How will YOUR Councillor celebrate "War on Bikes Month"?

In honour of these June follies it has come to my attention contractors working on the TTC track rehab on King St from Roncesvalles east to the vicinity of Beaty Ave will post this section "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT". There are no plans to request the same of motorists.

Those who ride this section of King St will have noted beacons and barriers erected June 2 blocking the curb lane. The distance between these and the curbside rail is less than 2 feet in places and and is pockmarked with crevices 3" wide and 3" deep where the asphalt meets the streetcar bed. Extreme caution is necessary as these will catch a wheel as well as any streetcar rail.

The city has once again entirely neglected the safety and requirements of bicyclists in this rehab.

Feel free to forward expressions of your appreciation to:

Area Councillor Gord Perks

councillor_perks@toronto.ca

former TCC chair and present TTC chair Councillor Adam Giambrone

councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca

TCAC chair Councillor Adrian Heaps

councillor_heaps@toronto.ca

geoffrey : 15 years 3 months ago
Tags: active transportation

Parking Exemptions vs Bike Lanes

After Councillor Howard Moscoe's prodding, City Council has released the previously confidential manual which explains who can get their parking tickets cancelled. I am glad that they did this, and it helps make things much more clear to everyone in this city. Many thanks to Councillor Moscoe, and the other councillors, who made this happen.

Before this manual was released, I had though that more enforcement would help to diminish the number of vehicles found parked in bike lanes. I had also thought that on-street separated bike lanes should be used sparingly and strategically.

I now realize how naive I was.

While I expect that some of the excuses to get one's parking ticket cancelled to be removed from the current manual, I have to expect that many, if not most, of them will remain. Because of this, I now find it necessary to add my voice to the many who are already calling for the conversion of existing bike lanes into on-street separated bike lanes.

The passive enforcement of barriers which would deter people from placing their vehicles in bike lanes seems to be the only remedy we have to keep those of us in this city who ride bikes safe from moving cars and trucks, and to keep bike lanes safe from becoming free parking or ad-hoc taxi stands.

And safer infrastructure will only encourage more people to ride.

Mayor David Miller on the fall and rise and fall again of cycling in Toronto

Scun Yun aka scunny aka Hoof & Cycle, posted his questions to Mayor David Miller on Goldhalk Live and posted it to youtube.

It's a bit depressing to know that the most pro-cycling mayor Toronto had in some time was able to do so little in his two terms. It's all downhill from here, and not in a fun, wheeeeeee!!!! kind of way.

herb : 15 years 3 months ago
Tags: media, Miller, politics