Darcy Allen Sheppard’s dad joins memorial bike ride, calls Toronto “toxic”
One year after his death, friends and family gathered in downtown Toronto to remember Darcy Allan Sheppard, the bike courier killed in an angry confrontation with former attorney general Michael Bryant. In the sweltering heat Sunday afternoon, a few dozen cyclists and couriers came together to remember a friend and bash the provincial prosecutor who dropped all the charges against Bryant. Among them was Sheppard’s father, Allan Sheppard, who had some choice words on the war between transport modes here in Toronto.
The CBC got Sheppard’s thoughts:
Sheppard’s father, Allan Sheppard, travelled from Edmonton to join the ride. He said he visits Toronto occasionally and sees animosity between cyclists and motorists that he doesn’t see in Edmonton.
“The atmosphere is very toxic here between drivers and riders — drivers and pedestrians, too,” he said. “I come from Edmonton which is the Wild West, but if I step off the curb, traffic stops, but it doesn’t here. And that just carries over to cyclists.”
He said the past year has been hard, but his son had his share of problems.
Sheppard also spoke about dealing with his grief but said it would be easier if Bryant would simply say he’s sorry. The Toronto Star quotes Sheppard as saying, “I do think I’d like Mr. Bryant to ’fess up. Just to say, ‘Look, what I did, I regret having done it… and I’m sorry.’”
• Cyclist Darcy Sheppard remembered [CBC News]
• One year later, cyclist killed in confrontation remembered [Toronto Star]
• Memorial bike ride held in honour of fallen courier [Globe and Mail]
• Memorial for man who died after grabbing Bryant’s car [CTV News]
At a memorial for his son, he calls the atmosphere b/w riders and drivers toxic, not the city. Say what you will about the details, there is still a man dead at the end of the story. Maybe a little less flip on the headline next time.
Wow! That is an amazing tag line for an article, Darcey Allen Sheppard’s Dad joins memorial bike ride, calls Toronto “toxic.” Well, he’d be more than right if he was talking about the smog in the downtown or Toronto Life Magazine.
I hope that Navigator paid enough for this little article above and the Michael Bryant cover story for Toronto Life to get by for a while because the journalistic intergrity and writing displayed above sure aren’t.
As a pedestrian 6 days a week I do find Toronto to be toxic, and that includes cyclists as well. The way drivers treat cyclists is the way that cyclists treat pedestrians. I can’t count the number of times I have seen cyclists riding down a crowded sidewalk, riding across a crosswalk through pedestrians, ignoring stop signs, etc, etc, ad nauseam.
If you want to be treated equally and with respect, maybe you should follow the traffic laws and not act is if you are entitled to do whatever you want just because you are morally superior for riding a bicycle.