Editor:
In response to Edward Sager’s “Plenty of room for vehicles, cyclists on Bow Valley Parkway” and “Bow Valley Parkway should be open for all people, not just cyclists” by Mark Bowes in the June 13 edition of the Outlook, you find it appalling that Parks is restricting access to 17 kilometres of the Bow Valley Parkway for a small number of “elitist cyclists”?
We’re not sure why and when the words cyclist and elitist merged.
The dictionary definition of “elitist” is “Giving special treatment and advantages to wealthy and powerful people”.
So you are telling us that preschoolers on balance bikes riding alongside their parents in the safety of a car-free road are wealthy and powerful people? Or do you mean participants of Rocky Mountain Adaptive, who live with physical and/or neuro-divergent challenges, and are regularly using the closed 17km road stretch on specially designed bicycles? Or the Nordic ski team practising on the parkway, which is pretty much the only safe space to roller-ski? Are all these users elitists, given special treatment and advantages because they are wealthy and powerful?
We are tempted to call drivers elitists. For almost 100 years, cars have dominated the roads, costing taxpayers billions to build and maintain this infrastructure. How much has been spent on safe cycling options for all ages and a diversity of people? Cyclists are accused of being selfish, wanting it all for themselves and being unwilling to share. This “elitist" group is not denying or depriving others of the use of a wonderful road, we are simply asking for a five-month closure, so more than half of the year it is open to cars. Is this greedy, exclusionary, unethical and inequitable as stated by Mark A. Bowes?
And finally, we find it quite ironic to be portrayed as teaching our children how to be greedy and selfish by introducing them to a healthier, slower and more peaceful modes of transport. Families, children, athletes, people with special needs, nature lovers, tourists, and locals are all tremendously benefitting from a safe road to cycle without the fear of getting hit by a speeding bus, distracted drivers or an oversized motorhome. What takes a car about 17 minutes. to drive can be a fun-filled full-day outing for a family with small children and a wonderful way to connect with nature. It is an incredible opportunity for park users to explore and enjoy this area in a safe manner.
With all this in mind, is closing 17km of the Bow Valley Parkway for five months really a travesty of justice and totally unacceptable? We think not.
Eva and Paul Sylvestre,
Banff
