Toronto 시내 중심가에서 자전거타는것은 죽음을 자초하는길, 중심가의 길은 Cyclists를 위한 기본 계획이 처음부터 없었기 때문이다.

드디어 터지고야 말았다. Toronto Downtown에 차를 몰고 나가기가 무척 두렵게 느낀지가 몇년이 지났었다.  현 토론토 시장 John Tory가 취임후 시내의 좁은 길에, 억지로 Bike Lane들을 수천만 달러를 들여 힌페인트로 선을 그어놓고, 심지어 King St.구간은 아예 차가 못다니도록 조례를 만들어 버렸다.  원래 Downtown의 길은 자동차나 옛날 소나 말이 끌던 Wagon들이 다니도록 설계된 도로이기에, 당시의 설계로는 한쪽으로 2 Lane, 양쪽 4Lane을 차량들이 이용하도록 설계된것으로 이해하고 있다. 그리고 바로 그옆으로는 Side Walk이 있어 보행자들이 이용한
다.

지난 6월과 7월사이에 Biker 4명이 목숨을 잃었다고 한다. 좁은 길에서 만약에 사고가 났을때는, Biker는 치명적이다. 왜 이런 위험한 곡예를 시키는 정책을 시당국은 고집하는가? 안전을 채택하여 아예 그위험성을 없애야 하지 않을까.

소수의 의견을 존중하는것도 중요하지만, 이를 반영하기위해 말없는 다수의 의견이 무시돼서는 더욱 안된다고 생각한다.

그후 도시가 커지고 차량이 많아졌기에 차량은 더욱 붐벼, 특히 동서로 뚫린 시내를 관통할려면 30분, 한시간은 보통 걸리는 실정이며, Traffic Jam으로 고생들을 하지만, 시장을 비롯한 시의원들은 다음 선거를 의식해서, 그좁은곳에 Bike Lane을 끼어 맞추어, 차량은 차량데로, Cyclists들은 그들데로 Traffic 전쟁을 하는 전쟁터로 변해 버린 것이다.

 몇년전 터키의 Istanbul을 탐방했었다.  그때 탐방시 기억에 남는게, 시내에는 토론토의 전차처럼, Tram이 달리고 있었는데, 차량들이 달리는 도로와 완전히 구별되여 별도의 길들이 Parallel로 되여있어, 승객들이 아주 편하게, 차량들의 질주에 상관없이 마음껏 달리는것을 보면서, 그때에도 Toronto를 생각했었다.

다른 유럽여러도시들을 다녀봤지만, 차량들이 다니는 도로에 Line만들어 놓고, 차량과 Bike가 같이 달리게 해놓은 곳을 본 기억이 없다.

모두의 안전을 위해서는 우선 Downtown 지역은 Bike Lane을 완전히 없애고, 새로 건설되는 외곽지역의 주택가와 상가지역은 도로 건설시 유럽의 여러도시처럼 차량이 다니는 도로와  Biker들이 질주 하는 차량에 신경쓸 필요없이 달릴수 있도록 설계를 해야 된다고 믿는다.

지금은 고인이 된 Rob Ford시장이 아마도 그러한 Concept을 갖고, 복잡한 시내에 있는 Bike Lane 들을 없앤 것으로 이해된다.  자동차가 달리는 도로교통법에는 대개 세계 어느나라에서나 비슷하게 정의 하고 있다. "즉 도로를 달릴수 있는 기기는 동력을 발생하는 엔진이 부착된  Vehicle에 한한다"라고.  자전거는 동력을 발생하는 엔진이 장착되여 있지 않다.

Bloor 한인촌을 가로 지르는 Bloor길은 참으로 가관이다.  그렇치 않아도 복잡한 도로의 차량 Lane하나를 없애고, 대신 Bike Lane을 그어놓고, 미안해서 였는지는 몰라도 그옆에 Street주차장을 만들어 이용하기가 불편함의 극치를 이루고 있다.

이러한 엉터리 교통정책때문에, Downtown의 King St과 Bloor 에 몰려있는 한인상가를 비롯한 Bloor거리는 Business district에서 Ghost town으로 서서히 변해가고 있다. 오죽 했으면 King St.에 있는 Small Businessmen들이 들고 일어나 데로 까지 했을까.

Toronto Downtown의 도로는 원래 목적데로 차량만 다니도록 원상복귀 시키고, 출퇴근시에 Bike을 이용하는 직장인들은 TTC를 이용토록 하라. 시장을 비롯한 시정책입안자들은 더이상 무고한 생명을 잃지 않도록 강하고 편리한 입법을 해라고 권고한다.

이용율을 봐도 금새 이해가 된다.  Downtown의 도로 한구간을 정해놓고 차량통과수와 Bike 통과수를 보면 너무도 어처구니가 없다.  차량은 수십만대가 통과 하는데, Bike는, 그것도 많이 이용한다는 거리에서 겨우 5천대가 이용 했었다는 시당국의 통계를 이를 증명한다.

Downtown외곽지역의 공원이나 Boardwalk Trail에는 Biker들이 북새통을 이룬다.  Biker들을 보면 마치 특권을 누리는 집단으로 보일때가 있다.  좀더 Harmonious한 도시가 될려면, 정확한 입법을 해서, 서로가 존경하고 법을 준수하는 도시로 탈바꿈할수 있어야 한다고 생각한다.

Cyclists in Toronto are raising concerns about the risks of riding bikes following a rash of deaths this summer. How dangerous is it to saddle up in Canada's largest city?

Henry Gold has cycled in over 80 countries.

That experience has led the 66-year-old biking enthusiast to a controversial opinion - that Toronto is the most perilous city in the world to be a cyclist.

"If you have to - for any length of time - cycle on any of the major arteries in Toronto, it's more dangerous than anywhere else in the world," he says.

That claim may have people raising a sceptical eyebrow, though a string of cycling and pedestrian deaths over a short period of time in Toronto has raised road safety concerns in Canada's largest city.

Three cyclists died in a month-long span on the city's streets in May and June. A fourth cyclist died in March in a collision with a parked car.

Cycling advocates in the city have organised so-called "ghost bike rides" and have set up memorials to mark the spot a cyclist was killed with white painted bike frames.

"I see them as lighthouses depicting dangerous waters around the streets," Geoffrey Bercarich, who helps maintain the memorials, told the BBC.

• Cyclists accuse Toronto mayor of waging 'war on bikes'
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In late June, city council responded to concerns by approving an additional C$22m ($16.7m; £12.6m) for the Vision Zero programme, a five-year plan with the goal of reducing traffic-related deaths and injuries to nil.

Vision Zero has so far been panned as a failure.

Mr Gold, who founded a company that runs cycling tours around the world, says the city's speed limits - between 50 km/h to 60km/h (31mph to 37mph) on most major roads and arteries - are to blame for the danger.

People don't die when cars move at a crawl, he contends.

"The wonderful thing about traffic jams is no one gets killed."

But traffic jams are what many Toronto commuters dread.

The fourth largest North American city's population is having a growth spurt, which has left drivers, streetcars, cyclists, and pedestrians competing for street space.

In June, Expert Market, a UK-based business solutions firm, released a reportsuggesting Toronto had the worst commute times in North America.

It ranked globally slightly above Istanbul and slightly below London, based on factors like average commute times and distances.

The crowded roads and long commutes have created political tension between avid cyclists who feel threatened by cars and drivers who have expressed frustration at cyclists.

• Cycle groups warn over 'car-dooring'
• Cyclist ban plan 'deeply concerning'

Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford helped heat up the debate when he made ending the "war on the car" in Toronto a campaign catchphrase in 2010.

He found support from a number of city councillors, especially those representing suburban wards whose voter base were made up of car commuters.

During his time in office, Toronto removed some of the city's bike lanes.

Opponents to bike infrastructure feared increased traffic congestion and reduced parking spaces. Merchants fretted over possible lost business.

Some criticised spending money on permanent separated cycle lanes in a city where only the hardiest cyclists venture out on their bikes during winter months.

Toronto is far from the only city where the car versus bike debate has raged - it's cropped up in places like London, Seattle, Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC.

It's been an issue in Montreal, which is considered one of the most bike-friendly cities in North America.

Kay Teschke, a University of British Columbia professor who studies urban cycling, says a good cycling city is one that includes space for people on bikes on the road, like a comprehensive network of cycling paths on major roads and arteries that physically separate cars and bikes.

"It just makes no sense for vehicles with such different masses and velocities to be put together," she says.

"Anyone who makes any kind of mistake is waiting for a catastrophe to happen."

Toronto has turned a corner since the height of Rob Ford's "war on car" days, and has been adding to the city cycling infrastructure.

In 2017, city council approved a permanent separated bike lane on one of the major east-west connections with little opposition.

City bureaucrats found the Bloor bike lane both encouraged ridership and reduced collisions between cars and bikes, though it did slow commute times for cars by just over four minutes in some cases.

A recent poll indicated that almost half of Torontonians supported more separated cycle lanes being added.

Ms Teschke says drivers and cyclists alike appreciate the security and consistency of separated bike paths. Separated lanes also keep cyclists away from Toronto's metal streetcar tracks, which can be slippery and are the perfect size to catch an errant tire.

One study found that a third of cycling accidents were directly linked to the tracks.

Ms Teschke says that while Toronto has made strides towards becoming a cycling city, like a number of places it suffers from having "a huge jumble" of different ways that transportation for bikes, cars, pedestrians and public transit are managed across the city.

"If a city has a consistent treatment of where cyclists ride, everyone understands better what's going on - it's more intuitive what to do," she says.

"But in North America at the moment we have every combination for cyclists."

So how does Toronto objectively compare to other cities around the world for bike safety?

There's no clear answer, since it can be difficult to get a perfect comparison between cities, which compile statistics in different ways.

In 2015, the Pembina Institute published a report that looked at the crash rate per 100,000 cycling trips. Toronto had five, the highest of five Canadian cities. Montreal and Vancouver tied as the safest cities, with two collisions per 100,000 trips.

Statistics compiled by Toronto suggest that compared to the top 10 largest North American cities, the city's road fatality rate - including drivers, cyclists and pedestrians - is among the lowest, higher than Chicago and New York but lower than Phoenix, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44746889