{"id":2779,"date":"2010-01-27T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingatlantic.ca\/?p=2779"},"modified":"2013-01-21T04:56:46","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T08:56:46","slug":"the-courtesy-is-common-but-is-the-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2010\/01\/27\/the-courtesy-is-common-but-is-the-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"The courtesy is Common, but is the sense?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"Brought to you in collaboration with the Ecology Action Centre<\/a> and\u00a0Halifax Cycling Coalition<\/a>, SpokesPeople covers all things cycle-related. From the principles to the potholes, we’re here to examine the realities facing the two-wheeled traveler.<\/em><\/p>\n

HALIFAX – <\/strong>With debate still simmering after last week’s North Commons revitalization presentation<\/a>, Spacing Atlantic <\/em>is pleased to kick off\u00a0SpokesPeople <\/em>with a look at the place of cyclists in the Halifax Common.<\/p>\n

An undisputed geographical crossroads in peninsular Halifax,\u00a0the North Common <\/span> is a figurative crossroads in countless other ways, too. Each day, thousands of pedestrians and\u00a0cyclists criss-cross the Common\u2019s various axes \u2013 and each other. Many are \u201cstraight-line\u201d users,\u00a0commuting to and from school and work via the shortest possible path between\u00a0two of the Common\u2019s numerous corners.<\/p>\n

For others, the Common itself is the destination: a place for a relaxed\u00a0stroll on a sunny afternoon, or a venue for youngsters to test the waters of\u00a0life without training wheels, free of the worry of motorized vehicles bearing\u00a0down on them. Add in concertgoers,\u00a0picnickers and sports enthusiasts, and you\u2019ve got a multi-use\u00a0space that is brimming with Haligonians and visitors alike. Where else could a commuting high schooler, a left fielder, and a rabid rock fan make the same footprint within\u00a0hours of each other?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

S<\/span><\/span>haring the\u00a0Common\u2019s sought-after real estate is a delicate balancing act. Although the planned Common renovations\u00a0call for wider multi-use paths and a new \u2013 and sorely needed \u2013 paved connection\u00a0to the North Park and Cogswell corner of the park, breathing room on these paths will\u00a0forever be at a premium as everyone from dawdling cloud-watchers to whizzing\u00a0cycle commuters jockey for space on the pavement. If you have ever wondered why\u00a0cyclists are <\/a>required, by law, to have a working bell on their bikes<\/a>, the Common should\u00a0be Exhibit A.<\/p>\n

But the real fun begins on the Common\u2019s periphery, where cyclists find themselves hemmed in by poor park-street integration. Virtually all arms of the Common’s spiral of paths dump cyclists into crosswalks<\/em> on exit, forcing them to choose between the utterly impractical dismount and the illegal alternative of staying astride. The proposed park redesign is incomplete without the inclusion of infrastructure at the Common’s major gateways to accommodate cyclists’ safe and legal transition from street to park and back. Two critical trans-Common axes — the through paths connecting Welsford to Cornwallis and Agricola, and the link from Cogswell to Bell and all points south — are book-ended by a quintet of locations that demand treatment to bring the law and the logistical realities of cycling in line with each other.<\/p>\n

These awkward transitions partly explain why this contributor rarely finds himself plying\u00a0the Common\u2019s paved and unpaved paths, opting to share the surrounding\u00a0arterial roads with motorists instead of navigating all manner of slow-moving\u00a0obstacles within the Common. But\u00a0not everyone is as comfortable on the four- and six-lane boulevards that frame\u00a0the Common \u2013 not to mention the unwieldy, multi-pronged paved deltas that join\u00a0them. On other occasions, there\u2019s\u00a0little choice in the matter. A\u00a0friend who commutes from Agricola to Summer, for example,\u00a0chooses to travel through the Common\u00a0from Cunard Street to Bell Road because she prefers the calm park over the busy\u00a0street. But when heading\u00a0northbound, she\u00a0has no choice<\/em>, as the Common paths are the only direct alternative to one-way Trollope Street that\u00a0doesn\u2019t involve\u00a0backtracking <\/a>down Bell Road<\/a> to travel north on Trollope\u2019s twin, Ahern Avenue.<\/p>\n

What does all this mean for the common Common cyclist? For starters, a little bit of courtesy\u00a0goes a long way toward maintaining harmonious relationships with our pedestrian\u00a0friends who \u2013 lest we forget \u2013 are at the top of the right-of-way heap. In addition to providing audible\u00a0warnings through bell-ringing and cheerful calls of \u201cExcuse me!\u201d and \u201cThank\u00a0you,” cyclists need to realize that the Common is no place for whipping past\u00a0foot traffic at thirty kilometres per hour.\u00a0 (And yes, it is understood that suggesting cyclists\u00a0should limit their speed on any occasion is a cardinal sin of sorts, but the\u00a0assertion stands.) Pedestrians,\u00a0after all, are far less predictable than motorists, so \u201cdefensive cycling<\/a>\u201d is as important\u00a0here as on the street. In short, the Common is a rare chance for cyclists to escape the pulse of motor traffic, not replicate it.<\/p>\n

The Common is, by its very nature, a place for all. As long as three-pitch, ultimate and Sunday afternoon picnics have a place there, so, too, will cyclists. With its high volumes of traffic, the\u00a0Common is also a key podium in the realm of cyclists\u2019 public relations. Nothing less than ambassadorial\u00a0behaviour in this critical crossroads of intermodal interaction will suffice if\u00a0cyclists are to earn the support of the non-cycling majority as they pursue\u00a0their dream of making Halifax a haven for cyclists of all ages and abilities.<\/p>\n

photo by Mark Lasanowski<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brought to you in collaboration with the Ecology Action Centre and\u00a0Halifax Cycling Coalition, SpokesPeople covers all things cycle-related. From the principles to the potholes, we’re here to examine the realities facing the two-wheeled traveler. HALIFAX – With debate still simmering after last week’s North Commons revitalization presentation, Spacing Atlantic is pleased to kick off\u00a0SpokesPeople withContinue reading “The courtesy is Common, but is the sense?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8055,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5857,5866],"tags":[1674,339,822,927,351,531,1675,1678,1676,1677,385],"class_list":["post-2779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bikes","category-green-space","tag-common-common-cyclist","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-2","tag-ecology-action-centre","tag-halifax","tag-halifax-cycling-coalition","tag-left-fielder","tag-mark-lasanowski","tag-public-relations","tag-sought-after-real-estate","tag-urban-green"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe courtesy is Common, but is the sense? - Spacing Atlantic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2010\/01\/27\/the-courtesy-is-common-but-is-the-sense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The courtesy is Common, but is the sense? - Spacing Atlantic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brought to you in collaboration with the Ecology Action Centre and\u00a0Halifax Cycling Coalition, SpokesPeople covers all things cycle-related. 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