Happy Friday everyone. Here's all the news from the past week.
The Quest for Complete Streets in Toronto
The private automobile is the only method of transportation that is routinely given a bye past the first round of design; everything else has to be studied and justified or is relegated to the margins as an afterthought. Even the way that streets are designed and funded is stacked in favour of the car: design most frequently begins with vehicle lanes—how many and how wide—and then tries to squeeze all other users into whatever space remains. Sorry, we need four wide lanes for cars. But sidewalks? Benches? Bike lanes? Crosswalks? Those are frills and we can't afford them. Some suggest that we'd arrive at a more equitable division of space if we designed from the edges in: start with sidewalks, buffers, and space for cyclists, and then squeeze cars into whatever space is left in the middle.National Post Editorial: Time to stop giving bicylists a free ride
Everybody knows that drivers of automobiles must pay their way. To drive on city roads, they pay heavy gasoline taxes to offset the cost. Drivers pay to park. They pay for car licences and driver's licences, which are all taxes. They pay heavy third-party liability insurance fees in case they run somebody over or ram into another car. All this is fair and just, right?Toronto Marathon features Paramedics on Two Wheels
This past weekend, the 50,000 or so competitors and spectators at the Waterfront Marathon in Toronto were able to get a bandage, oxygen or splint applied by a professional in mere minutes if they needed it.Bike Parking Empty at Ryerson - Why?
Out of its 65 racks, only 13 are actually being used, according to ancillary services. Campus bike thefts reached their peak in 2005 and the problem continues. Despite a colourful mural marking the location, student cyclist Shannon Jager has never heard of the service, which can be found by a laneway near Bond and Dundas Streets. "I didn't even know we had such a thing," said Jager, who uses public bike racks to store her bike.Cycling's Enemy is not the Car
Cycling's enemy is not the car; it is the idiot. And idiots travel by foot, car, and bicycle. If anything, the bicycle has more in common with the car than it does with the pedestrian, since the bicycle is a vehicle too.
Yonge St. Bike Lane Ribbon Cutting - Tues, Sept 29th @ 11:30am
Media are invited to join Councillor Pam McConnell as she officially opens the Yonge Street pedestrian promenade and bicycle lanes. The section of Yonge Street that has been improved is located between Front Street and Queens Quay.Darcy Allan Sheppard was a good man, bike couriers tell media
A local bicycle courier’s association addressed the media this afternoon during a press conference to challenge the negative media portrayal of the cyclist killed during an altercation with Michael Bryant last month.
BikeCamp TO: Sat, October 17, 2009
It's essentially a series of simultaneous participant led/generated workshops - all related to various aspects of cycling, and the politics of cycling advocacy. BikeCamp is an opportunity for bike union members, would be members, and the wider cycling advocacy community, to come together and jam on a variety of ideas, campaigns, events.
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