Support bike lanes at Lansdowne Ave. consultation

Proposed Lansdowne Bike Lane Bloor St. to Davenport Rd.
Bloor St. to Davenport Rd.

As part of the Bike Plan, the City of Toronto is proposing the installation of bike lanes on Lansdowne Ave. between Bloor St. and Davenport Rd. This 1.5km stretch of new bike lane might not seem like much, but it will end up being a key connection between the Davenport Rd. bike lanes, Dupont St. / Annette St. bike lanes, and Lansdowne Ave. sharrows (black squiggles on the map). These all lead into other significant pieces of local cycling infrastructure such as the West Toronto Railpath (green line on map) and parts of the proposed West End Bikeways.

There will be a public meeting about this proposed bike lane on Thursday:

Thursday March 25, 2010
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Wallace Emerson Community Centre
1260 Dufferin - Ambrico Room

In the recent past, there was some significant opposition to the narrowing of Lansdowne Ave. south of Bloor St., so there may be some community opposition to the installation of these bike lanes. It would be extremely helpful if cyclists, especially locals, came to this public meeting to show their support.

The approval and installation phases of this looks like it may happen rather quickly:

Following this consultation, City Staff will review any comments received. We plan to submit this project for consideration to Public Work and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) meeting on April 20, 2010. We anticipate the Lansdowne Avenue bike lane project will be considered by City council on May 11-13, 2010. If approved, bike lanes on Lansdowne Avenue are planned to be installed in summer 2010.

If you can't make it to the consultation, be sure to the following addresses with letters of support and comments: bikeplan@toronto.ca, councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca, pwic@toronto.ca

More information about this public consultation can be found at:
http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/public-consultations/lansdowne.htm

The map is the City of Toronto's 2009 Bike Map, with some additions made with my own mad graphix skillz

vic : 15 years 5 months ago
Tags: bike lane, Bike plan, giambrone, infrastructure, lansdowne, Ward 18

College Street Cycling Survey - Call for Participants

From the City and TCAT:

The City of Toronto is working with the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) and the Clean Air Partnership (CAP) to evaluate cycling conditions on College Street before and after the installation of a new bicycle pavement marking application - and we need your help.

What will I need to do?
Complete an online survey about your experience cycling on College St between Lansdowne Ave and Manning Ave on one day in April and one day in June.

When is the survey happening?
Part 1: April 19th to May 3rd, 2010
Part 2: June 14th to 18th, 2010

Who can participate?
Cyclists who ride along College St. during rush hour, for at least a couple blocks between Lansdowne Ave and Manning Ave. Rush hour is from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

All participants must be 18 years of age or older.

How can I sign up?
Contact us by email at bikeplan@toronto.ca to sign up. For all emails, please include "College Street Survey" in the subject line and indicate:

. your name,
. preferred email address for correspondence, and
. what section of College Street you cycle on (e.g. Brock Ave to Clinton St).

The City of Toronto will not be responsible for any injury or damage related to the completion of the survey form. Information will be collected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Visit www.toronto.ca/cycling for more details.

Help us find survey participants by forwarding the text above to your email contacts.

herb : 15 years 5 months ago
Tags: bike infrastructure, College Street, survey

Bloor Danforth bike lane studies nudge progress, right wing candidates still oppose everything

Bike lanes get broad support from merchants and customers in the Bloor West and Annex neighbourhoods along Bloor Street. According to the recent study by the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation and Clean Air Partnership, 62% of Annex visitors prefer a bike lane, and 58% of Bloor West visitors prefer either a wider sidewalk or bike lane.

Meanwhile the City will be soon choosing who will be conducting an environmental assessment for a Bloor Danforth bike lane. The Globe makes it seem that this is a new decision but the plan to do an EA started a while ago. The request for proposals for the EA study went out already in January. The ball got rolling on this long ago but the media has make it seem like a shocker.

And speaking of shockers, mayoral candidate Rocco "No bike lanes in my city" Rossi, still opposes the very idea of a bike lane on Bloor, stating "Bloor-Danforth is as major an arterial as you can get, from one end to the other. I think it would be a disaster."

An earthquake in Haiti is a disaster, Rossi. Someone ramming and killing a cyclist on Bloor is a disaster. Cyclists aren't going to disappear just because you want them to. A bike lane on Bloor simply means the cyclists who are going to be on that road anyway are going to be given just a bit more breathing room.

Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, a cycling fanatic who chairs the Public Works committee, said he is not worried that council's political complexion could change dramatically enough after the election to halt a bikeway on one of Toronto's most important east-west thoroughfares.

"The Bloor-Danforth route will happen, from the East end to the West end ... And we will all survive," he said. "It is not as radical, I think, as some people would try to pretend it is. We're not trying to declare war on anybody."

Apparently you're a "fanatic" if you happen to bike to work. No one says "He's a automobile fanatic" just because someone commutes by car.

herb : 15 years 5 months ago
Tags: active transportation, bloor street bike lane