TCAT

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.

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Today's newsletter from the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation contains many interesting news items. You can read the whole newsletter on their website here.

Table of contents:

1. Metrolinx wants to hear from you - Active Transportation Green Paper consultation open until April 7
2. Bike Summit 2008 - TCAT to bring leading bicycle policy experts to Toronto
3. Jarvis Street Streetscape Improvement Environmental Assessment - Public Open House March 19
4. Walk21 Community Conference - Presentations posted on-line
5. Annette Street repaving - Another bike lane coming to Etobicoke
6. Toronto Police Traffic Survey - Have your say
7. Scarlett Road / CP Rail Bridge Environmental Assessment - Completed

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.

Exciting news from today's TCAT newsletter:

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Save the Date – April 25th – for Bike Summit 2008 in Toronto!

Join leading thinkers, practitioners and decision-makers who are on the fast track to creating bikeable communities. Bike Summit 2008 will be held on Friday, April 25th in Toronto.

Enjoy innovative and forward-thinking sessions that will:

• Share international and Canadian best practices and perspectives on putting policy into action.
• Build local, regional and provincial momentum and leadership for bikeable communities.
• Engage key stakeholders on how to effectively implement policies and strategies to realize and maximize the value of bicycling for transportation, health, tourism, recreation, economic development, energy conservation and the environment.

Laziness getting the better of me, here is a copy and paste of TCAT's latest bulletin. All that follows is from TCAT's newsletter:

1. New Bike Lane Approval Process Adopted

As reported in the November 27 TCAT News e-Bulletin, following a motion initially moved by Councillor Adrian Heaps, City Council agreed to revise its bike lane approval process. At its meeting on Tuesday, the Executive Committee approved the new process.

Under the new process, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee will now review all bike lane reports and recommendations submitted by staff, instead of the four individual community councils doing so. The idea is that this will allow staff to submit reports that contain multiple bike lane proposals, instead of having to submit various individual reports. However, the majority of bike lanes - those that require amendments to on-street parking, standing and stopping regulations on roads where there are established TTC routes - will still need final approval from City Council.

Whether or not this will actually speed up the bike lane approval process still has to be demonstrated, though City staff believe it will.

Straight from Fred's desk to our email to this blog to your eyes and finally brain, here is the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation newsletter copy and pasted:

1. Martin Goodman Trail Bollards - TCAC recommends removal

At last night's meeting of the Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee, a representative of TCAT and one other member of the public made deputations highlighting the danger to cyclists associated with the recently installed second row of staggered bollards along the Martin Goodman Trail at the Boulevard Club, and the lack of justification by the City. Another cyclist also submitted a 30-page document outlining the situation. The committee also heard from the Parks supervisor responsible for this project.

After questions and some worthwhile discussion the committee approved a motion to remove the second row of bollards and to request staff to report on a policy and standard for installing bollards on multi-use trails and pathways. The committee also asked staff to report on an alternate solution to the danger posed by left-turning motorists entering and exiting the Boulevard Club onto and off of Lakeshore Boulevard. The deputants suggested banning left turns onto and off of Lakeshore Boulevard, and expanding the Boulevard Club's driveway apron to give cars more room to wait for trail traffic to clear the driveway.

Updates from the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation November 27th bulletin below. There is an update on the stalling of the city on making financial commitments to the Bike Plan; on Council approval of staff reporting on streamlining the bike lane approval process (this may be radical or mundane - it's hard to assess it's affect on the bureaucracy); and on the completed environmental assessment of the nightmarish Six-Points Interchange and the preference for an at-grade solution - likely much friendlier for cyclists and pedestrians.

Read on:

1. 2008 Capital Budget Update - Thanks to our supporters & TCAT pushes on

Thank you to all of TCAT's supporters who wrote to the Executive Committee in support of increasing the 2008 Capital Budget for cycling infrastructure.

The news from Executive Committee is not as good as we hoped for. In her opening remarks to the committee, Budget Chief Shelley Carroll noted that there were many deputations and letters supporting the need to increase funding to complete the Bike Plan by 2012. However, in her opinion the problem with Bike Plan implementation is structural, and is not a funding issue. That is why the Budget Committee requested staff to prepare an implementation plan to complete the Bike Plan by 2012. This plan is not due until June 2008.

As TCAT stated last week, while the call for this report is a good step, it does not prevent the city from making the financial commitments now.

Bulletin from the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation, November 23 2007:

November 23 Urgent Action Needed: Write to the City's Executive Committee

The push to increase funding for cycling infrastructure continues!

During last week's Budget Committee deliberations, Councillor Gord Perks' motion to add $17.9 million to the Parks budget was not approved. You can see the briefing note which describes the 31 projects this money would fund by clicking here.

Instead, this is the motion that Councillor Shelley Carroll got approved:

"The General Managers of Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Transportation, in consultation with the Deputy City Managers, work together to develop an implementation plan that would ensure the completion of the Toronto Bike Plan by 2012, as per Council's direction; and further, the Deputy City Managers consider opportunities to share and reallocate staff and financial resources to facilitate the completion of the plan and report to Budget Committee in June 2008."

While the call for this report is a good step, which TCAT supports, and outlines a plan that will allow the City to keep its commitment to implement the Bikeway Network by 2012, it does not prevent the city from making the financial commitments outlined below now.

TCAT continues to call on City Council to take immediate action to get the Bike Plan implementation back on track by:

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There's some time left to complete a survey for the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation. It really isn't all that long and it can be very useful for them!

TCAT is hoping to hear from its supporters as we begin the process of examining our priorities, strategy, funding and governance. TCAT wants to connect with our supporters - both organizations and individuals - to get an understanding of what our supporters expect and also what they can contribute.

If you haven't already done so, please take a few minutes (no more than five) to complete the survey. You can access the survey by clicking here.

If you would prefer to complete the survey on paper or through e-mail, please contact info@torontocat.ca to receive a Word version.