns. Wake up Lisa, before it’s too late and Victoria downtown resembles American inner city cores.
Michael Whitehead
Oak Bay
