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Junction Festival Store windowColnago
Taken along Dundas Street West during the Junction Arts Festival last weekend.

The City of Toronto Official Plan envisions a city where active transportation helps to relieve congestion and improve air quality. Yet, right now less than 2 per cent of the City of Toronto Transportation budget is dedicated to walking and cycling infrastructure.

Now is your opportunity to let the city know that it needs to treat cycling as a serious form of transportation.

Tomorrow, Thursday March 6th, the City of Toronto's budget committee will meet to wrap up the 2008 Operating Budget. The Operating Budget pays for the staff that runs programs and services. For several years now cycling activists have been trying to get increases in this area without success. Although we welcome the 2008 capital budget increase in transportation services from $3.0 million to $5.5 million for cycling infrastructure (needed to install the substantial increased amount of 50 km of on-street bike lanes scheduled for this year) it is now time to ask that the cycling safety, education and promotion programs also receive a similar much-needed boost.

Martin Koob of biketoronto.ca has posted a succinct summary here. It includes an outline of the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation's (TCAT) bike-related recommendations.

They asked council to:

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Did anyone else get the feeling this morning that it's the calm before the storm? This was our final weekday of commuting before the streets are packed with post-Labour Day cars.

There are two big things that change on Tuesday. Almost everyone is back at work from summer vacation. And people start driving their kids to school.

If you or someone you know is looking for an alternative to the automotive melee in front of the elementary school, you could look into starting a "walking school bus" or "cycling school bus". Go For Green has a How-To guide (PDF linked) to help you make it happen.

A Walking/Cycling School Bus is an active transportation system that involves volunteer parents/caregivers taking turns walking/cycling with children to get them to and from school.
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Travel directly related to the enrolled school population constitutes a major portion of all trip generation in Canada. Short trips are the most polluting because a car’s engine has not had time to warm up enough to efficiently control emissions. We know that car emissions contribute to climate change. Walking/Cycling School Buses contribute to a solution by reducing the number of cars on the road.
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In many Canadian urban areas, up to 50% of children are frequently driven to school. This results in a chaotic congestion around the school, which presents major risks for children as they enter and leave the school.

Enjoy the quiet ride home today.