Eleanor McMahon thinks it’s time to change the conversation around cycling in Ontario. McMahon is the founder of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, who will be hosting the fifth annual Ontario Bike Summit this week in Toronto. She says that we need to stop talking about things like bike lanes and other bicycle infrastructure as a zero [...]
If you’ve taken your first trip to the Islands this year, or tried to bike (or walk, or drive) east-west on Queens Quay lately, you’re surely aware that the area remains in a state of major flux as the City works on demolishing, rebuilding and constructing the strip as part of a huge revitalization project [...]
Cyclists and motorists take a lot of flack from each other for bending the rules of the road. But even the police will tell you that it’s pretty much impossible not to break the law. With bike month around the corner, we learned what it’s like to try to follow every single rule. read full [...]
How do you get around your city? Do you cycle? Would you like to cycle? What influences your decision? There have been numerous attempts to encourage a shift towards active transportation and cycling. The most high profile of these have focused on the construction of physical infrastructure such as separated bicycle lanes, bike parking and [...]
Via Treehugger Few posts that I have written brought out so many commenters, so much debate, as my question, Should Cyclists be Allowed to Blow Go Through Stop Signs? and Why Cyclists Blow Through Stop Signs: It’s Physics. In both, I make the case that stop signs exist primarily as a form of speed control for cars rather than a [...]
In late 2012, the City of Toronto announced the completion of its first separated bike lanes (cycle tracks) on Sherbourne Street. By physically separating cyclists from motor vehicle traffic, cycle tracks are a key way to increase safety, de-stress cycling, boost ridership and reduce conflicts between road users in Toronto. Cycle Toronto conducted an on-line [...]
On Friday, council voted to restart construction of a bike station in the building’s underground parking lot, a project that gained notoriety when the mayor and his brother fiercely criticized the fact that it will include showers. Despite Mayor Rob Ford’s objections however, the project passed easily by a vote of 26-5. Before the decision, [...]
Mayor Rob Ford opposes adding showers for cyclists commuting to city hall but he wanted to look at installing a splash pad for kids as part of renovations to Nathan Phillips Square.Ford has slammed as a complete waste of money plans to park 380 bikes in the underground parking garage and provide a $130,000 change [...]
A cyclist rides past BIXI bikes in Toronto on Wednesday. BIXI Toronto Inc. borrowed $4.5-million from the city, and has a loan balance of $3.9-million as of Dec. 31, 2012, according to a city report going before the mayor’s executive committee next week. (Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail) For a city with big ambitions, [...]
We reported on Monday that Bixi Toronto had sent emails out to subscribers with the option of renewing their memberships early to lock in 2012 prices (ie. $95/year, plus tax). It was not evident then what kind of price increases were in store for 2013. I emailed Bixi and City Staff to find out what [...]
According to an email I received today, Bixi is raising it’s rental rates. The current rates are $5 for 24 hours; $12 for 72 hours; $40 for 30 days and $95 for a year. There seems to be no information regarding what the new rates will be online yet. I’ve emailed Bixi and city staff [...]
Few cyclists would dispute the claim that Toronto needs more bike lanes. In 2012, we saw a net gain of exactly zero kilometres of new bike lanes, thanks to the removal of the Jarvis lane and the introduction of the separated Sherbourne lane. We are lagging far behind scheduled progress outlined in the City of [...]
Three dandies took a ride on the new “Cyclist Detour” that has been organized by Waterfront Toronto during their Queens Quay redevelopment. It is all part of a larger redevelopment project which involves all three levels of government and a swath of waterfront real estate. Still, the central portion of Queens Quay is very busy [...]
According to data covering Oct. 31, 2011, to July 31, 2012, and analyzed by the Star’s Matthew Cole, more than 4,000 motorists have been hit with the bike lane fine for parking on a street with sharrows. Read the full post: “Map: Parking tickets for bike lane violations” on the Star.
Toronto as a city is hardly overburdened with cycle lanes. There are just over 90 kms of bike tracks – not including off-street trails – winding their way through the region, often disjointed and rarely leading to or from anywhere useful. In comparison, the city ranks roughly on par with Vancouver, a city with a [...]
