One thing I think drivers don't get is that the inconvenience they're experiencing from school streets, LTNs and cycle lanes is miniscule in comparison to the inconvenience other road users have been asked to take for the benefit of drivers over the years.
Your journey is five minutes longer? I feel you! As a cyclist, I'm often forced to take longer routes because the quickest path from A to B doesn't have adequate infrastructure or isn't safe for someone on a bike.
You have to wait at traffic lights on main roads instead of breezing through residential back streets? I feel you! As a pedestrian my journey is frequently interrupted by trying to find a safe place to cross a road, and waiting at lights that prioritise cars over me.
You're worried about an ambulance being able to reach you if you have an accident? I feel you! My worst nightmare is getting hit by a car while walking or cycling and an ambulance not being able to reach me because of all the car traffic on our roads.
Every time a driver cries and shouts about a slight inconvenience to them, I become more committed to fixing this inequality.
Because I realise how wrong I have been to suffer the injustices of car-dependence and car-dominance silently, politely, calmly.
Because I realise how wrong I have been to suffer the injustices of car-dependence and car-dominance silently, politely, calmly.
I am just as deserving of convenience as a driver.
I am just as deserving of getting to my destination quickly as a driver.
I am just as deserving of getting to my destination safely as a driver.
I am just as deserving of streetspace as a driver.
I am just as deserving of getting to my destination quickly as a driver.
I am just as deserving of getting to my destination safely as a driver.
I am just as deserving of streetspace as a driver.
The response of drivers to the idea that streetspace could be reallocated more fairly has opened my eyes to just how unfair the current system is.
And every time they cry about an inconvenience so small it wouldn't even register to me -- I see the inequity even clearer.
And every time they cry about an inconvenience so small it wouldn't even register to me -- I see the inequity even clearer.
I can't unsee it now. None of us can.
And we won't stop fighting until we have a system that's fair to all road users, whether they drive a car or not.
And we won't stop fighting until we have a system that's fair to all road users, whether they drive a car or not.
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