Summer 2022

Welcome to our Summer Newsletter!

With the last City Council meeting of this term behind us, all eyes are focused on Toronto’s municipal elections scheduled for October 24. But in the meantime, this newsletter highlights recent Coalition developments since March’s e-newsletter, including:

• Our letter to the Ontario Chief Coroner calling for a review of all deaths in the province involving large pickups and SUVs;

• Our tour of the proposed Toronto Loop Recreational Trail;

• An update on the Bells on Kingston campaign by our friends in Scarborough to extend the Bloor-Danforth bikeway east to Kingston Road and beyond – complementing the TCBC We Belong on Bloor campaign in the city’s west end;

• Our strategy to address illegal parking in bike lanes; and

• Our 2nd Annual Community Advocacy Awards.

Taking Action Against Large Pickups and SUVs

Last week, in collaboration with Friends and Families for Safe Streets, Walk Toronto, and other groups from major cities across Ontario, we submitted a formal letter to the Ontario Chief Coroner calling for a review of road deaths involving pickup trucks and SUVs.

The letter was motivated by a growing body of research that shows pickups and SUVs are implicated in a disproportionate number of road deaths. Several factors underlie the greater danger, including the vehicles’ greater size and weight; blind spots given the driver's height above the road; and the blunt vehicle front end, which is more likely to cause deadly impacts than conventional sedans.

A review of local police data was consistent with this research. In 2021, pickups and SUVs were involved in 45% of all road deaths in Toronto, compared to 20% for conventional cars.

The letter also calls for an updated death review for heavy trucks taking into consideration new safety measures and technologies.

The letter got significant media attention, including as a lead story on the CBC's The National.

Toronto’s Loop Trail

On Sunday, April 24, TCBC members Albert, Mark, Arthur and Robert joined urban planner Al Rezoski for a ride covering the proposed Loop Trail - an 81-kilometre recreational loop consisting of the Martin Goodman Trail, Humber River Trail, Finch Hydro Corridor, and the Don River trail system.

The initiative – announced by Mayor John Tory in January 2020 – has the potential to boost cycle tourism in Toronto, but several gaps still need to be filled in. Robert makes the case for completing the Loop Trail in his Toronto Star op-ed on June 29.

One of these gaps – the Mid Humber Gap – saw City Council endorse environmental assessment Option 1A during their July 19 meeting, which keeps the Humber River Trail within the valley while crossing over to the Weston Golf & Country Club. Detailed design work on closing this gap may begin as early as next year.

Goodbye Bells on Danforth! Hello Bells on Kingston!

Imagine safe streets for all from Mississauga to Pickering.

Building on the success of similar campaigns for the Bloor and Danforth bike lanes, which now see thousands of cyclists a day, Bells on Kingston (including our coalition members Bells on Danforth and Toronto East Cyclists) launched this summer with an inaugural ride on Thursday, July 21. By engaging the local community along the Danforth-Kingston corridor in Scarborough, this campaign hopes to build momentum and support for a complete street design that benefits cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, businesses, and the community.

Cyclists from across Toronto are invited to join these upcoming rides:

• Sunday, September 18 – 50 years of cycling advocacy in Scarborough ride hosted by Toronto East Cyclists (Facebook event)

• Sunday, October 2 – Safe Streets for all “All Candidates” ride 

You can check out Bells on Kingston on their website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Illegal Parking in Bike Lanes

Illegal parking in the bike lanes is not only frustrating to cyclists, but a serious road safety hazard. The matter requires a coordinated strategy among various city divisions and politicians. In the past, we've left some of those divisions off the hook...but no more.

Over the last few months, we’ve:

• Met with police and urged them to expand enforcement by Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs) on bikes (who generally don't patrol after 6 PM or on weekends);

• Taken a ‘ride along’ tour with PEO Erin Urquhart;

• Met with senior transportation staff to talk about the importance of protected bike lanes and other measures to pre-empt illegal parking;

• Written to Uber and Lyft; and

• Pressured Municipal Licensing and Standards (ML&S) to include relevant instruction in training of vehicle-for-hire drivers. ML&S is accountable to the public, but it has in the past escaped attention.

Community Advocacy Awards

In May 2022, we announced the winners of our second annual Community Advocacy Awards. Please ring your bells for:

• Gig Workers United - Wayne Scott Community Service Award ($1000)

• Jess Spieker (Friends & Families for Safe Streets) - Advocate of the Year 

• Dave Edwards (nrbi) - Business Road Safety Champion

• Nithursan Elamuhilan - Suburban Road Safety Champion 

• Sustainable Mississauga (and Rahul Mehta) - Emerging Road Safety Champion (Group)

Our Emerging Road Safety Champion (Individual) – Ingrid Buday – has been using her passion for data to prepare StoryMaps for various campaigns including Safe Parkside, the Vulnerable Road User Coalition, and our We Belong on Bloor.

She has been advocating against excessive noise – including through her recent Toronto Star op-ed – while City Council approved requests for improved noise enforcement (e.g., noise cameras, cracking down of illegal vehicle modifications) and developing a plan to phase out gas-powered landscaping equipment. She is a recent addition to our steering committee.

Velo Odds and Ends

• The Tour de Thorncliffe Bike-a-Thon raised almost $7,000 in support of a camp for autistic children. Congratulations to the Women’s Cycling Network and its partners for their initiative and community spirit. The TCBC was more than happy to participate.

• On April 6, Mississauga City Council opted to once again delay the Bloor Street Integrated Project due to continued opposition from one of the residents’ associations, despite a clear majority of participants at the March 9 community meeting voicing their support.

• On the provincial front, the Vulnerable Road User Law (Bill 54) – which our group supported – died when the June 2 provincial election was called, and ultimately won by Doug Ford. We will keep an eye out for this law’s re-introduction at Queen’s Park.

• Despite seeing as many as 36,000 people cycling on a single day, Toronto City Council voted to scrap ActiveTO on Lake Shore West at the June 15 City Council meeting. Suspecting that Mayor John Tory may have been unduly influenced by Toronto Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro (Tory and Shapiro serve related Rogers corporate entities), who advocated scrapping the program, a local citizen filed an integrity complaint against the mayor on the grounds that he should have recused himself from the matter.

• A new campaign called Yonge4All is working to build support for making the Midtown Yonge Complete Street Pilot permanent when City Council decides in January 2023. The group hosted a well attended ride with Mayor John Bauters of Emeryville, California and launched a petition which has over 1,400 signatures so far.

• Speaking of Toronto’s municipal election, the deadline for candidates to register was on Friday, August 19. Seven incumbent councillors will not seek re-election, while urbanist Gil Penalosa is challenging Tory for Mayor. Be sure to vote, and we encourage everyone to volunteer and/or donate to your candidate(s) of choice.

Wishing you safe travels!

Donna, Arthur, Robert, Michael H, Mary Ann, Albert, Michael B, Marc, Mark, Jonathan, Ingrid, Erşan, and Camille