As a candidate in the upcoming municipal election, the advocacy side of Bicycle Month, RIMM (Riding in Mississippi Mills), urges you to complete a short questionnaire as drafted by the Ontario cycle advocacy group, “Share the Road Cycling Coalition.” We are interested in sharing your views on healthy active communities.
Please follow the link and complete the survey by Friday Oct 8th so that a summary of the results can be published the following week.
Good luck with your candidacy and our kindest regards to the new Mississippi Mills council.
http://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=128473612332
Jeff Mills
Chair, Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month
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I responded to Jeff directly via email;
I must apologize, Jeff, I can not endorse your pledge. Make no mistake, I am all for healthy communities, I walk on average 8km per day and while canvassing I could easily double that number. I park almost a km from work just for the walk.
This leads to my reservations. Being a pedestrian, I have as many issues with cyclists as you and your group have with motor vehicles; things like riding on sidewalks, riding the wrong way down a one-way road or riding on the wrong side of the road, not stopping at stop signs and traffic lights and not yielding at pedestrian crosswalks. As a motorist I have concerns about riders riding two abreast, not using hand signals and worst of all when a cyclist passes a long line up of cars stopped at a red light on the right hand side when there is no dedicated lane. All of these things are illegal and I see these acts everyday without exception. Ultimately when these illegal acts of cyclists are the exception and not the rule I will be more than happy to endorse your pledge.
Respectfully,
Phil Warland
Candidate for Council - Pakenham Ward
http://www.phil4council.ca/
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To which I received the following reply;
From: Jeff Mills
Sent: October 6, 2010 16:48
To: phil4council xplornet.ca
Subject: RE: Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month - Healthy Community Pledge
Phil
Thank you for your response. Your comments are duly noted.
Best of luck with your electoral race.
Jeff
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Ultimately as a would be Councillor how can I support and activity whose average participant breaks more highway traffic laws than they obey.
