bloor

(Photo titled: "bike lane?" by mdintoronto)

In terms of bike lanes, sharrows, lights or any bike infrastructure at all other than post and rings, the Bloor Corridor Visioning Study is a bit of a let down. But there will be a public meeting November 10 where some good souls could push for something more substantial (if the City is accepting public input at this meeting). The background information is online (hat tip to TaketheTooker), examining the planning issues in the segment between Avenue Road and Christie/Grace Streets.

The City Planning Division is coordinating a Visioning Study for the Bloor Corridor. The purpose of the study is to develop a shared vision for Bloor Street West for the next ten years, through consultation with area stakeholders including residents, businesses and landowners. The study will examine such matters as land use, built form, community services and facilities, transportation, heritage and urban design in developing a vision for the future evolution of the Corridor, as well as recommendations to achieve that vision.

On November 10, 10am, the City will propose an amendment to the Official Plan with area specific policies for the Bloor Corridor, in consultation with the local community. It will take place at City Hall, Committee Room 1, 2nd floor.

Rush Hour: 5:45pm at Bloor and Forest View, Etobicoke

Bike lanes on Bloor St. may be more likely to happen than you think. Possibly even sooner than expected. I was at the Bloor Street West and The West Mall Bike Lanes public consultation last night, and can report back that it it's mostly good news for cyclists.

Two new bike lanes were being presented at this meeting: A 3.1km stretch of The West Mall, from Bloor St. down to The Queensway (map), and a 3.4km piece of Bloor St. W. between Mill Rd. and Kipling Ave (map).

One of the points that several residents at last night's meeting kept bringing up went along the lines of, "But these lanes don't take you anywhere!". Well, contrary to popular belief, I feel that these lanes will actually fill in a much-needed gap in the network, providing safer cycling in mid-town and south-western Etobicoke.

The following event announcement comes from the Clean Air Partnership, who along with TCAT put together the recent study about bike lanes on Bloor St. in The Annex. Please note that registration is limited to 40 people, so you should register soon if you plan to attend.

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EVIDENCE SHOWS BIKE LANES ARE GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Upcoming webinar: March 25th, 2009 at 2:30 pm Eastern Standard Time

Is your community considering investing in its public realm through an improved pedestrian environment or increasing transportation options through the installation of on-road bike lanes? Often, such proposals involve removing some on-street parking and are met with opposition from merchants who fear that the reallocation of road space would hurt business.

A recent study in Toronto found that contrary to common public perception, the evidence shows that removing on-street parking to install a bicycle lane or widened sidewalk would likely increase not decrease commercial activity. The study – conducted in July of 2008 – surveyed the opinions and preferences of merchants and patrons on Bloor Street and analyzed parking usage data in the Annex area.

Among the study’s findings:

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Lay down a sewer pipe and there are myriad standards dictating dimension, clearance and placement. Lay down a bike lane and sound design precepts are optional, more often recognized in the breach than in the application. How is it that conduits for sh_t are typically subjected to greater planning rigor than conduits for human beings on bicycles?

If you're apt to such musings whenever...oh...pedalling through an officially designated door zone painted up as a bike lane, you're not alone. A few of us were pondering just how that mystery related to the Bloor Viaduct bikeway, a pillar of Toronto's bike network and, conveniently, right in our backyard.

A generation has been conceived, miseducated, and is now tormenting parents with grating music and delinquency since the inception of the Viaduct bike lanes. Yet the bikeway remains stillborn, its hazards, all too familiar to regular cyclists, unresolved.

It can be better. It should be. Why not try to make it so? That was the motivation behind the The Bloor Viaduct Report. I'll skip the specifics, download the report (attached 2.4 MB PDF) and in about the same time it took to read this article you will be familiar with the details.

Some important items in today's Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation newsletter. In particular, make sure you read about the Bloor/Yorkville, Jarvis St., and City operating budget issues! You can read the whole newsletter on their website here.

Table of Contents:

1. Walking Strategy Open Houses - March 25, April 3 & April 7
2. Bike Month event registration - March 27 Deadline
3. Bicycle Bob speaks at CBN - March 28
4. 2008 Operating Budget - City Council to approve March 31-April 1
5. Bloor-Yorkville Transformation - Plans go to East York Community Council without bike lanes?
6. Jarvis Street Streetscape Improvement EA - Let the City know you want bike lanes

Click here for the complete newsletter.

Don't forget to subscribe to their newsletter to get info delivered right to your E-mail box every week.

Cyclists Dismount

Back in January I noticed that these "Cyclists Dismount" signs were added along the Bloor St. sidewalk by the railway underpasses between Lansdowne Ave. and Dundas St. West.

I don't necessarily have a problem with telling cyclists to dismount while riding on sidewalks. After all, sidewalks are meant for pedestrians, and I have personally had some close encounters with sidewalk cyclists along here. It's especially dangerous to pedestrians stepping out from the Bloor GO train station.

However, these signs may be an indication of a bigger issue. Many cyclists hit the sidewalk when riding through these underpasses because they fear for their safety on the road. I often see cyclists ride on the road along Bloor St., only to hop up on the curb when they reach the underpasses.

I can understand why cyclists might want to do that.

From the Don Valley to Central Parkway in Mississauga, this is definitely the worst part of Bloor St., for many reasons (Ok, Six Points stinks too). But for cyclists in particular, the problems are:

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