city hall

In case you haven't noticed, it's an election year in Toronto, and right-wing candidate Rossi in a bid to win some right-wing votes has made some bold statements about stopping unsafe and environmentally unsound bike lanes.

Rossi doesn't want bike lanes on arterial roads like University, Bloor and Jarvis. But apparently he's a big fan of bike lanes all the same, so long as they are only installed where they aren't needed: on cul-de-sacs and quiet residential streets, apparently.

“I’m not only OK with bike lanes, I’m a big fan,” Rossi said. “I do believe in an expanded bike lane network, but we need to do it on a grid basis and we need to use safer routes to travel.”

He’d prefer to have a fact-based discussion about bike lanes rather than a mud-slinging fight, and base it on getting everyone around the city safely and quickly.

Of course, Rossi isn't engaging in some sort of urban planning, based on studies and reason; he's engaging in vote winning and he's willing to say whatever it takes. Rossi is trying to shape the conversation with a "father knows best" approach: "You poor cyclists, why do you want to risk yourselves on the all those fast cars? Those city planners are so irresponsible by trying to put bike lanes there instead of quiet side roads."

I got an email from the Mayor this morning (as did James at Urban Country). Mayor Miller isn't abandoning public bikes and is directing staff to look for other funding options. He mentions Bikeshare, which was run by the Community Bicycle Network and had a hard time getting enough funding from the city to sustain itself too:

Thank you for your email letter.

We appreciate you taking the time to write.

Until 2006 Toronto was home to the innovative and award-winning Bikeshare community bicycle-lending program. Following its collapse the City began developing a business case for a public bike program.

The City considered launching such a program using the Vienna business model (which is also used in Lyons and Paris) where it is provided free to the City and affordable to users because it is supported by revenue from billboards on the bike stations. After much deliberation it was decided not to increase the number of billboards on the street and launched a competitive process to find a company to provide a non-ad-supported version.

A public tender was issued and City Council gave staff authority to negotiate with BIXI, which is owned by the Montreal municipal parking authority, to develop a detailed business plan for launching and operating a Toronto public bicycle system at no cost to the City. Unfortunately, the outcome of these negotiations did not guarantee that there was no risk of costs being incurred.

Looks like our post yesterday wrangled up some official statements and a hit in mainstream media. Gary Welsh, manager of Transportation Services told the National Post, "At this point in time we can’t seem to operate a public bike system at no cost to the city, which is contrary to what council proposed."

Mr. Welsh assures us that negotiations continue:

“This doesn’t mean the program is being abandoned, we’re still looking at the viability of the program and how we can enable it in the future,” Mr. Welsh said.

“I think it would be beneficial to the city. It’s needed by residents of Toronto and we’re just trying to develop a system that we know will work and something that will not be a significant cost to the city.”

The official line is being awefully vague: just what is going to cost more? Through the grapevine I've heard that, in fact, the staff were able to negotiate a "No Cost" deal with Bixi (but we'll take all the benefits, thank you very much), but that it required a loan guarantee, which the City Manager's office quickly squelched.

Aren't the staff supposed to produce a report for City Council? City Council and the general public should hear in more detail about what happened and this shouldn't just die and disappear within the city bureaucracy.

Bixi, Montreal's successful bikesharing system, is catching on like wildfire and will be expanding to Minneapolis, Melbourne, Boston and even London, UK, this year. But Toronto seems unconvinced, and it appears as if city bureaucrats are close to derailing it.

City Manager bureaucrats seem not to understand the point of bikesharing and, from what I've heard from sources, that they don't see how it would work. An acquaintance has heard from City Manager number crunchers that they don't see Bixi as viable and thought it was waste of money (I'm paraphrasing here). The City Manager's office at City Hall is key to organizing city services and has the ear of council. According to the website, it "guides the Corporation of the City of Toronto and advises Council in the management of all its fiscal, organizational and service challenges. The City Manager is accountable to Council for the policy direction and program delivery of divisions."

This same acquaintance, who is also an avid cyclist, attempted to show how, in fact, Bixi has worked elsewhere and thought it would work here. My other source shows that this attempt may not have been all that successful. The City Manager's office might not be getting behind bikesharing. If they manage to derail it this year, it may take some time for the bureaucracy to get around to doing it again.

The City is coming close to a deal for a bikesharing program. I heard through the grapevine that it might even launch by July (though it would be tough). There are two main hurdles with get this up and running: financing and station locations. The program is supposedly going to operate year-round, which would be great, but which increases the difficulty of finding appropriate locations. I imagine the staff are having a hard time finding any unclaimed space, and would have to pay the Toronto Parking Authority for lost car parking revenue.

The City, I've been told, is close to figuring out the financing. Bixi will have to put forward a big chunk, which they'll recoup in usage fees. The CIty is making deals with some mysterious interests who are probably providing some cash in exchange for exposure. It's all made more difficult that the deal has to be at no cost. It's rare for a public service to have such demands on it, so it's commendable that the staff have been able to get this far. It also says something to how bikesharing has progressed and how cycling infrastructure is such a good deal: no digging, no gas bills, no ticket collectors, no operators. Cheap.

So, anyway, I'd like to bring your attention to the styling of the bikes (hence the image of the yellow bike). Maybe we could come up with a great look for the bikes and present our ideas to the City (I haven't thought it all through).

City staff revealed a politically ambitious bikeway plan for downtown to a very packed house, Monday evening at Metro Hall. Even though the plan includes a number of items which don't require council approval, including bike boxes on Harbord and bike sharrows along streetcar routes, the most politically controversial may be such items as bike lanes on University (as the Post predicts as well). See the whole plan on the City's website (pdf) [this links only to the announcement and not the plan. oops!].

Councillor Joe Mihevc commended the staff for their ambition (even if it may still be just a stepping stone since some activists pointed out that it was still a fractured network). Then Mihevc explained how it was a really politically tough year; if cyclists present a strong, single voice to politicians, we may have a chance of getting this program implemented.

Cyclists seemed to be divided on whether this represented a turning point or not, but it is apparent that even if some cyclists see this as too little, there is a certain segment of voters and certain mayoral candidates (Rossi, and possibly, Smitherman) who see this is way too much "coddling" of cyclists.

Looking for a bike related activity for this cold Saturday? You could try the Coldest Day of the Year Ride, starting at the Grenadier Cafe in High Park at noon. Or you could go to the Live Auction of 5 of the legendary yellow BikeShare bikes starting at 3pm at the Community Bicycle Network at Queen and Euclid.

The info is posted below:

CBN Open House and Auction

Join us on Saturday, January 30th, from 12 to 6pm, when we will hold an all-afternoon Open House!

We will be holding a Live Auction for five of the legendary yellow Bikeshare bikes at 3pm. Get them while the getting's good!

Also, throughout the day (and ending at 5pm) there will be a Silent Auction for high-end and unique vintage parts.

And if you don't want to hang around till that happens, just drop by and get used parts at astonishing prices - we will be slashing our always-low prices on used parts. (All used parts just $2.00 -- One Day Only.)

Plus, hot cocoa and snacks to keep you warm on a wintery bike day.

(If you're planning to go to the Coldest Day of the Year Ride, there should still be time to get to CBN's auction afterward, so you can do it all!)

See you then!

Coldest Day of the Year Ride

Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 12:00

What: Come out for a group ride on the statistically coldest day of the year.

Rocco Rossi came out swinging today in his anti-bike rant: "(Rossi) promises to ban future bike lanes from all arterial roads plus review those which already have been built on major roads." (Globe)

"Jarvis has to be stopped." he told reporters.

So, we're talking Bloor and Jarvis, etc. Nice.

On January 8, George Smitherman made a similar statement:

"And on the so-called "war on the car", Smitherman said while he supported cycling, he didn't want to see Toronto's continued implementation of the Bike Plan impact on other forms of transportation.

"What I've noticed is that there are quite a few divisions around here," he said.

"This notion of the conflict between the car and the bike - I think the obligation we have is to understand that the inefficiency associated with gridlock is a serious climate challenge. I'm interested to be a leader of a city that makes it easier to use bikes. At the same time, it's my obligation to try and build a greater consensus around an integrated transit plan, without fostering the idea that one form of transportation is being played off against the other."
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad. Got it?
Update: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27506106/Mayoral-race-Where-they...