Bike Lanes as perfect Soltuion

The following is the unedited text of my latest letter to the local paper:

As a "serious cyclist" of over fifty years experience, I take exception to the impression left by the editorial from the Ottawa Citizen in Friday's paper (A City Safe for Cyclists).
While bike lanes and paths are a part of the solution - and we do have both here, and quite effective ones - they are not all, nor even the greatest part of the solution. Far more important, in my view are a) education and skill - both of cyclists and motorists, and b) enforcement.
Education - Driving a car is not a "right", but a privilege, held on good behaviour. It demands the highest standard of performance, with attention to the job that is, often, closer than that required in boaters, or pilots. Most drivers are less than adequately trained - and I do not except myself. Most of us have developed deplorable habits - speeding, lazy adherence to stop signs, or other control devices, and a general cavalier attitude towards other road users. Many cyclists, despite their much higher exposure to physical hazards, have the same mind-set.
We all, without exception, need retraining.
Enforcement - As things are, speeding and lax observance of stop signs and traffic lights only bring sporadic attention from police. It would appear that such matters are only important if there is a temporary push on (as at the start of the school year), or we are involved in an accident. For cyclists, there is virtually no enforcement, whether of lighting laws, side-walk riding, the use of helmets, or signage - all related to the personal safety of the rider.
Motorists need to be sure that, if they bully other road users, they will lose the privilege of driving - now, not in six months, or two years, with a one-month suspension that is rescinded on hardship grounds.
Cyclists need to know that they will be required to conform to reasonable norms of behaviour and equipment. They are (most of us) already aware that the laws of physics are not subject to court delays.
In short - all road users - drivers, in effect - need to become aware of the others on the road - and it must begin with each one of us, for ourselves.