Cyclists and Commercial Drivers can agree: traffic has ruined Toronto

Do you enjoy sharing the road with other Toronto drivers? Do you like driving on the 401, which is frequently ranked as the worst highway in North America? Do you actually like to drive 15 km/h during rush hour on the DVP?

Let’s talk about those single-passenger vehicles. Don’t you ever wish you didn’t have to share the roads with so many terrible drivers? Did you ever think: if there weren’t so many cars on the road, my job would be so much easier?

There are good, professional drivers with good reasons to be in their vehicles. But, there are other drivers who really don’t need to be on the road, at all. This post is about distinguishing between commercial vehicles and single-passenger vehicles: one is good; the other is literally killing us, our kids, our city, our happiness, and the environment.

Work vehicles are good but EVERYONE hates single-passenger vehicles - including the people actually driving single-passenger vehicles! Basically all of society agrees: traffic sucks. Let’s fix it.

Do you expect me to bring 200lbs of tools…

Any time there’s a post about reducing traffic/transit/biking/etc on /r/toronto, almost without fail, someone will comment: “Do you expect me to bring 200lbs of tools on my bike (or subway) every day?” No, we do not. Even better, I actually understand where you’re coming from.

If you depend on a car or truck to make a living, then you might feel terror - claustrophobia, drowning, suffocation, actual visceral threat - at the thought of your job becoming impossible due to the suggestion of car restrictions. And you’re not alone in this thought. Almost every single thread about cars will include somebody commenting about how their job would be impossible if cars were restricted.

Putting irrational fears to rest

NOBODY IS GONNA TAKE YOUR WORK VEHICLE.

We just want to get single-passenger vehicles off the road. And so do you.

Any discussion of restrictions on cars is actually not about commercial vehicles. Deliveries, ambulances, fire trucks, construction vehicles, trades … We’re not talking about restricting those vehicles. That would be silly - irrational, even. That’s why it’s not even part of the conversation - and also why it’s so frustrating that this fear comes up when we talk about strategies to reduce single-passenger vehicles in Toronto.

Soothing pictures of trucks in the city

Here are a few pictures of people driving trucks in Amsterdam, which is often touted as a bicycle utopia. In fact, work trucks are useful to society - and they are accommodated - EVEN IN AMSTERDAM.

Beer delivery truck in Amsterdam

Sure, it’s not an 18-wheeler, but somehow life finds a way.

Ambulance in Amsterdam

You think street car tracks or a little concrete curb is going to wreck society? Pathetic. Ambulances eat curbs for breakfast.

Fire truck in Amsterdam

They said it couldn’t be done - and they were wrong. In fact, there IS room for fire trucks.

Multi-modal Delivery in Amsterdam

Of course, there are bicycle couriers in Amsterdam. But what’s that? A delivery van in Amsterdam? Yes. There is room

Commercial drivers should support restrictions on single-passenger vehicles

I will admit: my reason for wanting to reduce single-passenger vehicles is different from commercial drivers’. I want my kids to be safe on the sidewalk - but they aren’t safe in Toronto. I want to ride my bike safely. I want my kids to be able to ride their bikes in bike lanes - but it’s WAY too dangerous for that.

I also know that a lot of commercial drivers HATE cyclists with a passion that rises to be murderous, at times. But swallow your pride, for a moment, and recognize we are on the same side here: single-passenger vehicles make all our lives worse. Period.

Nobody is gonna take your work truck

Just … stop, STOP! The “tool chest on a cargo bike” meme has to die. When anyone talks about restricting cars in Toronto, they are NOT talking about your work truck. We would all benefit if there were fewer single-passenger vehicles on the road. You know this, right?