(Sub)Urban Diversity

I live in the west end and commute out to Mississauga. The vast majority of my riding is suburban. I do try to attend as many public meetings and consultations as I can, and have posted notices and reports about them to this site. There's actually alot happening out in Etobicoke at times...but not many people seem to notice or care. Anthony is one obvious exception. :)

Sometimes it's hard though....when I'm at a public meeting in Etobicoke or Mississauga, I sometimes get the cold shoulder from the locals because I don't actually live there, so my opinion apparently doesn't matter as much.

Hi Brian

I'm one of your neighbours ~ waves ~ living in Don Mills. You won't see me on Don Mills road during rush hour though. That was part of my route to work but the constant harassment of the drivers was spoiling the ride for me. The very last experience was so bad that I actually took down the license plate number and reported the driver to the police. The traffic sargent was nice enough to give me a call about it and turned out that the driver lived in Thornhill. I think this is probably representative of what the problem is on our roads. Its not Toronto drivers that give me grief (the residential streets of Leaside have some of the most courteous and considerate drivers I've had the pleasure of sharing the road with - they regularly give up their right of way in my favour), I think its the drivers come in from outlying areas that are the chief source of friction.

So now I cut through the valley during rush hour (which means that for 5 months of the year I don't ride because of the valley is unlit and not cleared of snow). I do use Don Mills, Eglington, Leslie or Lawrence during non-rush hour times when there's more space for cars to go around me. I use the arterials most heavily in the fall evenings, when the days are shorter and the valley is less attractive option because of the lack of lighting.

As for activism, I'm part of a group that has been pestering Cliff Jenkins to install the part of the bike netwok earmarked for Ward 25 (Lawrence, York Mills and a deperately needed one on Bayview, but unfortunately nothing for Don Mills Road). Were you out for the Lawrence Bike Lanes meeting? If yes, I was the person snapping photos.

My neighbour across the street commutes to her downtown job by bicycle in the non-winter months. With a full time job and two small kids she doesn't have much time for activism. Several of the neighbour kids ride their bikes to school - again in the nice weather.

The fair weather cycling is most likely a reflection of the lack of cycling infrastructure. At least it is for me.

I had reason to bike from Downtown to the 407 ETR at Bathurst last summer to catch a ride to cottage country, and despite being a seasoned cyclist I was rather timid heading into unfamiliar territory. I ended up taking Bathurst from Bloor onwards and made my trip in less time than expected, but I couldn’t help but notice that I was absolutely the only cyclist on the road, and even startled one pedestrian that started to cross the road ahead of me - I must have seemed a freakish sight to her.

I think that there are two contributing factors that work to limit cycling in the "Burbs", these are:
1. the density of residential areas which in turn serve to thin out the typical destinations like work places, shops & schools; and
2. the traffic density on suburban arterials - I think these areas are built with that in mind as neighbourhood shortcuts tend to reduce pedestrian safety.

Although the suburbs are generally less cycling friendly than those in the city centre, my hope is that more people will see the value in cycling to their respective Go Stations to catch their trains in the areas beyond the city, Perhaps the development of the Hydro Corridors this summer/fall will give rise to new riders travelling from the ‘frontier’- it would be a welcome change.

I'm a suburban commuter, if you can count Avenue Road and the 401 as "suburban". I'm not much of an "active" activist. I'm a student, so I don't have the time to come out to meetings and consultations. But I do tend to get passionate about conditions and issues that directly reflect that areas and roads that I ride on.

You may have seen me lay down my gripes for the major north-south arterials in Ward 16 such as Yonge, Avenue and Bathurst. I've emailed Karen Stintz a few times and she's gotten back to me with modest news - she's stated that her team is "working on developing an agenda for cycling in the Ward and appreciates my feedback." That's the advocacy I like to do, and even my voice doesn't do anything, I'm sure a collection of mine, and other cyclists in my hood will eventually cause an effect.

As for my riding itself, I've noticed that cars are respecting me more and more. It's a slow and gradual thing, but nonetheless I sense it. Especially on the arterials, drivers seem to have more patience with me taking the lane. I also notice that rush-hour is far more dangerous for some reason. Not just because the volume of cars on the road, but because a lot of 'em are nasty 905ers with no consideration for any life on the road. The only life they care about is their own, in their car.

And yes, I have perceived a certain "paucity" of cycling in the burbs. The prominent divisions I've noticed are from waterfront to about dupont (lots of cyclists), then from dupont to the 401 (few), then from the 401 north (almost none).

My story is similar to the above. I used to live around North York Centre, commuting 1-2x/week to south of the airport. Moved downtown a couple years ago and continued the commute to/from YYZ; will be moving back to Ave/401 shortly. (blessedly, south of the 401.. I hated crossing it)

The commute in/out of downtown was quite the study in contrasts. I'd feel very much part of traffic as a cyclist downtown, and as I got further, I became more of a rarity as noted.

Although I like to think I'm a fairly strong and reasonably experienced cyclist, I won't ride on non-downtown arterials, except for short distances, and only if forced (e.g. to cross the West Don north of the 401, I have to go on Sheppard.. although I did once or twice try the Earl Bales underpass :). On the other hand, downtown, I will ride the length of Queen West. I think the major difference is that with the slower speeds downtown, I can take the lane easily and temporarily to pass a pothole or parked car while acting as part of traffic. In the suburbs, with cars doing 50-80, I am no longer really part of traffic and am more of an obstacle to get around. It reminds me of situations on the hwy - I always think those people doing 80 when everyone else is doing 110 are in fact more dangerous that they realize - big differences in speed are hard for drivers to adjust to and deal with.

Advocacy - I've tried harder to lend my voice where I can. I ask at work about showers and bike facilities (in Mississauga.. haha), or even simple things like participating in Ride For Heart. I've also been more pro-active about trying to show up at meetings, or emailing in my support.

Even at the slow roll-out pace, I must say I've really noticed the effects of some of the new bike lanes in making my commute safer. Every 1km makes a positive difference... even if I sometimes feel lonely on the Queensway bike lane - it makes a big difference, and has (to my eye) for example, never affected car traffic.

How'd you do that!!? Wow. I am truly impressed. That's not only a long commute, but the destination is completely car-centric. What routes do you take to get there? Do you actually work at the airport, or just around the area? I've always wondered how a cyclist would go about navigating that maze of 50 kph on ramps leading up to the terminals where drivers routinely do highway speeds. That is simply amazing Inigo.

Hi all,

Excellent comments, thanks for adding to the conversation.

Actually, Kevcom, riding to Pearson International Airport is easy, i've done it three times, there and back and there, 45 km one way; took 1hr 40 mins at an average pace. The best part is the off-road trail parallel to Eglinton. Wonderful trail designed and built by Transportation; let's hope the Hydro Corridors slated for new off-road trails will recieve the same treatment.

The ramps and merges/diverges at Pearson are meant for any vehicle, and it is easy to navigate them, no less "difficult" than Lawrence & DVP or Victoria Park&401. All three terminals have "ground-level" entrances (yes, they're labelled "Arrivals", but that dosn't mean you can't ride right up to the doors and walk in with your bike). In fact, Peel Regional Police patrol Pearson on mountain bikes, and ride between terminals on the very same roads. Huge benefit is that Peel Police, RCMP, and CATSA security are everywhere, and would swoop to anyone's aid in a moment.

Alternatively, you can take the Airport Rocket, a TTC bus equipped with bike rack. That makes it easy and fast.

See you on the suburban arterials!

Brian

....if I recall correctly, they have a posted speed limit of 60km/hr, and I notice that even limos and taxis stick to it. Also, many of the drivers there are trying to make sense of it all and are thus a bit more cautious.
So, to a cyclist, they are reasonably safe territory - not like ramps off/on the 401 where speeds are around 70/80 km/hr, with pushy drivers eager to make the best time....

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I work immediately south of the airport - in between Eglinton and the 401 (near Max Ward Park). I could map out (or write) the route if anyone was interested; I like to think I've optimized as much as possible. As brian wrote, the Eglinton West Path is the key. Especially since the rebuild, it's a nice ride (well, if you ignore the dangerous intersections and the crumbling part west of East Mall). My routes are in the range of 21-25km one-way, so it's a fair distance, but doable in decent weather.

Rode towards Av/401 for the first time yesterday (and that general route for the first time in 2 years). The Bentworth-North Park passage, which was included in the 2007 3-year plan, would have been so useful to create an almost straight route across mid-town most of the way across the city, although the Bridgeland-rail fence break is still viable.

As for YYZ itself, I agree that the ramps aren't as bad as you think - speeding and aggressiveness isn't nearly the same as you find on the 401 ramps. That said, although I can easily picture how you'd get into YYZ to arrivals, I'm not sure how you'd leave? From my driving experience, all the ramps lead out onto the highway? (I am almost always leaving from the parking garage, so maybe there's a different option coming out of ground level arrivals)