Stories & features

We need a PR campaign to help bikers, pedestrians, and drivers co-exist

Rob Klovance
For bchydro.com

Mass confusion, near misses, and more than the occasional death. Like so many other places in North America, B.C.'s big-city streets are riddled with drivers, pedestrians, e-bikers, cyclists, and Mad Max-esque uni-wheelers who don't seem to know how to share our streets.

It's time to bring in Deadpool... umm... Ryan Reynolds.

Technically, it doesn't have to be Reynolds, but imagine a Vancouver (or B.C.-wide) public information campaign in which the Kitsilano Secondary grad dispenses tips to people on the seawall, on streets, in bike lanes, and on the sidewalk. Walkers would learn a few things about what it's like to drive, and vice versa. Silent and speedy e-bikers would understand how dangerous it is to whiz by a pedal-only cyclist without warning. And wexting (walking-texting) pedestrians would learn how a distracted, slow stroll across a street delays traffic flow and fuels anger.

The actor who, along with his wife Blake Lively, annually matches donations to Vancouver's Covenant House, is a natural fit for the job. Every city needs a campaign like this, including, as it turns out, the U.K.'s largest city.

Jack Scarlett is an electric vehicle driver and e-biker in London who will be heading a panel on micromobility (e-bikes, scooters, etc.) at the Everything Electric Canada electric vehicle and home energy show in Vancouver Sept. 6-8 (Get your 50% off tickets today by using the promo code BCHEV2024). He says that while his local transit authority pastes educational posters around the English capital city, the reality on the streets sounds achingly familiar to what we're experiencing here in B.C.

"There's a real division here, a tribalism around cyclists being anti-car, and drivers being anti-bicycle," he says. "And as someone who uses and enjoys every mode of transport, I just don't get it. I think there's a sense that when you ride your bike in London, you're in survival mode. Our roads are so small that people are trying to squeeze past you when there isn't room to do so. And you really do get your elbows out and take no prisoners. Better cycling infrastructure would improve that problem."

In his visit to Vancouver for the same EV and home energy show last year, Scarlett marvelled at the sight of wide, separated bike lanes and the sheer number of e-bikes, scooters, and skateboards in the city. What he didn't see is what a lot of us navigate every day: an anything-but-peaceful coexistence on our streets.

"SINGLE FILE!," yells the man on a bike, who while correct in his criticism of the posse of cyclists in a bike lane, is counterproductive in his delivery.

"GET OFF THE ROAD," yells the guy in the pickup at the food delivery dude running a yellow light as he crosses an intersection and enters the sidewalk.

And UP goes the finger of the teenager walking in a bike lane, insulted by the cyclist who just rung her bell twice as a warning to get out of the way.

Sounds like a job for Deadpool.

Rob Klovance is a Vancouver-based writer and regular contributor to BC Hydro's Connected newsletter. He enjoys walking, biking and driving the streets near his Vancouver home, but is big on establishing eye contact before making any moves.

Related:

• Sharing our streets: tips from the City of Coquitlam
• Sharing the road safely
• Cycling safety
• Pedestrian safety