video

in which I provide a tour of some interesting parts of the West End, this time going up Ostler to Dav, then to Old Weston, Rogers, and back down Keele, along St Clair to Runnymede, and back down to Annette, thence to Jane. Along the way I and make some observations about road courtesy, safety, and driver behaviour.

Back in September I posted about our unofficial contest to see if we could get some better videos about BIXI Toronto - how it works, how to use the, and why you should get a membership. (Again, this contest was just I Bike TO's attempt to see if citizens could produce something interesting and informative videos and it was in no way an official contest of BIXI).

BIXI Toronto is 300 short of the 1000 subscription target (getting there!) A bit more work needs to be done. A little bit more promotion can do some good, but we noticed there aren't a whole lot of videos showing the best of BIXI Toronto.

On Saturday February 21 2010, Scott Torrance, the landscape architect behind the design and implementation of the West Toronto Railpath led a walking tour of this wonderful new public space. The walking tour was hosted by the Lost Rivers Committee, Toronto Field Naturalists and the Toronto Green Community.

During this walking tour, Scott Torrance described various aspects of the history, design, and implementation of the Railpath. He provided a great insight into some of the choices made about how the path was landscaped, the materials used, the plant life, and more. I didn't attend this walk, but fortunately someone brought a video camera!

The first video posted here (above) is the short 3-minute summary. If you want to see the whole thing, it's broken up into 3 parts below.

There's more info about Scott Torrance's work on his website, and you can also watch these video on his Youtube channel.

Interested in another walking tour of the Railpath? This Saturday, May 1, there will be a Jane's Walk on the Railpath. It's not hosted by Scott Torrence, but rather by some knowledgeable locals. Check it out if you want to learn more about the current state of the Railpath, and plans for future south/east expansion.

Another video from riconroy, this one a helpful guide for drivers, aiding them in "surviving" city driving and avoiding nasty cyclists and pedestrians.

Driving in the city is a treacherous endeavour, full of difficulty and inconvenience. For anyone who hasn't driven in the city before the rules of the road must seem a bit confusing. Here are some tips to help you survive your drive.

Title: Driver Survival Guide

Riconroy, in this video, shows us the daily conflict between drivers and cyclists in Toronto bike lanes.

Calvin Lau from Dear Toronto emailed to tell us that his video of this year's Toronto Bike Awards is now online.

The video features interviews with Rick and Yvonne from the Toronto Cyclists Union and councillor Adam Giambrone, plus footage of various awards recipients, the gold sprints, Clay and Paper Theatre, and much more.

And yes, of course, the highly praised "reverse strip tease" gets good coverage too (pun intended).

We've still got a long way to go, baby. A video about the Irish transportation system that is almost as relevant to us (except that we have nowhere to swim to). Written and directed by Jason Tammemägi. A spoof on Irish Rail's advertising.

Note: Do not watch if you don't like seeing stick people get maimed and killed.

Check today's Toronto Star for a video about winter cycling. Online edition, not print, of course!

The video features brief commentary from three cyclists: It starts on a bit of a low note with a cyclist who just sticks to the indoor trainer for the winter because "the risks outweigh the pleasure" and it's "awfully cold".

The second is a messenger who enjoys the winter riding because the roads and sidewalks are less crowded, and that "with the proper gear it's never too cold".