This week's

Globe: Toronto proposals put transit ahead of repair backlog
For the first time, the capital budget sets aside money to complete the city's bike plan by 2012, with construction of 410 kilometres of bike lanes, 122 kilometres of shared lanes and 83 kilometres of off-road paths over the next five years.
Torontoist: Cyclists Now Getting Doored for .7 Fewer Kilometers
City Council finally voted on the vexed question of Annette Street cycling infrastructure, and after a fairly easy-going discussion approved full bike lanes in a 20-11 vote. Councillor Saundercook's bid to delay implementation of the bike lanes in favour of the lower-impact (and less safe) sharrows for two years failed. Councillor Heaps, chair of the Cycling Committee, introduced the motion which restored city staffers' original recommendation for full bike lanes, and was strongly supported by Councillors Perks and Giambrone. The 209 citizens who wrote in to council, every single one of them in favour of bike lanes rather than sharrows, and the cycling advocates that have tirelessly made their case to the community, deserve equal billing for bringing this one home.
Spacing: City budget moves on TTC, roads and cycling
While the biggest dollar figures were reserved for TTC and roads, bike lanes play a prominent role in the $1.6 billion spending plan. Mayor David Miller, budget chief Shelley Carroll and city manager Joe Pennachetti all highlighted the investment of $70.3 million to be spent installing bike lanes between 2009 and 2012. Starting with $8 million in 2009, Miller said that with those funds and the streamlined approvals process, the bike plan will be completed by 2012. The outcome of the Annette bike lane debate at today’s meeting of City Council should be an indicator of whether the City will be able to spend the entire cycling budget.
Globe: 'Great victory' ends tussle over Bloor Street makeover
The city of Toronto scored a "great victory" yesterday, according to Councillor Kyle Rae, when a three-judge panel of the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed an application to halt long-planned improvements to Bloor Street, the city's most expensive shopping mall. And prominent retailer William Ashley China, which led the battle against the $20-million makeover, suffered an embarrassing rebuke - criticized for its "unduly delayed" challenge to a legitimate approval process and ordered to pay the city's costs in the action. The 14-page judgment accepted the city's contention that the retailer had trumped up its arguments about negative environmental impacts only after failing to obtain "a number of special requests," such as a parking lay-by in front of the store, in order to "improve its own financial position."
Star: More than bike lanes at stake
Toronto City Council this week will discuss whether to create designated road space for cyclists on Annette Street between Runnymede Road and Jane Street. But that discussion is about more than a few hundred metres of potential new bike lanes in one neighbourhood. It is also a significant test of council's political leadership and commitment to building a better Toronto.
Globe: Councillor fears '500-kilometre discussion' over 700 metres of bicycle lanes
What should have been the routine approval of new bicycle lanes along six blocks of one wide, largely residential street has become a messy standoff threatening to cause long hours of hot debate when council meets today. "I hope we don't have a 500-kilometre discussion for 700 metres of bike lanes," said Councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of the city cycling committee and champion of a new fast-track process meant to paint hundreds of kilometres of long-planned but backlogged routes. "It's just not worth it."
Star: Dots mark the spot for bicyclists to trigger traffic light
You may have seen them, without knowing what they were: three white dots, each about the size of a dinner plate, painted on the road at intersections throughout the city. The mysterious markings, dubbed "bike dots," are one of the lesser-known and least-advertised components of the city's ambitious bike plan.
Star: Navigating cycling's 'black hole'
A new project by the city's cycling committee and the Toronto Cyclists Union asks cyclists to suggest quick fixes to make the area – bordered by the Gardiner Expressway, Bloor St., Bathurst St. and Keele St./Parkside Dr. – more bike-friendly. "It's tricky," said Yvonne Bambrick, spokesperson for the bike union, who describes the area as "a black hole" in a city that, in general, has a scant network of paths and trails.
Eye Weekly: Share and share a bike
Around 10am Oct. 24, a large flatbed truck pulled up to the southeast corner of Bloor and Spadina. As it unloaded seven sleek black-and-silver bikes, matching modular locking racks and a solar-power automated kiosk onto the street, a trio of workers dressed in matching red rain-jackets began demonstrating Montreal’s popular bike sharing system to onlookers. Bixi — a combination of bicycle and taxi — had peddled its way into town to show off its fancy new hardware to an envious cycling community.
Star: A Canadian in Amsterdam discovers the downside of a cyclist's paradise
In Amsterdam, cyclists frequently yell and ring their bells at pedestrians, especially tourists. They are not on the defensive, as Toronto cyclists frequently are: They know the space is theirs and they control it skilfully and aggressively.
Star: The latest skirmish in the bike wars
Despite the small-town feel of the neighbourhood, it's been swept into the bickering and bureaucracy of City Hall – and the battle to make Toronto a more sustainable, bike-friendly place.

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