Sunburned

What a pleasant change.

The only two people to speak to this item at the PWIC meeting (of which I was one of the two) were both for it, and staff said they would "try harder" next year, which likely means that little will change.

Oh Well. We'll do a have to do better job of documenting how well they did next winter, and bring that back to the committee next year to explain how they didn't do a good enough job so that council can provide better direction to staff for the winter after that.

But we got it on the Agenda, and then it wasn't even considered "controversial" by the Sun. This is really great news for cyclists!

The documentation sorta exists already, and while it helps, it's also not the first time there have been complaints. Despite recent criticism of Mr. Egan by me, he did a good job of saving an existing snow-clearing policy at the last TCAC meeting from Mr. Heaps and newbies on TCAC from giving back a lot of policy ground to the Roads Dept.
One longer-standing vex for me, mentioned yet again, are the indented parking bays which are missed entirely by snow-clearing efforts. They either must be plowed out or we stop building them - the entire St. George St. south through UofT was useless (again), andCollege too, and Spadina...
yet we seem to want them again on Roncesvalles.

There should be an embargo until the City proves it can clear them out so the cars can park in them instead of the bike lane.

The more important issue arising outof the Wroks Cttee was in my view the interest in the liability issues of the City for not providing decent surfaces to ride on in the bike lanes. Due to the very rough nature of parts of Wellesley, I was urging postponement of installation and line-painting until the pavement is rideable - again not a new topic as I'd mentioned pavement roughness back when there was a Network sub-comm. Segments threaten to be as gravel in my view.see takethetooker.ca
Cnclr John Parker did have a motion through about standards of pavement in bike lanes, and the city liability. Staff were standing by provincial minimum maintenance standards yet 5-10, 5-11 in the Bike Plan says bikes need better maintenance than cars, and Sherbourne is s*it ( in Councillor Rae's and McConnell's wards too) - and we must have minimum core standards for smoother pavement in bike lanes ahead of having them become bike lanes.

Of more interest to me were Shelley Carroll's remarks about how Cycling is seemed to this tack on-thing rather than integrated as another mode of transportation. I think that Shelley's view is a promise for much healthier relationship for the city with it's citizens. She would like to see cycling and it's "stuff" just integrated into what the city does rather than having to deal with each individual item as a one-of all the time.

I do hope that we are well on the way to that future!

I find it weird how no one seems to be taking into account the number of riders who DON'T ride in the winter simply because of this plowing issue. I love cycling, but I'm not a very aggressive rider and having to ride in the lane with other cars, right up against the slush scares the crap out of me. One wrong move and I slip and fall under their tires. I even recall vividly a story from a delivery guy at my building who said he's scared to death himself when he's sharing a lane with a bike in the winter. Again, one wrong move.... well he might not be able to react in time.

So, with this distinct lack of safety, I choose to walk my commute all winter instead. Still an environmentally sound choice, but I'm sure there are others who are choosing the TTC or driving their cars in the winter. Un-shoveled city sidewalks are still horribly dangerous but at least I don't have to worry about getting run over when I slip. (well, most of the time...)

With properly maintained bike lanes, I think the city would see a lot more people willing to venture out there in the cold weather.

Winter riding is hard. Many people have already started winter riding, more would still like to try. Not having snow cleared does not make it easy for anybody, even motorists. Clearing the bike lanes will encourage more cyclists to try winter riding, and will make it easier for those who already do.

Yes, some people will never ride during the winter. They will walk or take TTC or a cab or even drive. It could be the cold, the snow, the ice, the whatever. But if more of their peers start to ride in the winter, they too might be intrigued enough to try it, and they may even find that they like it. Or not. But we won't have any opportunities if we don't.

We can't have bike month and a bike plan, and then tell cyclists, "Sorry, it's winter, riding time is over" because it is not right nor fair. We don't do that for transit, motoring, or any other transportation (save ice jammed ferries), cycling should not be singled out.