Minutes - Ward 30 Cycling Group Monthly Meeting - September 10, 2013

Minutes - Ward 30 Cycling Group, general monthly meeting

September 10, 2013

SRCHC - fourth floor roof-top garden room

7pm - 9pm

Present: Jo, Michael, Jim, Pat, Paul.

Adenda:

1) Ward 30 Bikes / SRCHC Bike Light Give-away Oct 1

2) Bike Lanes on Bloor/Danforth - Cycle Toronto Petition
3) Twitter Account
4) Group Name Survey Results

5) Accomplishments

6) Feedback Results

7) Bike Lanes discussion Eastern, Dundas, Bloor/Danforth

8) TTC Reconstruction of Leslie Street

Meeting Minutes September 10, 2013:

(minutes taken by Michael)

1) Ward 30 Cycling Group / SRCHC Bike Light Give-away Oct 1

Paul talked about the roots of Health and Well-Being Week and asked people to do outreach and come out to help if they could on October 1. We talked about adding a little note to the free bike lights that the SRCHC had bought for this. We decided on some copy for a card, about SRCHC, Health and Wellbeing Week, and Ward 30 Cycling Group. Talked about what type of lights. Paul said he would source and purchase them. We talked about where would be the best place to do the hand out and  mentioned having some volunteers further east along Dundas telling riders that there was a bike light give-away just ahead at Carlaw. A tent or a big banner to make the hand out site an obvious event.

ACTION: Pault to buy bike lights.

ACTION: Volunteers Needed - outreach on this

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2) Bike Lanes on Bloor/Danforth - Cycle Toronto Petition

We talked about the Cycle Toronto Campaign to back up the Bloor Councillors request to Council to start a new EA for Bike Lanes on Bloor and for to expanded the scope of the EA to the include the Danforth - and a Pilot Project Bike Lane on Bloor. We decided to support the campaign with outreach on the FB page including a link to the Cycle Toronto Petition online, and upload any relevant documents there so people can get informed on the issue.

ACTION: Michael will upload docs and a link in the FB Group.

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3) Twitter Account

Should we start a Blog? a Twitter Account?

We need to conclude the name search and then start these other media. Some discussion about what a Twitter account is good for, need for volunteers to manage the account. Michael said he would get a Twitter account going; and look into Blog options.

ACTION: Michael to set up Twitter Account. Investigate web-site or blog options.

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4) Group Name Survey Results

Discussion: Jo said that ‘Complete Streets’ in inside jargon, should not be part of a name -  is a phrase people probably don’t understand. Micahael talked about how his suggestions for a name were to try to reflect the neighbourhoods we serve, not the Ward - people aren’t even sure where what Ward they are in. Paul talked about how important ideas should be included in the name somehow. We looked at the several survey results we’ve done and noted that Ward 30 Bikes got the most votes.

Voted on the name “Ward 30 Bikes”. Carried unanimously. Some discussion about changing the name on the FB group - who is admin? Can we change the name? Michael said he would contact Emma and find out.

ACTION: Change name in public spaces we run - from ‘Ward 30 Cycling Group’ to “Ward 30 Bikes”

ACTION: Michael will contact Emma about name change on the FB group.

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5) Accomplishments

• Hosted the revival of a Ward 30 cycling advocacy group with the ‘East End Bike Summit’. 25 attended, including folks from several other east end advocacy groups, representative from CIP, Councillor Paula Fletcher...
• Our Email list is growing (now 70)
• Participated in the Withrow Park Farmers Market Outreach with W29Bikes folks (Michael)
• Participated in the Leslieville Tree Festival with an outreach and tune up thingy 3 members present (Brandon, Michael Pat)
• Represented Ward 30 Bikes at Cycle Toronto, Jones Branch Library outreach event. (Michael)
• Did lots of outreach around the TTP speed bumps issue resulting in several letter to Park department and TRCA and City Council (Michael, Brandon, Paul)
• Started several online spaces representing the new group (Emma, Michael, Brandon)
• We’ve held 5 monthly meetings - some very well attended, some not so much (minimum was four attending I believe - at our first meeting after the Summit, I believe we had 12 people out.- including a ‘mole’ as he called himself - from Parks. They wanted to get a handle on what we were up to with regards to their new co-management  with TRCA, of TTP - I think.)

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6) Feedback Results

Action Opportunities:

• Bike light Give away
• Petition Signing Event for Bloor Danforth Bike Lane EA
• Volunteer for Outreach events (bike maintenance / info)
• We could organize local and not so local “Group Rides” (historical rides, like W29Bikes does)
• We should organize some kind of ‘sustainable transportation’ education event.
• Attend the Cycle Toronto Skills Swap
• Do Bike Maintenance / Info Events with the Good Food Markets group.

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7) Bike Lanes discussion Eastern, Dundas, Bloor/Danforth

We had a discussion relevant to our Problems / Opportunities feedback process

Dundas Street Bike Lane Separation was discussed. - vs focusing on getting more painted-on Bike Lanes on more streets.

Michael made an argument that reflected CIP’s view of the broad East / West picture: Dundas separated Bike Lanes to connect to Sherbourne separated Bike Lanes (connecting to the core East West study in progress). With MGT and LDRT to the south, Dundas through the centre, and Danforth across the north. He asked what eveyone thought of this vision - do members suppot this iconcept - would folks work for a lobby in this diection?

Much discussion ensued. Several people thought that making sure Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes remain - and are expanded east and west - was very important.

Jo brought up the idea of focusing on getting school children safe infrastructure so they could ride their bikes to school. Jo thought that existing routes are dangerous despite paint.

Paul talked about a success he had at a local community public consultation with Councillor Fletcher to address the dangers around Pape Avenue Public School, and the neck-downs that are being installed on Pape as a result.

Pat talked about finding a way to get lower intensity on our local streets through narrower traffic lanes and separated bicycle infra..

Jim thought that a lot of the already in place infra. needed sprucing up with new paint and sighted several examples from the area where painted bike lane marking were fading almost to nothing. He mentioned Greenwood, Jones and Eastern.

Paul worried that there might be a move a-foot to take out the Dundas Bike Lanes and suggested we lobby to get them separated so they become harder to remove - more investment in cycling will ‘ensconce’ the route. Talked about the design of a separated Dundas Bike Lane - with parking spots on the traffic side of the lane, to make it safer as far a dooring issues.

Generally I think, the meeting decided to come back to the issue at a later date.

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8) TTC Reconstruction of Leslie Street

Jo talked about a TTC community liaison Walk-about of the infrastructure that has been installed to reroute cyclists and cars through the construction - and especially solutions across the MGT. Jo reported that the TTC liaison person was surprised to see the volume of cyclists on the MGT crossing the construction zone.

Was noted that the high quality of the infrastructure in place in the construction zone for bicycles (as of this meeting) was a direct result of the on-going public consultation process that the TTC has enabled for this project.

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Next Meeting was set for October 15th - at SRCHC 7pm fourth floor meeting room.

Adjourned at 9:15 pm.

mh