October 23rd, 2009
Can a little gratitude go a long way?
By Spacing // 4 Comments
Is the latest trend to hit the Toronto cycling community…gratitude? CBC Metro Morning, The Toronto Star, NOW, and CTV News have all covered the Toronto Cyclists' Union's thank-you cards, designed to be handed out to attentive and considerate drivers. But the media, which tends to spin any bike-positive story as a battle in the so-called War on the Car, has been nonplussed by the TCU's recent attempt to bring civility into sharing the streets.
Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists' Union, mentioned the Michael Bryant-Darcy Sheppard incident earlier this summer as a motivating reason to launch the campaign. The tidbit is something media sources have been careful to repeat. Perhaps linking this outreach effort to a clear sore spot between drivers and cyclists will help soothe lingering tension between the groups; on the other hand, it's a flashy and familiar headline for media sources to reference.
Spacing wrote about this when the TCU launched the event, but what do you think? What have you thought of the media coverage?
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I wonder if this 'Thank You' campaign is a sort of 'opposite extreme' of the 'war on cars' rhetoric?
In my experience, cycling here isn't that great, but it's not bad as the papers make it out to be. I'm often making eye contact with drivers (to signal they can go ahead, that s/he knows I see them, etc.) and I get pretty much the same in return. This summer I maybe had 3 bad experiences with drivers. And once I effed up crossing at St. George and Bloor and cut in front of this guy driving a truck - I nearly gave him a heart-attack! But we both exchanged a friendly smile - he knew that I knew I made a mistake.
I guess my point is that I can't relate to the 'anger' or 'frustration' discourse in the media (fed to them from both sides). There are lots of things that need to be done in terms of bike infrastructure, but I don't feel hostility from drivers when I'm on my bike or when I'm walking. I enjoy walking or riding my bike around the city.
Maybe many of us are trying to do our best with the poorly planned streets we've been given?
Total agreement with Mark and Joe. I obey the rules and have for many decades with many slip-ups. Same when I drove a car. I try not to let anger control me and lately have noted some polite motorists.
As for the card hand-out...some cringing from fellow cyclists, and me.
The union has done a good job in the first year but this might not work out. Approaching a motorist seems a bit problematic, indeed potentially dangerous depending on situation. Attractive women might do well at this but geeze...
Also, until the head of Cyclist's Union decides saving her brain a good idea,not wearing a helmet is getting a thumbs down. That, says me, is a pity.
In fairness, *isn't* the ongoing friction between cyclists and drivers, which was indeed brought to a head by the Bryant incident, the backdrop to this initiative?
In fact, if I'm reading the Star piece correctly, it was the Ms. Bambrick herself who raised the "War on Cars" bit in an interview. (It's not a direct quote, though, so it's hard to say for sure.)
If a story's about cyclist-driver relations, isn't it odd to cry foul when a journalist references the big, ongoing cyclist-driver relations story of the day?
Over in the BikingToronto Forum, we've been discussing how practical the thank-you card campaign is... seeing as how the exhange is meant to take place between the operators of two moving vehicles (car and bike).
The consensus so far is that a smile and/or wave and/or a spoken "thank you" is a lot more feasible and practical.
What do others think?
Comment by joe
October 23, 2009 | 3:12 pm