urban repair squad

Harbord Street with parking on the right side instead of a continuous bike lane into the University of Toronto. (Photo by Tino)

The bright yellow stencil by the Urban Repair Squad resurfaces after being painted over with tar by city workers last fall.

And as for the separated bike lanes downtown, hope springs eternal:

“I think that one of the very encouraging things about the new administration is with councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong coming out and supporting this plan for separated bike lanes,” Andrea Garcia, spokeswoman for the Toronto Cyclists Union, said of the plan to create a grid of barrier-protected bike lanes in the core.

[Minnan-Wong] said city hall is slowly becoming a more bike-friendly place. “I think councillors are becoming a lot more open-minded. I think they have a lot more cyclists in their communities,” he said.

“My bike plan is a recognition of [the fact that] bikes exist. They’re here to stay. There have been too many accidents and we need to do something about that. I don’t believe that bike lanes should go on every single street. But I do believe they deserve a reasonable option.”

Mr. Minnan-Wong said his proposal could come before the committee some time in the next six months. And it’s possible that world events, including the current unrest in the Middle East, could help push the issue to the forefront.

(Photos by Tino)

From the Urban Repair Squad folks a two-way sharrow on Macdonnel St in Parkdale. The Torontoist has a good post and interesting comments:

Longtime Urban Repair Squad documentarian Martin Reis says he first spotted the symbols over the weekend. "Toronto has so few real good north-south connections, especially in the west end," Reis explained to Torontoist. "I mean, the west end is a giant black hole of no bike infrastructure." Add that to the experience of biking north on a street, facing-down cars travelling south, and "it's a bit nerve-wracking," Reis says.

The official City inventory of bike infrastructure includes one-way sharrows and also contra-flow lanes to allow cyclists to go both ways on one-way streets for cars. The URS "innovation" is interesting, even if there are bound to be reservations about encouraging cyclists to travel over the same sharrows in both directions. If there was some reasonableness in this idea, perhaps there should be sharrows on both sides of the streets so cyclists can bike on the side they'd normally be expected to bike. But that isn't entirely the point, likely. A two-way sharrow catches the eye and makes one think "Why not?"

The comments includes the precautionary ones:

The Urban Repair Squad, back with the question: "Why the gap in the Harbord bike lane?"

Just look at the latest street fixings from the Urban Repair Squad. Cyclists are akin to "action-heroes"; deftly dodging potholes, cracks, and utility cuts.

See full photo set.

Saddletramp wrote: "The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement.

With some wit, we endeavour to provide warning with humour; suggest danger with comedy; invite caution without frightening... and most importantly, we appeal to our fine city to remember that potholes aren't just uncomfortable, they really, really hurt."

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.

What: An art exhibit showcasing creative activist art.
When: March 20 to April 19, opening reception March 20th.
Where: Toronto Free Gallery, 1277 Bloor St. W. (just east of Lansdowne).
Who: Many artists, including someone we all know, Tino!

Martin Reis is involved in many aspects of the Toronto cycling community. He's a year-round bike commuter, bike film maker, member of ARC, activist, regular participant at Critical Mass, and an all-around nice guy.

Online, many of us know him through his Bike Lane Diary blog, in addition to his posts right here on I Bike TO. He has also been busy documenting the work of the Urban Repair Squad (O.U.R.S.) as they paint guerrilla bike lanes around the city.

This is where his part of the Creative Activism art exhibit comes in.