Here's a posting of near daily cycling news from across the country, and sometimes
interesting things from around the world. If I missed a worthy piece, please pass it on
to me. As always, comments welcome.
Reminder: Today is election day. Please vote for the parson or party you think will do the most good for you and your neighbohood and the province.
Local
- More walking, less cars (The Villager, Oct 09)
"I wouldn't let my 15-year-old ride a bike down Bloor Street," Mark Grimes (Ward 6) said. "It's very concerning to me to have these young kids on major corridors."
As Grimes is my own councillor, I wrote him a letter.
Canada
- Bike park peddled for Middleton (Nova News Now, Oct 09)
Away
- National Media Noticing the Urban Bicycling Trend (StreetsBlog, Oct 09)
Talking about the next two articles: - Big cities try to ease way for bicyclists (USA Today, Oct 08)
- Cycling Gains Ground in NYC (Associated Press, Oct 08)
- Long lines cause headache for cyclists (Examiner.com, San Fransisco, Oct 10)
Also see: Dude, Where's my bike lane? for a video showing this problem - Free tagging aims to beat the bicycle thief in Bristol (Bapco Journal, UK, Oct 09)
Bloody Brilliant, we need a scheme like that here, too.
- Separate paths for cyclists, pedestrians in Perth (The West Australian, Australia, Ovt 10)
Shared paths, with cyclists, rollorbladers, stollers, joggers pedestrians and dogs is the most dangerous place to ride a bike. A cyclist is better off on the streets where there are rules that everybody follows. Twinning the path helps. - Cyclists concerned by potholes (Norwich Evening News, UK, Oct 10)
So it's not just here... - Bill Graham: Smart cyclists follow road rules (Kansas City Star, MO, Oct 10)
- Cyclists Complain About Tickets At White Rock Lake (NBC5i.com, TX, Oct 9)
- Police target bicycle safety (Geelong Advertiser, Australia, Oct 10)
- Westchester considers bicycle helmet law (The Journal News / Lohud.com, NY, Oct 10)
Gadgets, Gizmos & Fashion
- Reelight via Bike Commuting in Columbus
Bike light that's not battery powered, and doesn't put a big drain on cycling
Comments
chephy (not verified)
Well done.
Wed, 10/10/2007 - 22:32As Grimes is my own councillor, I wrote him a letter.
Good job, anthony. :-) What exactly did you write?
anthony
Betrayed, by my own Councillor
Wed, 10/10/2007 - 23:27Councillor Grimes,
from:
http://www.insidetoronto.ca/News/City_Hall/article/31933
Ward 6 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) Councillor Mark Grimes said he worried about encouraging more cyclists to ride on busy city streets - bike lanes or not.
"I wouldn't let my 15-year-old ride a bike down Bloor Street," he said. "It's very concerning to me to have these young kids on major corridors."
I can hardly express my concern for your son, and the cyclists of this city, when I read this opinion you gave.
My own daughters, aged 4 and 6, have ridden on Bloor, albeit not alone. And I'm not talking about them riding on the "Bells On Bloor" or "Critical Mass" events, but in the normal traffic that is always found on Bloor. Driving a bike on our city's streets is usually quite safe, as most motorists are not homicidal maniacs and are usually driving responsibly.
Cycling is a life skill, and the same principles learned and practiced on a bicycle to be competent driving in traffic are the very same skills that will be need for new motorists. But I'm not going to pick on your son.
Bikes are not THE solution to the reduced physical activity that youth and adults suffer from which is contributing to the obesity endemic. Is also not THE solution to traffic congestion. Nor will cycling be the silver bullet to end all transportation related CO2 emissions. Nor will cycling alone free up all of the unproductive land currently used by parking lots. But cycling is an important part of the answer. And it's one of the cheapest for the city to encourage and promote. As I am sure you are only too aware, public transit and better land use and planning are even more important than cycling.
But cycling and cyclists are still a valuable part of the answer, and the city should be doing it part to encourage and promote cycling, and the city's own evolving Bike Plan. More cyclists means less cars, and safer streets for everyone, pedestrians and motorists too. More bicycles also means smaller parking lots, and less land use dedicated to cars and car parking. Which means higher densities, and more tax revenues for the city. Win-Win, as far as I can tell.
Perhaps because you grew up in a former suburb of Toronto that you have not yourself found cycling as attractive to the many who have come from the former city. The city is truly a nice place to ride. The streets are alive with people, there are many interesting buildings and sights to see on the streets. And the city also has some great trails through it many parks when the streets get to be too much. The former city of Toronto was quite aggressive in installing bike parking, the posts and rings can be found almost anywhere a cyclists cares to go, it's only too bad that sometimes there are not enough.
Here in our own ward, cycling is quite good, too. I ride with my daughters to their gymnastics lessons at John English, skating lessons at the Mimico Arena, and also to swimming lessons and free swim at Gus Rider Pool by Kipling. (Which reminds me, the bike lane on Birmingham needed to be cleaned the last time I looked at it). We also ride to Ikea and to Wal-Mart for our shopping (do Evans and/or Judson-Horner bike lanes, already!), as well as to the local grocery stores. My kids are not afraid of traffic, and nor should they be. I expect them to be quite competent by the time that they are 15 to be riding on roads similar to Bloor, and I will have every confidence in them. But I can only encourage and teach a few people. You, through the city, can reach many, many more. Even if we only get small percentage of trips converted from cars, and even if only half of those would be on bike, that's great! Even a small percentage of our city is huge. And it will be better for all cyclists everywhere, as there are safety in numbers.
More cyclists means safer roads. And isn't that something worth the small investment from the city?
Thanks for reading this.
anthony
Grimes called me back
Wed, 10/10/2007 - 23:29Grimes called me back, we could not have a good conversation as he had not read the letter. His staff told him to call me.
Tom Trottier
...vote for the parson or party...
Thu, 10/11/2007 - 14:24Hey, what if there are no reverends running?