I love the double standard here. Cyclists are demons for not yielding to pedestrians? When was the last time a Chicago driver stopped to let a pedestrian cross at a midblock crosswalk? Or heck, even looked for pedestrians before plowing ahead to turn on red? At least once a week, I have to play “crossing guard” so that I can escort a carriage-pushing mother across an intersection — all because the drivers just can’t be bothered.

Meanwhile, take a look at old photos of the city: 90% of the stop signs and lights have been installed within living memory, to slow down cars speeding through neighborhoods. Cars have 300 to 1,000 times more accelerating power than bicycles; it’s nonsense to hold the two vehicles to the exact same standards. I love the approach I saw out West: use speed humps and curves to slow all traffic on some side streets to 15 MPH (i.e., bicycle speed), and replace the STOP signs with YIELD signs.

City streets are public spaces that we all have to share, and I think it’s most incumbent on the strongest, most powerful road users (cars) to play nice first. Yes, my fellow bicyclists need to be respectful to everyone else, as well, and I try to do my part to educate others. I hope you do, too, instead of simply making broad generalizations that pin the blame on a convenient target.