Re: City may open diamond lanes to more users (March 17). If the objective is to return the entire road space back to being the exclusive enclave of motor vehicles, then this is the way to go. It's certainly not reconcilable with any genuine (yet professed) attempt to increase cycle-commuting, and the tangible benefits that that brings to our community.

I can only hope that the city's transportation planners exhibit some common sense and recognize that allowing more vehicles into the diamond lane will essentially squeeze out the cyclists, and relegate this idea, ever so respectfully, to the scrap heap.

Rowena was responding to this story.

The full text of her letter (before the Free Press editted it) was:

As an all-year bike-commuter from WK to downtown, commuting on north Main Street has been great since last November when the bike/ bus diamond lanes opened. Alternate bike routes through Point Douglas are nice in the summer when you have the time, but impossible in the winter as they’re not ploughed.

Now, absent from 7 a.m. onwards in the Main Street diamond lane are the 60 – 70 kph speeders who historically gravitated to this kerb lane and, illegally, shot past close enough to give any cyclists leg a gratuitous shave. Vehicles using the diamond lane legitimately as part of a left-turn are mostly respectful of the slower-moving bikes. In the last five months these bike/bus diamond lanes have been a great step forward towards ensuring bike/vehicle safety and encouraging cycle-commuting - which should increase even more now with the warmer weather.

I was, therefore, gobsmacked when I read the March 17th article in the WFP “City may open diamond lanes to more users”; the first thing that came to my mind was “Mayor Katz what are you thinking?”

If the objective is to return the entire road space back to being the exclusive enclave of motor vehicles, by stealth, then this is the way to go – it’s certainly not reconcilable with any genuine (yet professed) attempt to increase cycle-commuting, and the tangible benefits that that brings to our community.

I can only hope that the City’s Transportation Planners exhibit some common sense - recognize that allowing more vehicles into the diamond lane will essentially squeeze out the cyclists, and relegate this idea, ever so respectfully, to the scrap heap.