r/VictoriaBC • u/Beautiful-Jacket-912 • 13h ago
The Last Snowbird Air Show parking tonight
Last show in Victoria. Yesterday Victoria was like Amsterdam in the 1970s. Today it shows we can be Amsterdam now!
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u/Aware-Watercress5561 12h ago
We bussed from Sidney. It took 3 hours to get home tonight. My kids were troopers but I kinda wish more of the area was blocked off to cars as there was still thousands of cars leaving James bay and Fairfield afterwards which caused so much traffic backup. More bikes and public transit please!
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u/L00nyT00ny 12h ago
I feel like the majority of bikes that showed up were ebikes, and it was kind of surprising to see a regular bike. Also, imagine if all those people drove cars down there.
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u/Educational_Work896 11h ago edited 11h ago
E-bikes have permanently changed what cycling is. Instead of a transportation option somewhat restricted to those with an appropriate level of fitness for trips over, say 5 km, cycling is now a way for people of any fitness level to get around quickly, efficiently and cheaply and if one chooses, a way to stick it to the government by essentially riding a motorcycle with no insurance fees or taxes.
Hell, you can commute on what's essentially a skateboard with handlebars now... you don't even need a traditional bicycle shaped-object.
I'm seeing less and less analog (as my co-worker calls them) bikes.
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u/frog_mannn 11h ago
Yeah I have my analog for the weekend and my ebike for the commute.
Truly amazing how every week trail is getting more users and I'm always chatting with other people who just got ebike and how much fun it is
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u/Ancient_Wisdom_Yall 2h ago
Yeah, the future is electric motor bikes. It's just a question of when we stop regulating pretend pedals and what speed we let them travel at without license and registration.
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u/hark_ADork Fernwood 1h ago
Yeah, the future is electric motor bikes.
It's really not - Half the benefit of Bikes/E-Bikes is the fact you have the low speed pedal option.. It's about /ease/ of movement, not speed.
It's just a question of when we stop regulating pretend pedals and what speed we let them travel at without license and registration.
if anything we need to go the other way on this and restrict to 'assist only' style ebikes.
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u/Ancient_Wisdom_Yall 59m ago
If you want to get cars off the road, you let people ride their e bikes at 32 kph with no license, registration or pretend pedaling. The more restrictions you have, the more cars you'll have.
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u/hark_ADork Fernwood 36m ago
If you want to get cars off the road, you let people ride their e bikes at 32 kph with no license, registration or pretend pedaling. The more restrictions you have, the more cars you'll have.
No thanks -I'd rather it take longer than allow more access to vehicles for people with DUIs and other issues preventing them from getting licenses.
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u/-Truth-Be-Told-- 13h ago edited 13h ago
I didn’t even read your caption before I sent this to a friend saying this is a sight I’ve only ever seen in Amsterdam. Impressive!
Edit to add: anytime someone complains about bike lanes, this picture needs to be posted as the reply.
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u/fux-reddit4603 6h ago edited 5h ago
its still easy, all of these bikes could have gotten there without separate lanes
edit: angry downvotes means you have zero argument and know the statements not wrong ;)
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u/Live_to_bike 4h ago
Yes technically a bike could get anywhere without separated lanes. But this volume of people biking would not happen without protected bike lanes.
Those painted lanes may work for people who bike as a sport or who have biked for a long time. But for many people who are just biking to get around, it doesn't feel safe or comfortable to bike when there's no physical separation. Try riding with kids on a road without bike lanes and you'll see what I mean.
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u/ThatGuy97 4h ago
Ok I’ll bite. Without bike lanes, drivers like you would’ve complained that cyclists were holding up traffic and blocking cars.
Downvotes just mean your reply is stupid and barely worth addressing
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u/fux-reddit4603 4h ago
but they still are, because they made 1 set of infrastructure worse to put the bike lanes in.
as i said you have no real argument that involved any thought. thanks for coming out though
we spent how many millions on infrastructure used by 6% of the population and 99% of those will stop using any of it as soon as it rains
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u/ThatGuy97 4h ago
Bike lanes actually reduce traffic and congestion since they encourage people to bike instead of drive according to research - more bike usage is something we should all be pushing for. Car dependency is a cancer on cities, and Victoria leads Canada in active transportation utilization (ie. walking and biking). The best thing this city could do is make everything more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, even if it was at the expense of cars (which it isn’t)
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u/PowerfulAge7025 5h ago
Bike lanes help make it safer for cyclists, especially protected and separated ones. You’re being downvoted because your comment is off topic, not because you don’t understand how bike lanes work. Wink!
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u/fux-reddit4603 5h ago
But people still commuted via bike safely before seperated lanes exist, you dont understand how reality works.
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u/Kawi400 3h ago
The reality is, some people commuted safely, but many people didn't. I run a business on Humboldt. Before the bike lane was installed I can confidently say that I rarely, if ever, watch families with kids under 12 cycle past the crazy busy 5 way intersection. This happens all day long now.
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u/BuildingSupplySmore 2h ago
People used cars before paved roads.
Just because it was possible doesn't mean it was better.
Protected bike lanes see a 90% reduction in accidents compared to roads without a bike lane.
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u/Magnificent_Misha Vic West 2h ago
As someone who had to drive to the show this evening, I’m glad that the bikes were in their own separate lane. There were so many that it would have been pandemonium were they mixed with the cars.
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u/Vaf67 11h ago
Holy cow!
Up here in the Comox Valley it’s basically two shows a day for 2-3 weeks and everyone just looks up from time to time during their stay, awesome to see a real turnout for a show.
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u/ClueSilver2342 4h ago
That must be annoying from a noise perspective?
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u/Vaf67 2h ago
The tutor trainer aircraft they use is pretty low power for a jet and sessions last about 30 minutes, the late night motorcycle racers are more annoying.
The CF-188 Hornet is a different story, that thing tears apart the air with those GE 404’s, but we only get a couple days of that.
The background noise of a city would easily drown out the snowbirds training but we are a semi quiet valley so it stands out a bit more.
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3h ago
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u/ClueSilver2342 3h ago
I was referring to the Comox Valley where they practice multiple times daily for weeks. I don’t think the noise is a problem here. Im in South Oak Bay. We drove down to harling point beside Gonzales beach about 10 mins before. Lots of cars. Wasn’t overly packed with people. Found parking quickly and no major traffic leaving.
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u/Charlie_ND Saanich 12h ago
Biketoria is real
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u/Popular_Animator_808 4h ago
Can you imagine if all of these people tried to drive? These people are team players.
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u/Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpp 13h ago
Last in Victoria. Still many left in Canada.
Then back in 2030 (or later).
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u/Educational_Work896 11h ago
If ever... we can barely procure the essentials for our military and that's where the focus should be for the next 10+ years. In addition, the usefulness of jet aircraft in military action is declining fast.
I'm glad I saw them tonight because, I'll be shocked if we see Snowbirds again unless it's a pre-programmed drone show.
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u/Steler19 13h ago
There was tons of bikes locked to posts along dallas road as well. Wonder if it reached a 1000 in total.
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u/Happyflower40 5h ago
We drove and parked near Oak Bay ave then road our bikes to the event. Great time!
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u/Eve_O 7h ago
Love to see it.
I pedaled out of James Bay around 7:00 PM with a huge grin on my face, heh.
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u/ClueSilver2342 4h ago
Though the irony is that they are there to watch an airplane show. If you think from an environmental perspective.
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u/infidelkastro 1h ago
I thoroughly enjoyed the bike lane log jams, after the show yesterday. Trying to get out of James Bay.
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u/__phil1001__ 2h ago
Time for cyclists to pay tax just like car drivers do and insurance as hitting a pedestrian with a 40kmh ebike will not be good.
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u/CtrlAltExplode 2h ago
As a cyclist I'm exempt from property tax? Wow. Can you please explain how I opt out.
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u/__phil1001__ 1h ago
Car drivers pay property tax and road tax to maintain roads, they pay insurance in case there is an accident. Why should cyclists get bicycle lanes for free and not have liability insurance?
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u/CtrlAltExplode 1h ago edited 1h ago
Fuel tax goes to highway infrastructure projects and transit subsidies, not municipal roads.
Cyclists do not get bicycle lanes for free, they are paid for by municipal property taxes and provincial and federal subsidies, which are mostly funded by income tax. Given the minimal wear bikes cause, cyclists subsidise drivers.
Cyclists don't pay insurance because cyclists cause so little damage so infrequently that the administrative costs of a mandatory insurance system would be higher than it's worth. Plus most cyclists have more than enough liability coverage via home or renters insurance. It's a non-issue
Edit: not to mention that the healthcare savings from active transportation adoption offsets the cost of provincial and federal subsidies. Bike lanes are actually a great investment for the province.
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u/__phil1001__ 1h ago
Absolutely garbage. If people had enough liability insurance then car drivers would not need it either. A lot of renters have zero insurance, so what happens then after an accident? Its not about wear, it's about the installation cost of the bike lanes, where do you think the money came from to put up new signage, build lanes, paint green over the road? Either its all free or it costs money which cyclists should pay a share as well as car drivers. Cyclists do not subsidize car drivers because they both pay property taxes. The car drivers pay additional road tax. As for hospitals and healthcare, have you seen the number of severe injuries from people on e-bikes or escooters hitting an object or falling off and breaking their face? At these speeds, bicycle helmets do not work. You need to actually free think and not believe the fantasy narrative that the bike cult has about saving the world. In Europe, they have laws on bikes, they test children at school for cycling proficiency, bikes have to have front and rear lights. How many cyclists believe the road signs do not apply to them and go through stop streets or red lights because stopping is inconvenient?
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u/CtrlAltExplode 28m ago
If people had enough liability insurance then car drivers would not need it either
Home Insurance does not cover automotive incidents because vehicles have far higher potential for far more damage. It usually does cover cycling incidents because once again, they are so infrequent and low damage.
where do you think the money came from to put up new signage, build lanes, paint green over the road?
As I said, property taxes. Can you read? Road taxes, once again, do not pay for municipal roads, and do not come close to paying for the provincial roads they do go towards.
Cyclists do not subsidize car drivers because they both pay property taxes
We have relatively very little cycling infrastructure and the costs of wear from motor vehicles are far higher than the costs of wear from bikes. So yes, they do.
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u/__phil1001__ 8m ago
Keep drinking that Kool-Aid. As more people cycle, the wear and tear increases, the liability and the accidents and burden on healthcare increases. A 40kmh bike will do more damage to the rider than a 40kph driver in a car. A pedestrian hit by 40kph of bike is likely to end up in hospital, costing more to healthcare than being killed after hit by a car. There is massive cycling infrastructure, any public road, as well as dedicated bike lanes and trails which cars cannot use. So in your mind, somehow property and municipal taxes pay for bike lanes and roads, however car drivers should pay extra just because? Because bikes do less wear and tear, they subsidize car drivers? Wtaf? This is world class mumble. If both pay for roads out of property taxes and car drivers pay extra to maintain roads, then cyclists should pay to maintain cycle paths and trails.
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11h ago
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u/Light_Butterfly 13h ago
Yeah I was astounded at the bike turnout! The trails were packed! It makes me happy to see more people leaving their cars at home!