2024 Fall/Winter Newsletter

Overview

In this newsletter you will hear about the many ups --- and some downs, courtesy of the province’s premier --- of cycling in our city. We are reminded of the importance of savouring our successes while anticipating the inevitable setbacks. One tradition we continued was to celebrate our city’s many road safety champions, including a new award we’ve named after our late founder and coordinator Mary Ann Neary. There’s also lots of news about the Bloor West Complete Street Extension, and updates on a range of two-wheeled initiatives. 

Celebrating Our Road Safety Champions

Each year since 2021, TCBC has recognized our city’s road safety champions. Each recipient is presented with a framed image from the collection of photographer (and cycling activist), Martin Reis. In addition to Bike Pirates (Wayne Scott Community Service Award), Ken Brown and David White (Mary Ann Neary Advocate of the Year Award), we presented the following awards:

• Suburban Road Safety Champion: Jennifer Alexander, who subsequently joined our Steering Committee. Her wide-ranging road safety work includes volunteering with our We Belong on Bloor campaign and sitting on the Steering Committee of Walk Toronto. She is also the founder of The Etobicoke Voice. 

• Business Road Safety Champion: Stephen Job, a principal of the sustainable development firm Tenblock. He was recognized for his advocacy for bike lanes on Yonge Street and his work on buildings that promote sustainable transportation.

Bloor West Complete Street Project

The success of the Bloor West Complete Street Extension was on display during an October 16 Town Hall organized by Etobicoke-Lakeshore Councillor Amber Morley, a staunch supporter of the project. The large number of supporters for the project surprised opponents, including Balance on Bloor -– a group of affluent businessmen with strong connections to Premier Ford. In fact, many comments at the meeting were so positive that some opponents later claimed that questions had been planted. City officials reported a 60% increase in ridership, while motor speeds have been reduced consistent with the city’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan. There was more “bad” news for opponents: the Deputy Fire Chief (now the Chief) reported --- to a bizarre scattering of boos --- that emergency response times in the area have been getting faster, not slower.

Our We Belong on Bloor campaign has been active along the Bloor West Village and Etobicoke sections of the Bloor Complete Street/bike lane since 2021. Before the council vote in June 2023 (a 21-1 vote in favour of the project), we distributed thousands of postcards, visited each business up to four times, and pushed councillors for approval. After installation we organized many events, including bike repair cafés, an Islington Village Bike Day, regular Koffee on the Kingsway gatherings, Park(ing) Day, bike rides (including with the local councillor), opinion articles, interviews, letters to the editor, and bike counts. And as residents at the Town Hall made clear, it’s not just about bike lanes – there are lots of safety benefits for pedestrians, including a safety buffer for the sidewalk created by the bike lane. 

On October 15, Ontario’s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced Bill 212, which would require cities to obtain provincial approval for new bike lanes that entail removal of a car lane. The Minister claimed --- without any supporting evidence --- that bike lanes cause congestion. He said, however, that bike lanes in Toronto would not be removed. A few weeks later, Premier Ford contradicted his minister announcing that bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge Street, and University Avenue would be removed. Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock and Saving You Time Act was passed by the Conservative majority at Queen’s Park on November 25. On December 11, Cycle Toronto represented by Ecojustice and Paliare Roland announced that the bike lane removal provisions would be challenged in court as a Charter violation.

It is clear that the way forward for Ontarians concerned about road safety, the troubling doctor shortage, homelessness (three homeless people in Toronto alone die each week), the housing crisis, and the Greenbelt scandal is to defeat the Ford Conservatives in the upcoming election. This is where Community Bikeways, collaborating with a diverse coalition across Ontario, will put its resources. Please contact us if you can help us in this mission.

Some Important Road Safety Improvements but a Tragic Year for Cycling in Toronto

It has been a tragic year for city residents who get around by bicycle. Five of six deaths happened on roads with no bike lanes, while a sixth death on Bloor Street West in Yorkville took place where a cyclist’s route in the bike lane was blocked by a construction bin.

There have, however, been some welcome steps forward in the fight for safe roads. In December, council approved a requirement for side-guards on city trucks, a safety measure recommended on at least two occasions by the province’s chief and regional coroners. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has also promised to better enforce the law against illegal car parking in bike lanes by installing licence-plate readers along bike lanes to deter illegal conduct.

At Bloor and St. George, a busy cycling and walking gateway to the University of Toronto, a protected intersection was installed, following a model from other jurisdictions. The re-built intersection was initially found to have defective curbs, which were quickly replaced. 

Islington Village Bike Day

Our June 1 Islington Village Bike Day kicked off Toronto’s Bike Month. Community Bikeways offered not only bike repairs but also bicycle skills instruction, cycling information, and an opportunity to speak to Deputy Mayor Amber Morley, the local councillor.

What’s Up in Scarborough

The culture of cycling continues to grow in Scarborough. The fourth annual Huntingwood Day, led by TEC, celebrated the first phase of installing new protected cycling infrastructure on Huntingwood Drive. Participants in a group ride of the North Scarborough Green Loop tried out Bike Share bicycles for free. Next year TEC looks forward to celebrating the expansion of Bike Share into Agincourt and other parts of north Scarborough.

A highlight of the summer was “Ride the Meadoway.” Seventy cyclists, the majority from Scarborough, gathered on a beautiful July day, many of them riding the full length of The Meadoway.  This multi-use path stretches from Scarborough's Golden Mile (Eglinton Avenue) to the Toronto Zoo and Rouge National Urban Park. The Meadoway is transforming a hydro corridor in Scarborough into a vibrant 16-kilometre stretch of urban greenspace and meadowland that will connect neighbourhoods and become one of Canada’s largest linear urban parks. Staff from Bike Share Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) engaged the crowd at rest stops. Delicious free Jamaican Patties from Patty Times at a rest break were a highlight of the experience.

Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards (CRASH)

While the federal and provincial government continue to try to pass the buck on action to address the greater lethality of pickups and large SUVs in crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, CRASH continues to push back. The group is now Canada-wide with representation in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec. In November, the coalition (thanks to the work of law student, Nick Kinnish) filed comments with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in support of a rule-making proposal for the re-design of vehicles to reduce serious-to-fatal crashes. We then filed an environmental petition --- under the auspices of Canada’s Auditor General --- to the Ministers of Transport, Environment & Climate Change, and Health calling for action, including warnings on the flood of ads touting pickups and their deadly features, especially high front-ends that increase the risk of death to pedestrians and cyclists in crashes.

Velo Odds and Ends

The objective of Park(ing) Day is to visually demonstrate the massive amount of space that cars occupy in our cities even when idle, that is to say, when parked. Our installation this year, organized by TCBC coordinator Jessie Ye, was set up in Bloor West Village. In the two parking spots that we took over (and paid for) we were not only able to accommodate a station where visitors could sit and enjoy coffee and cookies but also a bike repair stand.

TCBC - University of Windsor Law

In our collaboration with the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, we greatly benefitted during the fall semester from the valuable contributions to our CRASH work by law student Nick Kinnish. Before beginning his law studies, Nick completed a masters in philosophy about the role of institutional trust in vaccine hesitancy. Nick has plenty of ideas about how to tap the huge potential of Windsor --- Canada's automotive capital --- as a more walk- and bicycle-friendly city. 

Lily Cheng ride from Willowdale to the waterfront 

On September 14 we helped marshal a ride organized by North York Councillor Lily Cheng. An energetic group of 80 riders, including the councillor and her staff, rode from Willowdale all the way to the city’s waterfront.

Weston - Home of the Bicycle

In July 2024 we collaborated with the Weston Village BIA for a bike repair café at the farmer’s market. Our mechanic Jibril Derrie ensured that riders’ bikes were made fit for the road. We returned to Weston, known as the Home of the Bicycle, for "A Ride for the Ages," which explored the Toronto area's bicycle-making history. Curbside Cycle hosted the launch of the ride with coffee and treats, while Mike Green of the Seniors Climate Action Network (SCAN) provided logistical and other support. The Town of Weston was home to the giant Canada Cycle & Motor (CCM) factory from 1918 to 1983 after moving from The Junction where CCM operations began in 1899.

Steering Committee

We have made some important additions to our Steering Committee (check our website for the updated members of the team) including Jennifer Alexander, founder of The Etobicoke Voice. Meanwhile, we welcome back one of our own founders, Janet Joy Wilson, who has now returned from a work sojourn in New York City.

Support Community Bikeways

We are a fiercely independent group that shuns government and corporate donations. This approach allows us to carry out, without restraint, our mission of holding City Hall and other levels of government to account for their road safety, climate, and cycling plans. 

We nonetheless gratefully accept individual donations that help us carry out our mission and to hold fun events that lift spirits. If you are in a position to donate or to volunteer, please email us (or direct deposit) at Community.Bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com

Wishing you safe rides and Happy Holidays!

The Community Bikeways Steering Committee: Jessie, Ersan, Michael B, Michael H, Bob, Janet Joy, Jennifer, Robert, Roger, Jonathan, Mark Fernando, and Albert.

Webmaster: Ian Mills