Bikes are Neglected

The ever interesting and wise Alan During has written a series of articles on Bicycle Neglect in "Cascadia" - the term for the biological and geographical region that comprises states such as Oregon, Washington, British Columbia.

What is Bicycle Neglect (and it's opposite, Bicycle Respect)? And how does it translate to the legal, political and physical landscape in which we move from point A to Point B? Well, Alan explains that

Bicycle Neglect is a syndrome with four mutually reinforcing symptoms:

1. A tendency to view bicycles as a form of recreation, not a form of transportation (this is typically a manifestation of Car-head);
2. An institutional, legal, and physical environment explicitly or unwittingly hostile to bicycling for transportation (typical features include car-oriented traffic laws, car-oriented traffic policing, woefully inadequate biking facilities, and miserly budgets to improve these facilities);
3. Unnecessarily dangerous conditions for cycling; and
4. Very low levels of bicycling for transportation, as a result.

Bicycle Respect is Bicycle Neglect’s opposite, on each count:

1. A tendency to view bicycles as a form of transportation, not just recreation;
2. An institutional, legal, and physical environment supportive of bicycling for transportation, including bike-friendly traffic laws and policing, ample biking facilities, and adequate budgets to improve these facilities;
3. Safe conditions for cycling; and
4. High levels of bicycling for transportation, as a result.

Anyone in Toronto can see a reflection of these insights in our own transportation situation. It's nice to see a comprehensive analysis of what's holding back the real promise of the bicycle!

herb : 17 years 5 months ago
Tags: cycling infrastructure, laws, neglect, politics

Rolling Thunder

Bike Trailer on Harbord St.

I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain
I'm coming on like a hurricane.
-- AC/DC "Hell's Bells"

A couple of weekends ago while riding up St. George St. and turning west on Harbord St., I saw this cyclist with a big wicker basket on her rack, towing a plastic kiddie trailer along in the bike lane.

It's not exactly unusual to see cyclists in this area, even cyclists towing trailers. This one in particular caught my attention because it wasn't a "real" bike trailer, and there was this big hexagonal glass aquarium perched on top. The plastic trailer also made this wonderful "rolling thunder" sound as it was pulled along the pavement. The hollow plastic wheels picked up all the vibrations from the road and amplified it through the body of the hollow plastic sides of the trailer.

It just seemed like such a fun and easy solution for moving a bunch of stuff that most people would want to put into a car, and would be cumbersome (if not impossible) to bring on the TTC.

Ride on, rolling thunder!

vic : 17 years 5 months ago
Tags: trailers

TCAT Bulletin: Push to increase funding for cycling infrastructure

Bulletin from the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation, November 23 2007:

November 23 Urgent Action Needed: Write to the City's Executive Committee

The push to increase funding for cycling infrastructure continues!

During last week's Budget Committee deliberations, Councillor Gord Perks' motion to add $17.9 million to the Parks budget was not approved. You can see the briefing note which describes the 31 projects this money would fund by clicking here.

Instead, this is the motion that Councillor Shelley Carroll got approved:

"The General Managers of Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Transportation, in consultation with the Deputy City Managers, work together to develop an implementation plan that would ensure the completion of the Toronto Bike Plan by 2012, as per Council's direction; and further, the Deputy City Managers consider opportunities to share and reallocate staff and financial resources to facilitate the completion of the plan and report to Budget Committee in June 2008."

While the call for this report is a good step, which TCAT supports, and outlines a plan that will allow the City to keep its commitment to implement the Bikeway Network by 2012, it does not prevent the city from making the financial commitments outlined below now.

TCAT continues to call on City Council to take immediate action to get the Bike Plan implementation back on track by:

  • Committing a minimum of $6.2 million to the 2008 Transportation Services cycling infrastructure budget
  • Ensuring that the $200,000 Parks, Forestry & Recreation 'bikeway network expansion' funding that was cut in 2007 as a cost containment measure be reinstated to that budget
  • Providing a minimum of $4 million in the 2008 Parks, Forestry & Recreation budget for repairing multi-use pathways in Toronto's Parks, to begin addressing the $20 million back-log
  • Moving forward the Parks Forestry & Recreation funding for bikeway network paths from the 2013 to 2017 into the current 5 year plan
  • Establishing a staff position in Parks, Forestry & Recreation that is dedicated to ensuring the integrity and connectivity of the pathway network

To read TCAT's letter to the Executive Committee click here.

Please take a few minutes this weekend to write to Mayor Miller, members of the Executive Committee, and your local councillor, and tell them you support TCAT's budget recommendations for implementing the Toronto Bike Plan by 2012.

Write to:

Executive Committee Members:

Please also copy TCAT (info@torontocat.ca) on any letters or e-mails you write.

vic : 17 years 5 months ago
Tags: Bike plan, TCAT