Sunday, November 07, 2021

Should Blackfriars Bridge be open to cars?

Ground Zero for a long-overdue debate
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is Blackfriars Bridge. I’ve crossed it, photographed it, and written about it countless times over the years. It is a #LdnONT icon, and an indelible and historic foundation of our community.

Today is its final day as a car-free structure, as the city has decided in its infinite whatever-passes-for-wisdom to reopen it to cars as of tomorrow.

There is a petition to stop this idiocy. I have signed it, and I hope you will, too. Just follow the link in my profile back to my blog.

I hope our elected officials come to appreciate the need for civic infrastructure that allows pedestrians and cyclists to move around the city without worrying about being mowed down. But I am not hopeful.

Two cyclists have died in separate accidents in our region over the past three weeks, one hit by teens in a stolen car, the other in a hit-and-run. I’ve often ridden those very same roads, and years ago I was hit by a car while cycling, as well. I was lucky to have walked away.

Again and again, these stories play out, yet nothing changes. And politicians continue to ignore the need to stop the carnage. Because, you know, they all drive cars, not bikes, and to them, the equation always comes back to how many minutes can be saved on the commute.

What this does to the very fabric of the city - namely turn it into a car-dominated kill-zone - is entirely lost on them.

Tomorrow, cars will once again take over this historic structure that was built decades before cars were even a thing. They don’t belong here. The tone-deafness of this move astounds me. Sickens me, even.

A year from now, London holds its next municipal election. Moments like this make me realize something needs to change, and it’s time to elect new leaders with different priorities.

#london #ontario #canada #blackfriars #bridge #green #history #tvp #thames #river #walkabout #cycling #life #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

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