Five cyclists mowed down by minivan -- close to home

wprager wrote:Jam, we're nearly neighbors. I'm just off Halton next to Jack Donohue.

Yes we are man! I'm at the end of Klondike by 2nd Line

What I meant by "traffic" is anywhere where you would be sharing the road with cars. Either way, no one was asking for this to happen, not the motorist, not the cyclists.

Locking up the guy and throwing away the key is hardly warranted.

jamvan wrote:

wprager wrote:Jam, we're nearly neighbors. I'm just off Halton next to Jack Donohue.

Yes we are man! I'm at the end of Klondike by 2nd Line

Must be new. The google maps satellite picture shows cow pasture:


View Larger Map

ETA: Well, embedding the map didn't work as I'd hoped. It didn't even keep the zoom level correctly.

SeawaySensFan wrote:What I meant by "traffic" is anywhere where you would be sharing the road with cars. Either way, no one was asking for this to happen, not the motorist, not the cyclists.

Locking up the guy and throwing away the key is hardly warranted.

So what would you suggest we -- as a society -- do to discourage drinking and driving? Have had any relatives or close friends affected by drunk driving? I knew a girl fairly well (I was in a band, she was one of the singers), she was killed by a truck driver who ran a red light drunk. She was only 20. I'm sure there are others on this board that can relate similar stories. That's scary, that I can say it with such certainty.

wprager wrote:

jamvan wrote:

wprager wrote:Jam, we're nearly neighbors. I'm just off Halton next to Jack Donohue.

Yes we are man! I'm at the end of Klondike by 2nd Line

Must be new. The google maps satellite picture shows cow pasture:


View Larger Map

ETA: Well, embedding the map didn't work as I'd hoped. It didn't even keep the zoom level correctly.

Try bing.com - much newer maps...

jamvan wrote:

Acrobat wrote:Prags -

I live in the area as well; it's crazy the way people drive down March Rd.

There have been way too many accidents at the corner of March and Morgan's Grant, because the vehicles coming from Dunrobin/etc are still going 120kmh and can't stop for the red light. Trying to turn right out of Klondike is hard, but turning left is nearly impossible.

You are right, it may have been an issue of driver fatigue. Although Sunday morning may just mean a long Saturday night, so alcohol may still be a factor. The fact that the driver went home, then turned himself in a few hours later is disturbing.

For those of us who have kids that ride bikes, it's especially scary.

I live right on Klondike and people fly up the street. I often want to sit there and throw out those nails spikes the police do to stop high speed chases.

I live just off of Gateshead; according to the school board, my six year old (as well as the two older kids) should be able to walk the 1.1km (its <1km as the crow flies, so no bus) even though it goes up hill, and crosses Klondike (there was no allowance made for the construction traffic even...) But one street over, they get the bus, and as it happens, my kids walk right by the bus stop on their way to school.

We have fought to have Klondike designated a "major road" so it would be patrolled more, and so young kids wouldn't be forced to cross it, but were told it would "cost too much".

I guess that the human costs are never as important as the political or financial ones, whether in the case of these bikers, or in the case of the kids walking to school.

a 6 year old walk 1km to the bus station? that's crazy talk

TheAvatar wrote:a 6 year old walk 1km to the bus station? that's crazy talk

1km to school; but if we didn't drive them, they'd walk right by the bus stop (that the half-empty bus stops at)...I must have been rambling more than usual when I posted...
I get PO'ed every time I think about it.

Holy crap I just realized how close this was to my house....

Exactly how many of us live in the Kanata North area?

And given this, why the heck was the GMHockey night out way the heck in the east end?

Acrobat wrote:Exactly how many of us live in the Kanata North area?

And given this, why the heck was the GMHockey night out way the heck in the east end?

My thoughts exactly. I guess The Founders aren't from Cheapside. :^^^^:

By the way, the accident didn't happen on Klondike, because that's where this discussion seems to be leaning. I would, however, absolutely support the idea of designating it as a major road.

We moved to Morgan's Grant because in our last move we moved to 1.1 km from school. The girls were eligible for bussing (JK) but the boys and I had to walk. I had to wait for the bus to drop off the girls, then haul you-know-what with the two boys. My son has asthma, which gets worse with exposure to cold air. It was a 20 minute walk in the fall (cutting across the golf course), but in the winter, with ice on the sidewalks it could easily extend to a half hour. So we moved after living in that house for just 18 months -- another $30K for agent/lawyer/lad transfer. So much for building equity.

wprager wrote:

Acrobat wrote:Exactly how many of us live in the Kanata North area?

And given this, why the heck was the GMHockey night out way the heck in the east end?

My thoughts exactly. I guess The Founders aren't from Cheapside. :^^^^:

By the way, the accident didn't happen on Klondike, because that's where this discussion seems to be leaning. I would, however, absolutely support the idea of designating it as a major road.

We moved to Morgan's Grant because in our last move we moved to 1.1 km from school. The girls were eligible for bussing (JK) but the boys and I had to walk. I had to wait for the bus to drop off the girls, then haul you-know-what with the two boys. My son has asthma, which gets worse with exposure to cold air. It was a 20 minute walk in the fall (cutting across the golf course), but in the winter, with ice on the sidewalks it could easily extend to a half hour. So we moved after living in that house for just 18 months -- another $30K for agent/lawyer/lad transfer. So much for building equity.

We've stuck it out a bit longer, but we are in exactly the same situation. Problem is that it's hard to find a place that's appropriate for four kids...

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:What I meant by "traffic" is anywhere where you would be sharing the road with cars. Either way, no one was asking for this to happen, not the motorist, not the cyclists.

Locking up the guy and throwing away the key is hardly warranted.

So what would you suggest we -- as a society -- do to discourage drinking and driving? Have had any relatives or close friends affected by drunk driving? I knew a girl fairly well (I was in a band, she was one of the singers), she was killed by a truck driver who ran a red light drunk. She was only 20. I'm sure there are others on this board that can relate similar stories. That's scary, that I can say it with such certainty.

I haven't seen any reports of alcohol being a factor aside from the initial speculation. Obviously, if that were the case, my position would be far different.

wprager wrote:

jamvan wrote:

wprager wrote:Jam, we're nearly neighbors. I'm just off Halton next to Jack Donohue.

Yes we are man! I'm at the end of Klondike by 2nd Line

Must be new. The google maps satellite picture shows cow pasture:


View Larger Map

ETA: Well, embedding the map didn't work as I'd hoped. It didn't even keep the zoom level correctly.

Brand new, I still don't have a full grassed yeard yet. LOL!

SeawaySensFan wrote:

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:What I meant by "traffic" is anywhere where you would be sharing the road with cars. Either way, no one was asking for this to happen, not the motorist, not the cyclists.

Locking up the guy and throwing away the key is hardly warranted.

So what would you suggest we -- as a society -- do to discourage drinking and driving? Have had any relatives or close friends affected by drunk driving? I knew a girl fairly well (I was in a band, she was one of the singers), she was killed by a truck driver who ran a red light drunk. She was only 20. I'm sure there are others on this board that can relate similar stories. That's scary, that I can say it with such certainty.

I haven't seen any reports of alcohol being a factor aside from the initial speculation. Obviously, if that were the case, my position would be far different.

I saw the whole scene and it went on for about a KM. From all accounts it looked as if the guy mowed them down. The bikes were very spread out.

Acrobat wrote:Exactly how many of us live in the Kanata North area?

And given this, why the heck was the GMHockey night out way the heck in the east end?

I'm in Katimavik.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:What I meant by "traffic" is anywhere where you would be sharing the road with cars. Either way, no one was asking for this to happen, not the motorist, not the cyclists.

Locking up the guy and throwing away the key is hardly warranted.

So what would you suggest we -- as a society -- do to discourage drinking and driving? Have had any relatives or close friends affected by drunk driving? I knew a girl fairly well (I was in a band, she was one of the singers), she was killed by a truck driver who ran a red light drunk. She was only 20. I'm sure there are others on this board that can relate similar stories. That's scary, that I can say it with such certainty.

I haven't seen any reports of alcohol being a factor aside from the initial speculation. Obviously, if that were the case, my position would be far different.

One of the conditions of his bail is he is not allowed any alcohol. Odd, since he's not allowed to drive anyway. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Also they have charged him with five counts of hit and run (failing to stop at an accident with bodily injuries or something like that) and they definitely reported that more charges are pending.