I have to agree with the fines. Bikes belong on the
road. I know it's dangerous, but it's safer than being on the sidewalk endangering pedestrians. In my hometown of Kingston, someone was killed by a cyclist when walking out of a store and it became quite a big news story, not because Kingston is boring (it is) but because it riled up people on both sides of the bike issue.
I cycle across downtown Toronto to get to work and I'm a firm believer in strict rules for bikes and as far as I know, every fine listed above is similar in Toronto. I have all the right lights and a bell, and I treat road rules as if I am a car. The more cyclists obey the rules, the more respect we'll have and the more people, I think, will be attracted to the bike as a serious form of short and mid range travel.
Of course the flipside to my law-abiding attitude is a seething rage against our car-centric society. I am sick and tired of concessions being made for cyclists only when it's convenient for drivers. Want a bike lane? Well that'd choke the automobile traffic so it just wouldn't work there...
Inside me co-exists the Professor X
and the Magneto of cycling.