Bloor Bike Bus Information session
Meet Todd and Christine, two people who are trying to introduce the idea of a "Bike Bus" commute on Bloor street.
A bike bus is where a small group of cyclists ride together in a tight pack and take over a lane for thier own visibility and safety. Motorists are forced to use the other lane to pass, and to not share the lane with any of the cyclists in the pack. This provides opportunity for social interaction for the riders, improved safety, more comfortable ride, an easier environment for less experienced riders, and a bit of a fun time overall.
Wanted: Leaders/sweeps and lots of participants
This meeting is at Futures bakery patio (Bloor & Brunswick) 8pm on Tuesday.
Contact
Contact:
Christine
Email:
bikebustoronto@gmail.com
Comments
Bike Bus Info Session Recap
Lots of great discussion happened at last Tuesday's meeting most of which has been summarized on the new Toronto Bike Buses website here: http://bikebustoronto.wordpress.com/
I encourage everyone who has an interest in either riding with, leading, or otherwise helping with the project to join the discussion and/or announcement lists located on the site.
A followup meeting will be scheduled next week, tentatively Wednesday evening.
Missing Scarborough link on the Waterfront Trail
I am one of the people who completed the Waterfront Trail ride in July. We rode from Niagara on the Lake to Cornwall and then a short ride to the Quebec border. It was a really good ride.
Everyone had differing opinions on what was their favourite part of the trail. The opinion on the worst part of the trail was unanimous. Scarborough.
Once you leave the Beach, there is no signage until you reach Bellamy. Forget about even seeing the water, that is a whole other issue. Even with temporary signage put up by the Cyclist Union, most of the cyclists got lost at least once.
It does not have to be that way. Mississauga has the same problem. Much of its trail is on side streets and it winds through resdential neighbourhoods too. There is a section it is necessary to go onto Lakeshore Blvd. just like you would need to on Kingston Road. The difference is Mississauga is well signed. It makes it a pleasure to ride through. The difference is striking. We passed many cyclists in Mississauga. The volunteers at Port Credit say many people ride there as a day trip and have lunch. In Scarborough, there was only us.
Scarborough has real potential. The streets we rode through are beautiful, quiet and nicely treed. It is a good location as a day trip. There are beautiful parks, good transit links to head back if we have gone too far. If Mississauga can do it, why not Toronto?
I am hoping that people will write Councillor Heaps and Dan Egan and ask that there be some sort of links through Scarborough. We can do so much better than what we have now.
A response on the Scarborough Gap
Ironically I just received the nesletter from the Waterfront Trust. They had an article on closing the Scarborough Gap of the Trail. I am posting it,
SIGNING SCARBOROUGH WATERFRONT TRAIL
One of the most significant gaps in the Waterfront Trail just got a whole lot smaller. As you know the long-term goal for the Waterfront Trail is to create a dedicated route as close to the water¹s edge as is environmentally feasible. In Scarborough, such an alignment is decades away, necessitating the creation of a street-based interim route that connects Toronto and Durham.
Thanks to Councillor Paul Ainslie and the City of Toronto¹s Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure Department, Waterfront Trail signs have been installed from Bellamy Road to the Rouge River Park this June. The route offers cyclists and walkers a lovely tour of residential streets, avoiding Kingston Road, and links them to the wonderful Port Union Waterfront Trail-Phase One, which was completed by Toronto Region Conservation in 2006.
Phase Two began earlier this year and once completed (2011) will establish a waterfront trail from the Port Union GO station to the mouth of the Rouge River.
There remains a 10 km gap from The Beach to Bellamy Road. The Trust has developed an interim street-based route that uses residential streets and short stretches of Kingston Road to go around private property such as the Hunt Club and St. Augustine¹s Seminary. This suggested route can be found on our Waterfront Trail maps at http://www.waterfronttrail.org/trail.html. The Trust will continue to consult with the City of Toronto on this proposal.
In addition and thinking more long-term, the Toronto Region Conservation Authority is leading a public consultation process to create a plan for the Scarborough waterfront. The Trust has participated in stakeholder consultations to date and looks forward to working with the TRCA on the Scarborough Section of Waterfront Trail.
How did it go?
I rode by on my way home at around 8:20; I was going to stop for a few minutes just to say hi. I hadn't brought my raingear to work with me and was soaked right through, though, so didn't want to go inside when it turned out the patio was too wet for the meeting.
Speed
I agree - I'm envisioning a moderate commuting speed - definitely faster than CM but perhaps a bit slower than some of the fastest commuters so that some of the newer folks are comfortable.
By the way - folks on facebook may be interested in following the Toronto Bike Buses group over there: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25062637517
See you there tonight!
Oops
I jumped the gun and went at 8 AM.
good idea; thanks
Especially west of Spadina, the commutes in this tight section are unfriendly to dangerous. Having a faster speed than CMs is likely necessary though eh?