Railpath can use your help!

Future Railpath, southbound at Bloor St.

Perhaps one of the most exciting bits of cycling news happening in Toronto (at least for a west-ender like myself) this year is the opening of the first phase of the West Toronto Railpath. This first section of the Railpath will be from Cariboo St., at the West Toronto Diamond (just north of Dupont/Annette/Dundas), down to the Dundas/Sterling/Lansdowne area (map).

A significant portion of the work was completed in 2008, including grading, new fences, bridge upgrades, and new staircases at Bloor and Dupont Streets. Hopefully the paving and landscaping will be finished in time for a big launch party during Bike Week in the spring.

As exciting as the Phase One launch is, it's now time to start pushing for the completion of the south-eastern section of the Railpath which would end close to downtown at around Strachan Ave. and King St. W. It's a bit of a long and detailed story, but the short version is: The City does not yet own any part of the rail corridor south of Dundas St., and they are waiting to purchase it from CP who of course don't want to give it up until issues like the Airport Rail service and GO Transit expansion are sorted out.

Metrolinx and GO Transit are currently seeking feedback for the Georgetown South Service Expansion project, which includes the installation of several new sets of railway tracks throughout this corridor. To many peoples' dismay, the Metrolinx staff at these consultations seemed to be completely unaware of the existing Railpath construction and future plans to expand south-eastward, and have not properly considered leaving room for the Railpath.

Now, it's true that a rail corridor's primary purpose should be for the movement of trains, but if planned properly, this extremely wide piece of railway land should easily be able to accommodate a few metres of space along the edge for the Railpath. Approximately 4m is all the space required to squeeze the Railpath through.

The Metrolinx "Open House" meetings in Toronto have all finished, but there is still time to let them know that the Railpath is in high demand. You can leave comments in their Virtual Open House, email them at info@metrolinx.com, or call 1-866-658-9890.

It would also be a good idea to send your comments to your City Councillors and MPPs.

Due date for comments is Monday March 16th.

If you ever want to see the Railpath completed in its full glory, now is the time to contact Metrolinx, your councillors, and MPPs to make sure they reserve some space for cycling and walking in this corridor.

vic : 16 years 4 months ago
Tags: GO Transit, infrastructure, metrolinx, railpath

Icycle 2009

The editors of I Bike TO have been working on a subliminal scheme all winter long to get all of our readers to attend the Icycle 2009 Ice Bike Races. Our banner image at the top of the page is currently a crop of the starting line from a previous year's "rubber class" race, and earlier in the winter we featured a home-made studded tire.

But now we're being right up front about it: Come on out to Dufferin Grove Park this Saturday at 9:00pm for what promises to be the most fun and entertaining annual winter cycling event in Toronto. Seriously, don't miss this!

Some of Toronto's fastest street and track riders will be taking to the ice with their home-made studded tires. Aggressive racing, tight camaraderie among the racers, and a rambunctious audience make this one of the best cycling events you'll see. It's all topped off with a fantastic "rubber class" race that brings everyone onto the ice without their studded tires to share a laugh as we all fall down and slide into the boards.

Whether you're participating in the "real" races, or just wobbling around in the "rubber class", or just watching it all go by, I guarantee you'll have a good time. Just bring some warm clothes and a bit of coin for hot chocolate.

This year there will be an after-party held a few blocks away at Bike Pirates to keep the party rolling long in the the evening.

More details in our events listing.

vic : 16 years 4 months ago
Tags: bike pirates, fun, fundraiser, ice, icebike, icycle, race

Business-friendly bike lanes

Bike lanes can be good for business, reports the Clean Air Partnership in their report, Bike Lanes, On-street Parking and Business (pdf). The study was conducted partly (mostly?) by the former TCAT project lead, Fred Sztabinski (as far as I know). The study focused on the Bloor Annex area, interviewing merchants and patrons in the area. The surprising result is that few patrons arrive by car and businesses will suffer little and may gain much if on-street parking is removed for bike lanes. As you can see by the photo I chose from last year's Bells on Bloor ride, this is good fodder for making Bloor into a Tooker freeway for cyclists.

Contrary to common public perception, the evidence shows that removing on-street parking to install a bicycle lane or widened sidewalk would likely increase not decrease commercial activity. "This report should alleviate concerns that downtown business owners have about on-street bicycle lanes", said Eva Ligeti, Executive Director of the Clean Air Partnership.

The study – conducted in July of 2008 – surveyed the opinions and preferences of merchants and patrons on Bloor Street and analyzed parking usage data in the Annex area. Among the study’s findings:

* Only 10% of patrons drive to the Bloor Annex neighbourhood;
* Even during peak periods no more than about 80% of parking spaces are paid for;
* Patrons arriving by foot and bicycle visit the most often and spend the most money per month;
* There are more merchants who believe that a bike lane or widened sidewalk would increase business than merchants who think those changes would reduce business;
* Patrons would prefer a bike lane to widened sidewalks at a ratio of almost four to one; and
* The reduction in on-street parking supply from a bike lane or widened sidewalk could be accommodated in the area’s off-street municipal parking lots.

Background: To encourage more Canadians to use bicycles for utilitarian trips more often, it is essential that the implementation of bike lanes on major streets be accelerated. The Bloor-Danforth corridor is a particularly attractive option for a city-wide east-west bike lane in Toronto because it is one of the only long, straight, relatively flat routes that connects the city from end to end; there are no streetcar tracks; and has one of the highest car-bike collision rates in the city. However, the installation of bike lanes in this corridor has historically been thought to be too politically difficult to achieve.

Everybody say, Amen.