Santa's Elf's Christmas Trike Sleigh Part 2

Santa's Elf's Christmas Trike Sleigh

On Dec 6./08 I will enter my trike in the Peterborough Santa Claus Parade. This year the theme is Christmas sleighs so I've decided to turn my trike into a trike sleigh for the event, and I shall dress as one of Santa's elfs.
For the project I am using coroplast I have laying around including political signs. My environmental friends might cringe when they hear the word coroplast as it seems to have a bad name amongst greenies, as it is not always recyclable ( tho' the company begs to differ).
But it is reusable and it's light weight, durability and waterproofness makes it ideal for bike projects. It's also easy to cut and can be fastened using plastic cable ties. Holes can be punched with an awl.

Electric assist trike

This is a 2003 Lightfoot Cycles Courier, my personal transportation. This fall I installed a Heinzman Electric hub motor kit. It's a Mountain drive 500W motor w/36v NiCad battery pak.
The beauty of the NiCad battery pak is it only takes 2 hrs tops to charge it.
This is a heavy bike to begin with. I would guess with tools, cargo box, fenders and fairing, It probably weighs about 80#. My average speed doing errands in town is about 8.5 mph.
With the electric assist my average increases to 10.5mph or there-a-bouts. On the level I can maintain speeds of15 mph easily which makes it very effective for traffic cycling. But it's a lot easier on me, and I don't think that is a good thing. This way I will not get in shape for out-of town touring which is my pleasure.
When touring I usually carry 65# of camping gear plus added water at 2# per litre. My average speed then is about 9.5 mph depending on terrain. The motor is ok used judiciously for about 20 miles, and when it runs out of juice, it's a lot harder to pedal than without. Consider that the weight of motor and battery is another 11 lbs and the electric motor hub does not freewheel as well as a regular bike wheel. There is a lot of resistance. So suffice it to say, it's only good for in town, but in town it's damn good.

Peterborough's worst intersection

It seems the police and city staff have known for quite a long time that Lansdowne and Monaghan is the most dangerous intersection in Peterborough. I’m sure city council had that information too.

Knowing then what the Examiner has now revealed to the public, why would city staff and city council agree to create a bike lane that directs new cyclists into this unsafe intersection? And if they had the opportunity, would they change their minds on this?

In a presentation to city council last November I questioned city staff’s proposal to create a bike lane on busy Monaghan Rd., a high traffic, heavy truck route that cyclists would normally avoid. They were unable to show that bike lanes were any safer than riding on roads obeying traffic rules. But claimed one American study showed bike lanes attract new cyclists and that alone is good enough reason, as they have a mandate to encourage alternative transportation.

Competent cyclists who practice and obey the rules of the road are not attracted to bike lanes. But to the young, the inexperienced and the timid are. Bike lanes give a perception of safety as they are designed and recommended by the city. Many parents tell their children to use the bike lane, but what happens when it ends? They are directed into busy intersections such as the above without the experience or knowledge to cycle safely with traffic. There are three schools on Monaghan Rd., and Fleming College students have been directed to use this bike lane to access Crawford Dr. But there is no need for any of these students to use this intersection. There are safer alternate routes.

City police say there were 34 collisions at this junction last year. How many cyclists will be hit this year? Recently a young father was seriously injured while riding through this intersection, and I can’t help wondering if he was attracted to it because of the bike lane.

Transportation manager Jim Kimble says, “The intersection is a perfect example of engineering as much safety as possible.” And, "From an engineering perspective there's not a lot the city could do to make it safer.” I disagree. I would suggest that through engineering, the city is making this intersection less safe, by knowingly directing novice cyclists into an already dicey situation.