TTC

Tess Kalinowski of The Toronto Star claims that providing bike infrastructure through transit is expensive. GO Transit is putting in secured and sheltered parking throughout the system. The TTC is putting in bus bike racks on its entire fleet. The price comes out in the range of a couple thousand per spot. Tess gives some "shocking" numbers, but fails to put them in the context of the alternative - the cost of parking a bulky car:

$1,800 per cyclist using GO Transit's new secure bike lock-ups in Hamilton and Burlington, $3,700 per cyclist using GO's new bike shelters, and $1.44 million to put bike racks on about 1,600 TTC buses.

So all we know is that there is a long-term infrastructure cost of thousands of dollars. This a cost that is spread out over the lifetime of the parking. That comes to around $100 a year for some secure bike lock-ups that will surely last at least 15 years. So put in perspective it's not that much.

If you happen to be taking the TTC today (we'll forgive you, even though it's Bike Month!), be sure to check out the video screens while you're waiting for your train.

A 30-second slideshow featuring photos by Martin Reis and Yvonne Bambrick will be displayed every 10 minutes all day.

DIY - The Revolution Starts With You | May 26 on the TTC (Contact Festival 2009)

DIY - The Revolution Starts With You (a 30 second slide show about Toronto street activism) will be shown all day in 10 minute intervals MAY 26 on over 200 TTC video screens! Schedule :05 :15: :25 :35 :45 :55

Contacting Toronto is an annual, open-call photography exhibition on the Onestop network of over 270 TTC screens. It offers artists and photographers an audience of 1.3 million people a day in over 50 stations.

Online: http://contactingtoronto.ca

More info about the whole project is on Martin Reis' website.

I had time yesterday and took some photos of the new stickers ... nice!

The rest of my photos are here:
http://www.web.net/~lukmar/Action1/index.html

Is the TTC warming up to cyclists? Even if they have nothing specific to announce in this press release I'm hoping they'll start serving hot chocolate to cyclists who stop biking and hop onto the nearest bus.

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blockquote>TTC launches the "WARM WELCOME" campaign

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Toronto Transit Commission announces it's new bike-friendly attitude for Toronto two-wheelers with the "Warm Welcome" campaign.

Starting today the TTC is changing the signage at all of it's subway stations, replacing the NO BICYCLES during rush-hour signs, to a more positive sign (a bike symbol in a green circle) displaying the times when bicycles are allowed.

TTC by-law No. 1, Section 17 has not changed, but the presentation of it has. Instead of prohibiting bicycles, the new signs welcome bicycles all day Saturday and Sunday/Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 3:30pm and 6:30pm to close.

The move is part of the Transit City Strategy, the first step in an effort to make the TTC a more integrated commuter system.

The effort hopes to encourage Toronto cyclists, especially those with long commutes, to continue biking all winter, knowing that when it's too cold or snowy, they are welcome to come aboard.

"To all you brave cyclists who ride all winter long, this is just a little change to help you go a long way." says TTC commissioner Adam Giambroni.

So, it's on after all. A TTC Strike.
I wonder if the City can do more for Bikes than the measly three or four streets offered for bikes as special routes.

Need info? Check out this page out about how to get around during a TTC strike on your bike .

Bike The Strike!

According to the Toronto Star, the City may create some new temporary bike lanes in the event of a TTC strike:

For cyclists, the curb lane on Bay St. from Queen's Quay to Yorkville will become a bike-only lane for the duration of a strike. So will the curb lanes on Queen's Quay from Lower Spadina Ave. to Yonge St., and Dundas St. E. from River St. to Broadview Ave.

Nice touch. The curmudgeon in me wonders if anything like this would actually get enforced. How well do they enforce the HOV/taxi/bike lanes on Bay now? How about the ones on Dundas west of Six Points? (Answer: not at all).

Why let a little thing like a TTC strike keep you from getting to work?

BikingToronto is encouraging people to Bike the Strike! if the TTC staff decide to walk out on the job. As of today they are in mediation with staff saying they may consider "work to rule" if the negotiations end in a deadlock. This may mean staff will refuse to wear uniforms or will slow down TTC service before going into a full-blown strike.

Wouldn't it be nice if Toronto had a comprehensive public bike program so that people could jump on all the bikes if a strike did happen? They did in Paris.