The grisly aftermath of a bicycle accident on the Stanley Park causeway last week has left cyclists and drivers alike horrified by the thought.
On Saturday evening a female cyclist made contact with a pedestrian on the shared sidewalk, causing her to fall in front of a bus. She was killed instantly.
According to ICBC statistics, fatalities are relatively rare, with a five-year average of nine deaths each year across the province. But accidents tell a different story.
Of the 1,400 annual accidents involving bicycles in B.C., 960 take place in the busy Lower Mainland. And because a bicycle is usually no match for a car, when an accident does take place many of those injuries can be fairly serious.
It's poor timing that this horrific accident happened on the eve of Bike to Work Week (May 27 to June 2), a non-profit society urging more people to get out of their cars and onto two wheels.
But accidents like this won't help them achieve that. Not when infrastructure isn't in place to protect cyclists from serious injuries, or even death.
Sometimes an accident is just that: an unpreventable incident of misfortunate circumstances. This fatality was not that.
Ironically, Vancouver's current council has been one of the most vocal proponents of expanding bike lanes to protect cyclists downtown and on the Burrard Bridge.
That didn't prevent Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs, a vocal bicycle advocate, from being in a serious accident himself in March, 2010.
Meggs was riding on Angus Drive in Vancouver, a designated bicycle route, at West 51st Avenue when he was struck by a car and knocked unconscious.
At the time of the incident, fellow councillor Suzanne Anton said cyclist safety amounts to something of a paradox, where drivers will become more aware of cyclists if there are more cyclists, but there won't be more cyclists until there is better protection for riders.
I have been in two serious accidents myself, which diminished my enthusiasm for two-wheeled transport. The first was eight years ago in Toronto when I was struck by a Honda Civic and the driver jumped out and demanded I give him $1,000 for the damage to his front end.
The second time I was powering down a hill in Vancouver through a right-of-way when a car blew a stop sign and sent me flying. My shoulder has never felt 100% since.
Cycling advocates are putting the cart before the horse. We don't have the infrastructure in place for commuter cycling in Lower Mainland communities. How many more deaths will it take before we do?
Adrian MacNair is a reporter for Black Press sister publication the South-Delta Leader. He covers news and local events.
