bus tried to block me, today
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
When I tried to turn left from Woodbine to Cosburne this morning, a TTC driver used his bus to block me. Both Woodbine and Cosburne are streets with cycle lanes. There is a turn lane (thanks to the recent redesign, when they put in the cycle lanes and parking). I waited for a gap in the traffic, but the driver suddenly charged forward to close the gap, using the size and speed of his bus to prevent the lane change I'd already started. The driver was imperiously pointing at the cycle lane, as if I could somehow make a left from the right-most lane.
At this point, the driver couldn't do anything more to stop me, as traffic had halted at the light. I pushed my bike between his bus and the RAV-4 ahead of him, and got into the turn lane and waited. The eventual turn was uneventful.
Three reasons to be thankful:
- In thirteen years of cycle commuting, this is the first time I've encountered a bus driver who acted anything like this.
- The way the world is today, Canadians are lucky to have such small problems.
- The cool weather is a real blessing. No more sticky cooldown as I get to work.