©Physically separated bike lane network
Now that the Bixi bikes are officially on the street, we can get back to the business of the separated bike lanes for downtown. A not so secret side benefit of bikesharing is that it raises the profile of cyclists and creates more urgency for good bike networks for locals and tourists. This is something Councillor Minnan-Wong made a note of at the Bixi launch.
"My understanding is that Montreal had the separated bike lanes first and then Bixi, and that's why there was pickup and it was successful there," he said. "I plan to bring an omnibus bike report for downtown separated connected bike network to committee in June, and council in July."
His network would link Sherbourne, Wellesley, Beverley and John streets to an East-West path on Richmond Street.
"It's a recognition that cycling is a mode of transportation that is used by people in the city," Mr. Minnan-Wong said. "On Richmond Street, even if you take out one lane you're only removing 25% of the capacity."
To complicate matters, leftie Councillor Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina), who endorsed New Democrat Andrew Cash for MP, bitterly opposes bike lanes in his ward.
All of which goes to prove what odd political times these are in downtown Toronto, where even pin-pointing the pinkos can be a tricky job.
It's a bit unfair to say that Vaughan bitterly opposes bike lanes in his ward; it's just that he doesn't really want them on Richmond or John, because he's got his own ideas for those streets.
Support is, however, growing for the downtown separated bike lane network. The Toronto Cyclists Union has supported it from the beginning. Councillor Pam McConnell has thrown her support behind the lanes. McConnell's ward includes Richmond east of University and Sherbourne, two key parts of the network. Councillor Krysten Wong Tam hasn't yet stated how she would vote for the network, of which Sherbourne and Wellesley are a part of her ward. It's not clear yet just how she feels about them though she did claim the planning for the Jarvis bike lanes was inadequate. Councillor Mike Layton, who claims he is one of a handful of councillors that cycles year-round, has said he supports separated bike lanes, but that he'll have to see the details before he can fully support Minnan-Wong's plan.
Mountain Equipment Co-op, with 700,000 members in the GTA alone (3.3 million countrywide) has put its support behind it (fully letter at bottom):
I understand the petition’s proposed network will be coming back to PWIC and Council this spring. As constituents we are asking you to support this network of separated bicycle lanes in the coming Council term.
These cycling infrastructure improvements would be very meaningful to our members, particularly recreational cyclists who are not confident urban cyclists, as well as cyclists with young children.
Toronto is far behind many major cities in the completion of its bikeway network. Montreal, Vancouver and New York all have extensive and continuous bikeway networks that are separated from traffic.
Vaughan, however, is not all that supportive of either this plan or of the cycling department in general:
But in a three-page March 3 letter to residents’ associations, Mr. Vaughan blasting “barricaded bike lanes,” adding, “The Bike Union … have chosen to work with Denzil Minnan-Wong and the new Ford administration first, and with the community only as needed.”
Wednesday Mr. Vaughan said he has never voted against a bike lane, and has improved cycling in Toronto. He cited Spadina Avenue. I noted that work crews in the past year have painted over the thin stripe for cyclists along the curb lane on Spadina, making the street more dangerous for bikes.
“The incompetence of city staff does not reflect my office’s efforts to improve bike lanes,” Mr. Vaughan said. “How many times have we called up staff and asked them to paint the bike lines back on? I can’t help it if Daniel Egan [Toronto’s manager of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure] can’t get his crap together. The city cycling department is useless, but to say that I haven’t done anything for cyclists is wrong.”
Wow, that doesn't seem very professional to just blame City staff. Vaughan failed to realize that the staff were replacing the fake bike lanes with sharrows. Even with the sharrows Spadina is a poor substitute for a comfortable, separated bike lane that people could get on St. George / Beverley.
Minnan-Wong's response is that "he can't please everybody" (though Mayor Ford would likely err on the side of pleasing motorists when it comes down to it):
“It’s about taking a decision,” he said. “When you take away real estate in front of somebody’s property and change the use, there is going to be controversy. I am not opposed to community consultation, but I am not going to go into the consultation spin cycle and spend another five years. I am very open-minded in terms of which side of the street to put them on, and what they should look like. I’d like to get a network approved and then let communities decide what their ideas are with regard to design and implementation.”
Full letter from Dave Robinson of Mountain Equipment Co-op:
Councillor Vaughan and Councillor Minnan-Wong,
I am writing to you on behalf of Mountain Equipment Co-op in Toronto, an outdoor retail co-operative store geared towards promoting self-propelled activities, including cycling. MEC employs 170 staff at its Toronto Store and 90% of our staff uses cycling as their preferred way to commute to work.
MEC Toronto staff has deliberated over the network of separated bicycle lanes proposed by Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong and wanted you to know our point of view before this matter comes to Council.
A continuous downtown bicycle lane system separated from traffic is proposed by Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, the Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee of Toronto City Council. The network is supported by the Toronto Cyclists Union, the York Quay Neighbourhood Association, The University of Toronto Graduate Student’s Union, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and the ABC (Yorkville) Residents Association organisations representing over 20,000 people.
MEC has 700,000 members in the GTA, many in the neighbourhoods represented by these resident associations who use Wellesley-Harbord and St. George Street-John Street to access our store, to bring their bicycles in for service, purchase cycling accessories, and to commute to and from the downtown core.
What was proposed was a continuous network of bicycle roads separated from traffic
East – West:
- Harbord - Wellesley from Parliament to Ossington.
- Richmond Street from Bathurst to Parliament.
North – South:
- Starting at Prince Arthur on St. George, Beverley to John Street connecting to new bicycle lanes on Simcoe, via the Richmond Street bicycle lanes, to the Lake.
- Sherbourne Street from Elm Avenue in Rosedale just north of Bloor all the way to Queens Quay.
I understand the petition’s proposed network will be coming back to PWIC and Council this spring. As constituents we are asking you to support this network of separated bicycle lanes in the coming Council term.
These cycling infrastructure improvements would be very meaningful to our members, particularly recreational cyclists who are not confident urban cyclists, as well as cyclists with young children.
Toronto is far behind many major cities in the completion of its bikeway network. Montreal, Vancouver and New York all have extensive and continuous bikeway networks that are separated from traffic.
We are requesting the City of Toronto endorse and implement this network of separated bicycle lanes.
Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
David Robinson
Sustainability and Community Involvement Co-ordinator
