Photo courtesy of bikelanediary
A lot has been happening this summer in cycling news. Here are just a few recent items from our city and beyond.
Cycling Advisory Committee needs warm bodies
The City of Toronto is looking for volunteers interested in serving on the Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee (TCAC).
Fill out the information package and application form online or contact Frank Baldassini, Committee Secretary, TCAC, at 416-395-7352 or fbalda@toronto.ca.
Deadline for applications is Wednesday July 18 at 4:30 p.m. — that’s tomorrow!
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If you don’t want to sit on the committee you can still tell the City what you think at the Toronto Cycling Consultation Session.
The consultation will be held next Thursday, July 26th, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at St. Lawrence Hall, 157 King Street East (at Jarvis.)
The City of Toronto wants to hear your new ideas to help set cycling priorities for the next five years.
As we reach the halfway point in the Toronto Bike Plan, this first session will be an open house format to:
– learn about the status of current City projects from staff
– give feedback and comments
– participate in activities to help prioritize bike projects and time lines
Share your thoughts and visions in moving the cycling agenda forward with projects that support both current and new cyclists.
All public input will be used in:
– a report to City Council
– on-line record on City website
– forming the agenda for the next public consultation session
There will be kiosks setup, each highlighting a part of the bike plan with achievements to date, and a staff person present to hear your ideas. It will be informal but, it is important for those of us attending to come prepared with priorities. Staff will take this feedback and incorporate it into a progress report and a 5-year strategy that will go to council sometime in the fall.
For more information, please contact bikeweek@toronto.ca or check out the City’s cycling web pages at www.toronto.ca/cycling.
There are also more details on how the input will be used here at biketoronto.ca.
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TCAT calls on TTC to design for pedestrians and cyclists in its Transit City plan
At the July 11 TTC meeting, TCAT identified its concerns with the TTC’s implementation work plan for the Transit City Plan, and provided recommendations to improve the process. Our immediate concern was that preliminary fieldwork and site investigation are already underway for 3 of the rapid transit corridors and all 3 have proposed bike lanes, on all or part of the street, in the Bike Plan.
We wanted to stress the need to consider bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure early on in the study and planning work for these street redesigns, avoiding the situations we find on Spadina and St. Clair, which are hostile to pedestrians and cyclist in some sections. We received a very positive response from the councillors present. Councillor Suzan Hall moved that TTC staff report back on TCAT’s recommendations in the next Transit City report. TCAT feels that this was the best possible result, as the TTC has been directed to consider TCAT’s recommendations as they move forward. We will continue to monitor the Transit City Plan and implementation.
If you would like to see TCAT’s written submission to the TTC, please e-mail fred@torontocat.ca.
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TTC approves full roll-out of bike racks on buses
Also at the July 11 TTC meeting, the bike racks on buses recommendation passed so we should see bike racks on buses — old and new — on all routes by the end of 2010.
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City road reconstruction process failing cyclists
Martin Koob of biketoronto.ca has posted a very informative piece explaining the flawed road reconstruction planning and implementation process, which often leaves out bike lane planning even where it is called for in the Bike Plan.
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Paris is for lovers… of bikes
The Globe and CBC reported on Paris’ new citywide program involving more than 10,000 bikes in a bid to cut gridlock and give citizens a greener way to get around town. The program, named Vélib — a blend of vélo and liberté — allows users to swipe their credit card and take and return a bike from one of 750 stations in the city.
R.I.P. BikeShare.
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Really green in New York
Check out this new green high visibility bike lane in NYC. Streetfilms provides this great video of the lime lane in action.
Why can’t we have this in Toronto?
