A Vancouver motorist is using YouTube to broadcast the flagrant violations of traffic laws by city cyclists in a bid to undermine what he says is a cycling lobby with too much power at city hall.

Using a "dash-cam" mounted inside his Mitsubishi sedan, Maciek Kon--known as "vancouvercommuter" on the video sharing website--posted his first video June 21 of cycling lawbreakers at the intersection of Yukon and 10th Avenue north of city hall. He has since uploaded 25 short clips of cyclists breaking various traffic laws.

"I'm intending this to serve as evidence that city hall has been advised of a problem," he said. "Ignoring the laws being broken by cyclists doesn't promote cycling."

Kon, 46, believes the city's ambitious greenway cycling networks and infrastructure is a misallocation of resources. He also contends the inclusion of designated bicycle lanes contributes to traffic congestion and pollution because cyclists clog arteries, delay commercial and transit vehicles and cause motorists to idle.

"We're carving out a piece of a roadway that is very popular among various types of commuters, therefore we're making [the road] smaller. The street is shared with vehicles both private and commercial, between public transit, which by extension is pedestrian, and bicycles," he said.

"But if you look at the bike lane, it's only for bicycles. So, if cyclists tell you this is about equality, it's not at all. It's exclusive use of our public space."

Kon is not the only road user to throw the on-switch while taking to the city's streets.

Alex Precosky, 28, wears a camera strapped to his helmet nearly every trip he makes on his bike.

The engineer also uploads his footage to YouTube as "alexwarrior1" and has 95 subscribers, which include other cyclists in the U.K and U.S. who film their traffic movements. He takes viewers along off-road bike paths and seeks to impart safety, instructional and educational material.

"At the same time, part of instruction is showing hazards," he said. He welcomes Kon's videos of violators.

"Pretty much every type of road user sometimes commits violations, it doesn't matter if it's car, bike or pedestrian. I think it's important to show that because some of us only use one mode of transportation and we need to know what are the hazards out there."

One of Precosky's clips shows two cars crossing the centre line into oncoming traffic to pass him. Another shows a driver who reverses out of an intersection after having encroached too far.

Kon uploads footage of lawbreakers who run stop signs and make illegal passes through traffic. He says he is well-versed in the regulations of the provincial Motor Vehicle Act, which applies equally to cyclists and drivers.

He is collecting the video evidence in attempt to deflate health, safety and environmental claims about cycling.

"We've all heard so much how separated bike lanes increase safety," he said, challenging the fundamental arguments of recent research and the cycling advocates he feels have unprecedented access and influence with city councillors.

"They're trying to pretend that they are more broadly represented than they are," said Kon, who cycles in his neighbourhood close to home with his two young children.

"I really have a hard time believing that--if [these are] a group of unlicensed commuters that do not obey the law and think that the law should not apply to them."

mstewart@vancourier.com