Large Marge's blog

This interactive on-line “Driving Challenge” from the United Kingdom’s Department for Transport raises some great points about driving distractions, especially the widespread usage of mobile phones.

I missed 8 questions and 5 pedestrian points… think you can beat the Marginator?!? Take the test and post your score in the comments area. No spoilers please! Thanks to Anthony for bringing this link to my attention. Drive safe!

Ottawa celebrates a victory for cyclists today, as Council will finally vote on adapting the City's official Bike Plan.

Meanwhile, back in Hog-Town, Mayor Miller breaks the ground on the Bloor-Yorkville Transformation, a project that not only ignores the needs of cyclists, but has completely balked the required public consultations for a project of this size.
A half-dozen cyclists were shut out of the Bloor-Yorkville BIA “open house” meeting last night, and were faced with threats of arrest from a gang of over 20 assigned police officers. Councillor Kyle Rae flipped out upon seeing their petitions, and screamed at a member of the Toronto Cycling Committee to “Grow up and get informed!” as he pushed his way past.

Reportedly, once behind closed doors, Rae proudly announced that there will be no plan to accommodate bike lanes in this reconstruct, despite unprecedented public demand (for over 20 years), and despite outcomes of the in depth study of bike lane viability for Bloor Street currently underway at City Hall.

Toronto’s live dance-party favourites, the Chameleon Project, are headlining The Bicycle Film Festival: Bikes Rock! at the Ex party at the CNE band shell.
'Hey, let's go to the Ex!'
After 14 months in the studio, crafting their highly acclaimed recent release, "if it takes all night”, the Chameleon Project are back to laying down some massive electronic-improv jams for their live audience. I recently spoke with bassist Snappy Homefry.

LM: Chameleon Project fills up some of Toronto’s bigger venues and was recently added to the high-caliber line up at this year’s Camp Bisco Festival in New York wasn't it? Why take time out to play a show for the benefit of Toronto’s cycling community?

Toronto Cyclist Union Launches!
safe streets. a healthy city. a vibrant voice. Toronto Cyclists Union Founder Dave Meslin and Coordinator Rick Conroy

The brisk temperature and rain cloud threats didn’t stop dozens of enthused cyclists from gathering at City Hall for this morning’s much anticipated launch of the Toronto Cyclists Union. Congratulatory addresses and announcements of upcoming projects from Mayor Miller, Councillor Heaps and Rob MacIssac (Chair of Metrolinx) were met with applause, but it was Ibrahim Absiye, Executive Director of CultureLink and Gil Penalosa, Executive Director of Walk and Bike for Life who really shook things up.

I have been invited to speak on the live panel for tonight's show...

Thursday, May 1, 2008: Is Toronto safe for cyclists?

Goldhawk LIVE tackles the tough issues affecting you in your city. From property taxes to crime, gun violence to elections, Dale Goldhawk welcomes local politicians, business leaders and concerned citizens to discuss the problems and seek solutions.

Call in with your comments and questions and watch LIVE at 9pm on Rogers Cable 10 in Toronto and 63 in Scarborough.

1-800-968-7863

As a member of the newly-formed Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee, I will be attending a meeting next week with Antonio Medeiros, a project manager at Waterfront Toronto. He is working on the design for the Martin Goodman Trail at Ontario Place that will run along the south side of Lakeshore Drive directly south of Exhibition Place.

The Waterfront Toronto team is at the beginning stages of the design work and are hoping for some cyclist feedback and thoughts about the project. In particular, the design team is concerned with safely accommodating multiple trail users, as well as creating safe and easy-to-navigate intersections where vehicular traffic must intersect. Please read the following description of the project, as it stands now, and post your comments. This project is already approved and will be completed quickly, with or without cyclists’ input. The more ideas I can bring to the table at this time, the better. Thanks for contributing!

It seems that there have been technical difficulties with Monday’s foundational blue bike lane installation at the hazardous intersection of Strachan and Lakeshore. Reportedly, the blue areas are badly worn, after only a couple of days. According to Dan Egan, Toronto's Manager of Cycling and Pedestrian Infrastructure, the problems are with the bonding agent; the blue treatment will have to be removed immediately and the materials revisited.

Councillor Adrian HeapsWhile a somewhat bitter pill to swallow after the recent esophagus-clenching budget crisis at City Hall, the repeated assurances of Councillor Adrian Heaps, in his inaugural meeting as Chair of the Cycling Advisory Committee, seemed enough to relax the throats of most committee members, as they voted 5-3 to defer their next meeting until after the fast-approaching 2008 budgetary decisions. Well, have faith we must. A fairly major investment of faith, given that Heaps had not addressed the cycling community since proclaiming “Bike Week” to a distant queue of pancake-ready commuters in Nathan Phillip’s Square last Spring.