The agenda for the April 14th meeting is up.

The first item on the agenda is from the Police Services. The police have been accused of treating cyclists poorly during their annual bike safety week that traditionally occurs at the end of Bike Month (formerly Bike Week). Aaron Hershoff objects to this style of enforcement, and will be offering a better approach for the police to use during their annual blitz.

Item two is the Bike Plan update. We're never sure what surprises the city has planned up its sleeve, or what new disappointments await us.

Item three is a discussion and recommendations about how we, the public, can more easily know how we can interact with the Cycling committee. Hopefully they will also address making it just plain easier.

This year's snow was big news, and the lack of snow clearing in the bike lanes was a big gripe for (would be) winter Cyclists. The fourth item is where we should be discussing the few bike lanes deemed to be of high enough priority to be cleared. I think that all bike lanes should be a priority by definition, but the city didn't put THAT on the agenda.

The terms of reference of the cycling committee include encouraging more participation from cyclists outside the downtown. One way is for the cycling committee to hold its meetings at locations other than City Hall. While A. Heaps might not want the committee to become "a travelling road show", I think that if it helps cyclists who are not from downtown feel better, then it is a small price to pay.

Toronto's public transit services are big, and they always have a lot going on. The cycling committee created a Transit Working Group. The sixth agenda item is a report from this group on what they've been doing with the TTC, GO, and perhaps others.

The last agenda item is about South Kingsway-Queensway which are city streets that have a freeway-style interchange which is not cycling friendly, nor pedestrian friendly. The area is now residential, but used to be industrial. And what's worse, the Queensway Bike Lane ends just before this interchange, creating yet another bike lane that goes nowhere and connects with nothing. The city budgeted money to normalize this into an intersection, but then pulled back and is now merely planning to resurface this area. Don't ride your bike through here to see what a rat's nest this is. We don't need more injured cyclists. Instead, email the Toronto cycling committee c/o Frank Baldassini (city clerk) and let them know that you don't like riding on dangerous roads like this; that these high-speed highway style interchanges should have no place in our city, and remind them that the bike plan promises that ALL Toronto streets are to be cycling friendly streets; and that the bike lane needs to continue through the area.

Remember Sunday!