Fredericton Drivers

     2011 seems to be the year of the bicycle revolution in Fredericton. Bike lanes have been added to six city streets, totalling 8.2 kilometres. Including the past system, that's a total of 14.6 kilometres of bike lanes! Five of the six new bike lanes are not official yet- maybe the city is going to make a big announcement? Even if they're not bike lanes, at least it's an extra wide shoulder to be in.
     There is a system of over 85 kilometres of multi-use trails, 15 kilometres of which are paved. That is amazing for a city the size of Fredericton! With the amount of time and money that is being spent upgrading systems, adding bike lanes and paving trails- I do believe the city will find it rewarding. Will Fredericton become the most bicycle friendly city in Canada, next to Victoria, British Columbia? The only way Fredericton could become more bicycle friendly, is if they actually plowed the bike lanes in the winter. Yes, not many of us venture outside to greet a fresh blanket of snow and -22ºC, but it would be nice to get to work safely. Truthfully, I give up cycling in the winter and opt for transit.
     Fredericton does not have a great reputation for motorists. Ten percent are aggressive, eighty percent are reasonably good drivers and the other ten percent make me wonder how they even got their license. Most likely, it is like that with any city. I'm not sure how we compare to major cities like Montréal, Toronto or even Halifax. I do know Fredericton needs to invest in re-education of motorists. Who stops in the middle of a round-a-bout? A merge lane? ... intersection?? When I first moved to Fredericton, I was always white knuckled the entire time on the road. I'm hoping the driver who cut me off in the round-a-bout is reading this, because here is a video for their benefit. There's my rant :)

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