The first ghost bike in Mississauga, as far as I know, was installed by ARC this morning at the corner of Riverspray Crescent. and Bloor Street. On November 25, a cyclist was killed on his way home from the beer store. I went along for the ride this morning to pay my respects to the fallen cyclist and document the work of installing a ghost bike. His name has not been released.
News story:
Wayne Scott, ex-courier and ex-cycling ambassador, fought and won an eighteen year battle with Revenue Canada over counting courier food as tax deductible fuel. Now he is taking on the City of Toronto to have the Ontario Labour Relations Board to declare Toronto's city streets as safety hazards. Since the same employer that employed him as a Cycling Ambassador in 2005 is also responsible for the state of our streets, Scott figured he had a good case.
TOBMA (Toronto Bike Messengers Association) has been in the news a lot recently. Most recently they've held a press conference and a fundraiser after the death of Darcy Sheppard. Ryerson Free Press shows a new angle of TOBMA as the voice and union for messengers who currently work for sorry pay and conditions.
Ontario's Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller has criticized Toronto and Ontario for failing cyclists and pedestrians. Notch it up to another report (the first being the 1998 Coroner's report) that activists can wave in front of politicians as they waffle and drag their feet:
(Photo: Dundas West BIA)
Councillor Michael Walker is trying hard to appear to be the reasonable voice for citizens of Toronto plagued by cyclists. The solution is to make it harder to be a cyclist. The City's public works and infrastructure meeting will be discussing mandatory helmets and mandatory licensing for cyclists.
(Photo: van8)
If the strike doesn't delay things the City will be entering into negotiations with Bixi this fall for Toronto's new bike sharing system. Only two companies responded to the City's Request for Proposal of Interest this last spring. Only one of them qualified on technical grounds. Bixi was accepted to enter into negotiations. The loser, the "Public Nature Corporation of Toronto", is calling foul and asking for a do over.
"...We want you to give us the answers." And with that Val Dodge of Ward 29 Bikes got last Wednesday's East End/Danforth Cyclists' Confab underway.
Recent comments