Cyclists do lots of shopping

It’s time to refute the fallacy that people on bikes don’t shop. Ask anyone riding a bike in France, Portland and now Victoria, what their last purchase was, and you will likely be surprised.

How do I know this? For 20-plus years, I rode my bike in Victoria as my main mode of transport, and I shopped. Almost every day. On Fort Street, and every other street in Victoria. On the way to work, I bought coffee or snack, mid-day maybe a sandwich and groceries — every day.

I often rode downtown to restaurants in Victoria for dinner, or walked. I bought clothing, furniture, bedding, soap, jewelry, cameras, patio furniture, cakes, alcohol, pizza, tiles, you name it, from almost every “hard-working” shop owner on Fort Street, and many other shops in Victoria.

If I could not ride my purchase home, I did one of two things. I had it delivered — imagine that! — or called a friend and carpooled a pickup and delivery of the item in question.

People on bikes can see store windows with ease and are able to stop on a dime to shop, and I did.

Now I live in Sooke, and if I cannot ride my bike due to safety and, frankly, poor road conditions, like many people around the world I have my online purchases delivered to my home so I don’t have to sit in traffic.

Traffic. Remember? The very thing we are doing our best to diminish with safer bike lanes. Anna Parkes Sooke

DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST A cyclist pedals along new bike lane on lower Johnson Street. A letter-writer agrees with Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps that the green paint marking the lanes is a North American standard for cycling infrastructure.