Re: the letter to the editor, Richardson bike lane an obstacle for Oak Bay commuters.
Despite Chris Foord’s lamenting the seven extra minutes of driver inconvenience resulting from the closure of Richardson to westbound traffic from Oak Bay, there are so many, many of us residents here in Oak Bay who applaud the AAA initiatives underway in the City of Victoria.
We only wish to see similar support and actions in our own municipality. And make no mistake, many (most?) of us also own cars, but the availability of safe infrastructure that makes vehicle use less and less necessary also improves the quality of life while reducing greenhouse gases.
And no doubt residents of Richardson will find life more pleasant and not miss the “4,000 daily vehicle trips” driving past their homes.
In the end, it all comes down to driver inconvenience verses cyclist safety. It’s also recognizing that we need more investments in transportation infrastructure to serve all mode users – pedestrians, cyclists, transit and vehicles.
Recently, former Oak Bay mayor Chris Causton wrote: “But here in Oak Bay, we can bet on it that walking and cycling are here to stay, and that Oak Bay’s on-street public infrastructure needs investment.”
We look to local politicians who will lead, not obstruct, progress on this matter.
Lesley Ewing
Oak Bay