Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Bytor]

What bugs me is when drivers believe that not only do they want to drive, but that their choice is the right and only choice and everyone else should do what they do.  And it's doubly frustrating because 99% of the time the things drivers complain about is caused by "everyone must drive" policies.

I don't know of any driver that thinks that way.

As for the second part (not bolded) I also don't believe that. Things drivers complain about -- length of commute (not because of traffic, but because of distance), being cut off, being whizzed by a vehicle, only to have it immediately stop in front of you to make a turn. Other grievances are people (be it cars, pedestrians, cyclists) not obeying traffic signals/signs, and jaywalkers. The one that bothers me is when cyclists come at you in the opposite direction -- WHEN THERE IS A FREAKING PROTECTED BIKE LANE! Holy crap. Queens BLVD between Belmont and Westheights is an example of this. You have protected bike lanes -- use the damn things.

I  have lost track of the times I have discussed biked lanes or transit with somebody (in person or online) and their argument against either mode is "But I need my car to get to work". And while their reason my be true for themselves (they need to haul tools, go to one or more different locations each day, etc…), it is clear that they cannot imagine anybody else being in a different situation. Even when you point out jobs like restaurant servers, retail, office workers, and so on who always work at the same place every day and do not need to bring much of anything with them, they still have difficulty understanding that a lot of people can feasibly bike or take transit to their work every day. I even had one person try to convince me that the majority of workers in K-W were blue-collar trades people who had to carry a large amunt of tools with them to multiple jobs every day around town. At best, if you finally get them to admit to the fact that bike or bus is feasible for many, they switch to "But why would you want to?" or various other things that really mean "But the car is the best way!"

So, yes, there are lots of drivers who think that way.