RSS
What might be Toronto's shortest bikelane is on Chester Hill Avenue and it has just gained an important feature... bikelane stencils!
Thanks to Val Dodge who posted the above photo and has a nice rundown of how a 70 metre bikelane (on one side of a one-way street) has taken 5 months to (almost) complete.
I'm chalking the slow progress up to city staff forgetting about Chester Hill Avenue because it's small and concentrating on the "bigger" bikelanes (yet all bikelanes are created equal...) like Royal York and Rogers Road.
The Chester Hill Avenue Bikelane is now part of the Toronto Bikelane Map.
Labels: infrastructure, news
Progress has been slow so far on the West Toronto Railpath - and some people may have even forgot about it, as designs for it were unveiled way back in March 2007, but the South Junction Triangle Residents Association (who live near the north end of the railpath) are reporting that preliminary construction has begun, and have some photos:
The above will eventually look something like this:
In case you haven't heard of the Railpath yet, it is intended to be:
"more than a park. It will be a strategic green transportation corridor running diagonally across the street grid in the West end of the City. It will help change the way people travel in Toronto’s West end and it will enable them to make more environmentally-sound transportation choices."
This first stage runs from just north of Dupont down to Dundas, with plans to eventually extend it all the way to the King & Strachan area - providing cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians with a continuous, car-free path from the west end to downtown.
Labels: infrastructure, news
Toronto has recently finished extending the Royal York Bikelane from Delroy Drive to the Mimico Creek. Anyone familiar with a map of bikelanes in Toronto knows that bikelanes are intermittent on Royal York.... so far.
Even better, the city is throwing an opening party for the lanes (as they recently did with the Rogers Road lanes):
Come join the City's cycling staff celebrate the opening of this new bike lane on Tuesday July 15th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on the east side of Royal York Road, at Castlebar Road . Free juice and snacks will be provided.
Thanks to BikingToronto reader Sara, here are some photos of the new bikelanes at Coney Road:
I've added these new lanes to the Bikelanes Map, and the Bikelane Opening Event to the Events Calendar. :)
Labels: infrastructure, news
About a month ago, we posted about the upcoming Bloor Street Transformation project, which will not include bikelanes (although the City is looking at the possibility Bloor-Danforth Bikelanes) or even bikeposts, as the Business Improvement Area sponsored plan apparently does not want cyclists in the "posh" shopping district of Toronto.
There's an Information Night tomorrow night about the project, and it's always good when cyclists remind others that streets are public spaces, and cyclists have as much right to public space as cars and pedestrians.
Information Night information from TaketheTooker:
Hey folks, the Bloor Street BIA is hosting a Bloor Street Transformation Information Night on Tues, and we have to be out in force! Numbers are everything! Can each of you attend, and invite a few others to come along?
For your info, Council recently approved the reconstruction plan on Bloor between Ave. Rd. and Church St., which will remove car parking but will NOT include bike lanes! Let the BIA know what you think about their $25 million dollar plan which excludes bikes.
——–
Bloor Street Transformation Information Night
Tues. July 8 at 6 p.m.
Marriott Bloor-Yorkville Hotel, 90 Bloor St. East
Forest Hill BallroomLearn the details of this exciting project and see the new design, which will transform Bloor St! The architects and City of Toronto Technical Services will present the new streetscape plan and proposed construction
schedule.RSVP your attendance via email to urbandesign@bloor-yorkville.com or call 416 928 3553 x 26
Labels: infrastructure, news
The Toronto Urban Renewal Network (TURN) has been working hard to help ensure that the South Kingsway - Queensway interchange becomes friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians in the upcoming scheduled refurbishment of the intersection.
They need your help to ensure planners and politicians know that lots of Torontonians want less emphasis on auto-centric planning and more attention to cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure.
Here is a recent email from TURN that lays out the information for you:
The City of Toronto has close to a million bucks to spend on a substantial redesign of this 1950s style expressway interchange. The original 'link road' plan, which included eliminating three of four ramps, would have created a safer, more accessible and human scale environment for 2,000 new residents moving into the area.
Unfortunately, a powerful local ratepayers association (Swansea Area Ratepayers Association - SARA) wants to maintain the status quo and has decided to support a fairly feeble band-aid solution that the city has just come up with (see attached). TURN is supporting the city's original 'link road' plan or, at the very least, request that city staff go back to the drawing board to come up with a better proposal with the help of a community design charrette. This would ensure that city policies (OP, bike plan, transit city plan, pedestrian strategy, climate change plan) and future Metrolinx directions are met. In other words, TURN wants transportation-related policy to be implemented when it literally 'hits the road'!
Things are coming to a head on Monday, July 7th @ 2:00PM when the new city report goes to Etobicoke-York Community Council (EYCC) where it will be debated and deputations will be heard. SARA is pulling out all the stops to get their members and other 1950s thinkers out to this meeting -- they've brought out over 90 people to previous meetings. TURN must do the same. Would you be willing to make a deputation and/or write a letter supporting TURN's position? Here are a few reasons to do so:
1) Poor consultation process (e.g. new residents not informed, summer timing of report, outdated project info on city website, Saundercook neglect -- and comparison to far-superior transport consultations like Jarvis Street and Bloor-Dundas West)
2) Poor traffic operation/design solution (many safety, accessibility issues for all modes not resolved)
3) Inconsistency with policies (e.g. OP, bike plan, pedestrian plan, climate change, health, Metrolinx)
4) Legal issues (e.g. Planning Act, City of Toronto Act- Road Classification project
report 'routing' policies)
5) Financial/Economic Implications (e.g. city has $ to spend NOW to do it right, gas prices).
6) Inconsistency with other projects and studies (e.g. Queensway Bike Lanes, Western Waterfront Study, 6 Points, Gardiner EA)
For more SKQI project history, see http://www.torenewal.ca/?q=node/3. To register to make a deputation, see http://www.torenewal.ca/?q=node/10. If you cannot be there in person, a letter template can be found at http://www.torenewal.ca/?q=node/6 -- feel free to customize this letter and send to clerk ASAP - by July 3rd is best but up until July 6th latest.
Thanks very much for considering this request. Please let us know if you can attend the July 7th EYCC meeting or if you have any questions.
Toronto Urban Renewal Network
Labels: infrastructure, news
City of Toronto Cycling staff are doing great things in 2008 - a great example is this party for the "official" opening of the Rogers Road Bike Lane:
The Rogers bike lane has been installed from Oakwood Avenue to Old Weston Road. Come join the City's cycling staff celebrate this new bike lane on Thursday July 3rd from 8 to 10 a.m. at Boon Avenue & Rogers Road. There will be free coffee, juice and treats! ZM Cycle & Fitness will also provide free bike repairs at the event.
The installation of the Rogers bike lane brings the total length of bike lanes in Toronto at 78.6 kilometers. The Bike Plan call for the installation of nearly 500 kilometers of bike lanes by 2012 - and this new bike lane brings us one step closer to achieving our goal.
In the event of heavy rain or thunderstorms, please join us on our rain date on Wednesday July 9th.
I hope they keep doing this for bike lanes as they are installed...
If you have questions about this event, contact Alex Bowron with the City of Toronto at (416) 338-5091 or bugs@toronto.ca
Labels: events, infrastructure, news
Curious about the 2008 implementation of the Bikeway Network (the bikelane part of the City's BikePlan)?
If you don't know what the Bikeway Network is, here's a very good description from the City's website:
Principle:Here's what has happened in regards to the Bikeway Network so far, and what is planned for the rest of the year, and all streets linked go to a GoogleMap of the bikelane (thanks to Anthony from the Toronto Cyclists Union for forwarding the information to me):
All Toronto residents will be within a five minute bicycle ride to the bikeway network.
Objectives:
The City of Toronto will:
* Complete the bikeway network in 10 years;
* Ensure the safe and comfortable year round operation of bikeways through design, signage, enforcement and maintenance; and
* Connect Toronto's network to bikeways in adjacent municipalities.
The installation of bicycle lanes on Rogers Road has just been completed. These lanes, approved by City Council in the Fall of 2007, extend from Old Weston Road to Oakwood Avenue, a distance of 2.6 kilometres.You should also note the following:The following projects are approved by City Council, awaiting installation (9.1 km):
- Logan Avenue from Dundas Street East (including contra-flow lane from Gerrard Street East to Simpson Avenue) and Carlaw Avenue from Riverdale Avenue, 0.9 km
- Yonge Street from Queens Quay to Front Street, 0.6 km
- Royal York Road from Delroy Drive to Mimico Creek, 1.5 km
- Stephen Drive from The Queensway to Berry Road, 0.8 km
- The Pond Road from Sentinel Road to Shoreham Drive, 0.9 km
- Shaw Street (contra-flow lane) from Barton Avenue to Dupont Street, 0.6 km
- Shaw Street from Dupont Street to south of Acores Street/Wychrest Avenue, 0.2 km
- Wellesley Street from Queen's Park Crescent West to Parliament Street, 2.0 km
- Vaughan Road from St. Clair Avenue West to Winona Drive, 1.6 km
The following projects have been approved by the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on June 4, and will be considered at the June 23, 24 City Council Meeting (7.6 km):
- Annette Street from Runnymede Road to Dundas Street West, 1.8 km
- Dupont Street from Dundas Street West to Lansdowne Avenue, 1.0 km
- Marlee Avenue from Roselawn Avenue to Dell Park Avenue, 1.4 km
- Pharmacy Avenue from south of Denton Avenue to south of Alvinston Road, 3.4 km
The following projects will be considered by the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee at its June 27 meeting (6.8 km):
- Stanley Avenue (contra-flow lane) from Royal York Road to Superior Avenue, 0.6 km
- Royal York Road from Cavell Avenue to Manitoba Street, 0.8 km
- Simcoe Street/Lower Simcoe Street from Queens Quay West to Front Street West, 0.6 km
- Birchmount Road from Kingston Road to south of St. Clair Avenue East, 2.4 km
- Conlins Road from Military Trail to Sheppard Avenue East, 2.4 km
What bikelane are you looking forward to? Discuss it the BikingToronto Community.
Labels: infrastructure, news
Not all things are going bad for cyclists on Bloor St. The Royal Ontario Museum has unveiled 12 artful bikeracks that not only secure bikes but serve as sidewalk sculpture. Each takes it's inspiration from an exhibit within the museum.
If you're interested in more artful bikeracks, there are a few in Parkdale as well as others unveiled this spring near Yonge & Lawrence.
What other neighbourhoods could benefit from custom artsy bikeracks? I bet some pretty nice distinctive ones would fit well into places like the Gerrard India Bazaar, the Danforth, and Little Italy, to name a few.
Discuss it in the BikingToronto Community.
[top photo from the Star, bottom from the Post]
Labels: infrastructure, news
It looks like construction is starting this summer on the $20-million "makeover" of Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Church Street, according to the Globe and Mail.
All on-street parking on Bloor is being taken out, surprisingly with the support of most merchants along the stretch.
Cycling advocates are concerned about there not being any bikelanes in the plans, even though City of Toronto Staff are looking at the possibility of Bloor-Danforth bikelanes running across the city.
Daniel Egan, the city's manager of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, said the narrower road and lack of parked cars would make the new Bloor better for cyclists, although activists disputed this.
Mr. Egan said traffic volumes - 30,000 cars a day - meant that the new narrower Bloor still needed four lanes and could not accommodate full-size bike lanes. However, he said the street could be retrofitted with bike lanes later.
I'm more concerned with something I read a few months ago in a TCAT Newsletter - that there are NO plans to install ANY bikeracks in this plan.
Rich people bike too, you know.
Still... it is nice to see some space previously devoted to cars being given to pedestrians.
I've started a discussion thread for this in the BikingToronto Community.
[rendering above from Bloor-Yorkville.com]
Labels: infrastructure, news
Most of the Annette Street Bikelane has been approved by City Council, but a short portion between Runnymede and Jane has been held up by bikelane-phobic area merchants.
Essentially, businesses think bikelanes will hurt their businesses, and want the bikelane moved to a parallel street, while cycling advocates are trying to convince them that bikelanes slow down car traffic and create safer pedestrian realms.
The other bikelanes proposed (Marlee, Dupont and Pharmacy) were approved - you can read more information about these in the BikeToronto.ca post about it.
What do you think? Discuss it on the BikingToronto Community.
Labels: infrastructure, news
Portland has them, San Francisco has them, New York City has them, and now Toronto has Bike Boxes too!You can see a couple other photos that Martin Reis took of this Bike Box at the intersection of Harbord and Bathurst in his Flickr collection.
Don't know what a Bike Box is or how it's useful? Here's a nice instructional video from Streetfilms:
You can discuss this Bike Box and talk about where you want to see others on the BikingToronto Community.
Labels: infrastructure, news, video
It looks like Sheppard Avenue will be the first part of the Transit City LRT Plan to be installed, and the great news about it (other than the obviously good news that the TTC system is being expanded) is that the plan is for a much more people and bike-friendly Sheppard Avenue from Don Mills to Meadowvale.
The full details are on the city's website, with a very informative PDF, but I've pulled out the two renderings of the street plans for you.
As you can tell - there are big plans afoot to turn streets like Sheppard into community-based streets, and not just clogged arteries to somewhere else.
Labels: infrastructure, news
Metrolinx (the former Greater Toronto Transportation Authority) is currently undertaking an ambitious project to create a comprehensive transportation plan for the entire Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including transit, cars, and active transportation (walking and cycling).
More at Spacing Toronto.
Labels: infrastructure, news, transit
There are 3 public meetings coming up in Mississauga to gather public input for the Mississauga Cycling Master Plan:Saturday, 10 May, 2008
3 sessions: 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm
Meadowvale Community Centre
Timothy Street Room
6655 Glen Erin Drive (map)Tuesday, 27 May, 2008
2 sessions: 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Mississauga Civic Centre
Great Hall, 300 City Centre Dr. (map)Thursday, 29 May, 2008
2 sessions: 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Malton Community Centre
Multi Purpose Room #1
3540 Morning Star Dr. (map)Saturday, 31 May, 2008
3 sessions: 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm
Cawthra Community Centre and Arena
Petrescue Hall, 1399 Cawthra Rd. (map)
If you're unable to make it to one of these meetings, you can fill out a survey online.
Labels: events, infrastructure
Thanks to Torontoist, we know that there are new artful bikeracks adorning Yonge Street north of Lawrence. Commissioned by the Yonge Lawrence Village BIA, these remind one of the Parkdale Community Centre bikerack project of last year.
Post a Comment