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“Most drivers look at cyclists as people who ignore the rules of the road at their own convenience,” said Kris Westwood, an Ottawa-based blogger and former national team cyclist.

“I would prefer police crack down as much as they can on cyclists who blow through red lights and run stop signs because it makes us all look bad,” he added.

The sentiment was expressed in a widely circulated 2012 blog post in which Toronto cyclist Emma Woolley spoke out against the impatience and recklessness she saw among her fellow riders. “We complain about our lack of safety but then make blatantly dangerous moves,” she wrote.

I would prefer police crack down as much as they can on cyclists who blow through red lights and run stop signs

Across Canada, scattered letters to the editor tell of encounters with helmet-less cyclists speeding through red lights, actively intimidating pedestrians and causing cars to swerve to avoid them.

Last month, an editor at the Calgary Herald, Tom Babin, even issued a city-wide call for gripes against cyclists and distilled them into a handy “etiquette guide.” Among the tips: “don’t be a dick,” “don’t wear black at night” and stop at stop lights because it “helps dispel the notion that cyclists are scofflaws.”

According to Christopher Chan, executive director of the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ Society, the “scofflaw” notion indeed comes up every time he approaches the city to request improved cycling infrastructure.

“A lot of the most vehement opponents suggest that cyclists shouldn’t get safe infrastructure until they start following the laws, or that all cyclists run red lights and should be banned or licensed,” he said.

Mr. Suzuki noted in his editorial that some cities have “resorted” to increased penalties to crack down on driver-cyclist conflicts.

Last week, Ottawa Police staged a four-day “bike blitz,” handing out nearly 100 tickets a day to cyclists running red lights and failing to carry a bell, lights or functioning brakes.

Thursday morning, Toronto city councillor Karen Stintz was ticketed for an alleged rolling stop made through a stop sign on a side street. “Fighting it,” she wrote in a Twitter message.