darren's blog

The essay below is from Veronica, a cyclist active in Bike 25, a group working towards implementing the bike plan in Ward 25.

On Wednesday March 10, 2010 the City of Toronto will be holding a Public Open House to discuss planned bike lanes for Lawrence Avenue East, from Yonge Street to Bayview Avenue.

At first glance, it would appear that this is another 'bike lane to nowhere'. But viewed in the larger context of the Bikeway Network, this is the first piece of a planned bike lane on Lawrence Avenue stretching from Avenue Road to past Port Union Road. While it's unfortunate that this bike lane is being assembled in pieces, I think that its important that cyclists keep their eye on the prize.

Even in its truncated version, this piece of bike lane links Lawrence subway station with the Toronto French School, York University's Glendon Campus and intersects Bayview Avenue quite close to Sunnybrook Hospital, the destination for a large commuter cycling contingency. If one continues further east along Post Road, it links to the existing Don Valley trails.

As for the argument that money should not be wasted on bike lanes in the suburbs because nobody cycles there, consider the following:

• residents do cycle in the inner suburbs, often under much more hostile conditions. Getting buzzed by a vehicle is not pleasant. Getting buzzed by a vehicle traveling at 70 kph, is even more unpleasant. Cycling infrastructure is even critical in these neighbourhoods;

After a successful 2008, The Friends of the Greenbelt are announcing the 2009 schedule for their casual rides in the regions surrounding Toronto.

Designed for fun, rather than competition, this family-oriented cycling Tour is both accessible and affordable to all, with numerous attractions and a variety of rest stops along the way. Described as a ‘fresh air festival on wheels,’ the Tour takes place over four fully paved, marshaled routes.

The four routes include:
• Saturday, September 12 - Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Sunday, September 13 - Burlington, Halton & St. Catharines
• Saturday, September 26 - Newmarket & Lake Simcoe
• Sunday, September 27 - Rouge Valley & Durham
At the end of each route, riders will enjoy a chance to rest and mingle with fellow riders while enjoying freshly prepared local Greenbelt food – all included in the price of your ride!

See the attached pdf for all the details, or check out their Tour de Greenbelt web site.

Surprisingly, I had a hard time finding photographs of the rides from last year. The only ones I found were of these people having fun on the Niagara ride.

Noah Richler gives a run down on the tune up for spring in The Star. He covers the flavour of various bike shops including an interesting story about how personal the service at some shops can be.

Yes, spring means bicycles means freedom means exercise means the open air. ...

It's a good reminder that if you don't do your own tune up, you better get your bike into the shop before it gets any warmer and sunnier.

Photo credit masachiba

This week's big news is the OMB's denial of SmartCentre's plans for a big box development in Leslieville. The story has been covered in The Star, Torontoist and Spacing.

Why are cyclists celebrating this win? The development would have abutted one of the few dedicated bike paths Torontonians have built. We all expect our bike paths to have intersections, but this would have added three very busy parking lot entrances on this stretch of path. In addition, it would have been another car-oriented development in a place with potential to be a transit-oriented, pedestrian friendly and cycling friendly employment centre.

The full decision is on the OMB site (pdf). If you find yourself making a case at the OMB, it's probably a good read.

If you have any insight into the success in this case, please share in the comments.

Earlier this week, a cyclist died on a rural Waterloo road. He was hit from behind while riding with lights and a reflective vest.

The police response made a very upsetting story even worse. As said by Bill Bean on Take The Lane:

The other thing I'm wound up about is acting Waterloo Regional Police Staff Sgt. Sue Kenny, who is quoted as warning against cycling on wintry roads, saying "Riding a bike with weather conditions like this, it seems kind of silly.... It's common sense." Clearly, this person has never met anyone who chooses a bicycle over a car.

After Bill Bean at The Record wrote about the story, a number of people wrote to the Waterloo Regional Police in "disbelief, disappointment and outrage".

The Waterloo Regional Police have since issued an apology.

"The comments of the officer in the Record’s December 5th article, 'Cyclist killed in collision' are regrettable and do not reflect the opinions and values of the Waterloo Regional Police Service...."

See the story on Take The Lane for the full comment from the police.

In a hit and run overnight, a cyclist came close to death after having his leg severed.

There are stories here:
City News
680 News
The Star
The Star (Updated story)

From the City News story:

Officers picked the taxi driver up and brought him into a station for questioning, as the cab, with a sizeable dent in the back end, sat in the man's driveway. It's being said the cabbie had wounds consistent with a beating but cops aren't completely convinced those injuries were the result of an attempted robbery. Among their questions, why it took three hours from the time of the incident to the time the driver called them.

Investigators are still deciding whether to lay charges.

The police have not yet laid charges, as they continue their investigation. A cab driver has contacted the police claiming to have been robbed at about the same time and same place. Witnesses say there was a heated argument before the crash.

There's a nice video on Vimeo right now that lets you hear from people in "bicycle friendly communities". The map of the communities is a reminder that cycling is not for one particular demographic or region. The dots on the map mark cities large, small, north, south, "red" and "blue".

The Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah says "Bikes benefit all aspects of our lives in our communities".

href="http://vimeo.com/1763251?pg=embed&sec=1763251">Bicycle Friendly Communities - Interbike Cut from Bikes Belong Coalition on href="http://vimeo.com?pg=embed&sec=1763251">Vimeo.

Go to the Vimeo site if you want to see the Bikes Belong video in high definition. Bikes Belong website.

A group of bicycling advocates called the Safe Cycling Coalition is going to be allowed to make their argument for Bloor Street bicycle lanes in Ontario court. They were granted the right to "intervene" in a court case initiated by a china shop against the city.

Could this be the start of a new trend for cyclists in Toronto? Will a lawsuit against the city be the next step?

The Safe Cycling Coalition issued a press release with details on the project and their motivations. The press release follows.

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blockquote>TORONTO: In what is likely the first intervention of its kind in Ontario legal history, a coalition of cycling advocates, the Safe Cycling Coalition, has sought and (yesterday) been granted the right to intervene in an Ontario court case.

The case, first brought to the Ontario Superior Court in August by certain downtown merchants, alleges that the City of Toronto violated the province's Environmental Assessment Act when it proceeded with the Bloor St. Transformation Project --- along Yorkville's so-called Mink Mile --- and failed to properly consult the public or to study alternatives.

"This is about one of Toronto's most valuable public spaces -- a $25 million 'transformation' of that space warrants public consultation," explains Margaret Hastings-James, a Bloor Street bike-commuter who began to advocate for bike lanes when hit, and nearly crushed, by a truck in 2002. "The huge volume of pedestrian and cyclist traffic in this area demands an allotment of dedicated and safe space."