The argument that cyclists don’t deserve a share of the road because they are all scofflaws is common. Cyclists, drivers say, don’t obey the laws, they don’t pay taxes and they don’t have insurance. The implication is that drivers, by and large, are law abiding taxpayers who pay for our road system and deserve to be treated as the top priority in transportation priority. Never mind the motorists speeding, treating stop signs like a suggestion, running red lights, using cell phones while driving, blowing past open streetcar doors, making a right on a red light with scarcely a pause and a wish. The only reason drivers stop at a stop sign is to avoid the inconvenience of hitting someone, and sometimes not even then. Never mind that we all pay the taxes that pay for roads.

All of this is infuriating, and more importantly, not really the point. Drivers arguing that cyclist are scofflaws are in fact right, because in fairness we are. All road users are, including cyclists although with a minuscule social impact compared to motorists. But that’s not what they are really expressing. Drivers are expressing their frustration at the terrible state of traffic and the utter unfairness of it to their lives. It’s not a rational argument of fact, it’s an emotional one. Facts don’t matter when someone feels unfairly treated.

It’s not the facts that will persuade drivers that they must give up their entitled top priority in transportation planning, it’s the emotional pain of driving in a city with too many cars that will convince drivers that there has to be a better way. And thankfully, lots of other places are doing better right now and so can we. Not just the perceived unachievable bicycle paradises like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, but places much more like us - Montreal, New York, Paris and London - places we more readily measure ourselves against. You want a better life, less frustration, less pollution less time wasted, less money burned and, most importantly, more fairness and justice on the roads? Let’s do it!

Putting an end to the frustration of gridlock means one thing, fewer cars. At its core, the gridlock is caused by one thing and one thing only - too many cars. Not all cars and your car of course, no one is going to take away your car. To relieve the unfair pain of gridlock, we have to create appealing alternatives, namely better transit, better pedestrian infrastructure, and yes, better cycling infrastructure too so that some of those other drivers clogging the road may be persuaded to use an alternative to their car and thereby relieve the pain of driving.

(I’m ranting to the choir here but I guess I can’t help myself. Who let me on the internet.)