The whole furor over spending money on bike lanes in Port Alberni and over the space they take up and the adjustments that drivers must make to accommodate the presence of cyclists might be less controversial and less necessary were drivers to make awareness of others the foundation of their driving. In the longer term, it would encourage alternate transportation were we to have improved travel ways that provided for cycle and pedestrian use, but that seems a long way into the future when the baby steps we’re already taking seem so painful.