Cycle Toronto
- safe streets, a healthy city, a vibrant voice -
Thursday, June 12th
Dear _________,
Please e-mail the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) today to help make the proposed bike lane on Dixon Avenue a reality, and improve cycling in Toronto's east end!
The next PWIC meeting takes place on June 18th, and the Dixon Ave staff report is one of the items being voted on. If PWIC adopts the report, it will go to Council on July 8th. Adding a lane on Dixon will provide a valuable neighbourhood connection between Woodbine Avenue and Kingston Road. Ward 32 Spokes and Cycle Toronto fully support the staff report - it's recommendations are strong and will make a very positive contribution to cycling in our community.
Please e-mail pwic@toronto.ca with your support for the item before June 17th at 4pm.
When writing your email, don’t hesitate to include your personal story. Consider including your mailing address, as messages from local and Toronto residents carry more weight.
Finally include item number PW32.5 in the subject line, and cc: info@cycleto.ca and ward32@cycleto.ca.
Summary of the Staff Report:
Currently, Dixon Ave. is westbound only between Lockwood to Kingston and eastbound only between Lockwood and Woodbine. See the map of the area.
- Between the westbound only section of Dixon (Kingston to Lockwood), the report recommends an eastbound contra-flow bike lane located on the south side of the street next to on-street parking. *Cyclists travelling westbound will continue to use the shared traffic lane as they do now.
- Between the eastbound only section of Dixon (Lockwood to Woodbine) the report recommends a westbound contra-flow bike lane on the north side of the street, away from the on street parking. *Cyclists travelling eastbound will continue to use the shared traffic lane as they do now.
- No changes are recommended to on street parking along the entire length of Dixon Avenue.
The installation of these two sections of contra-flow bike lane will allow cyclists to use Dixon Avenue as a two way street. These small additions to the area’s cycling infrastructure will provide valuable neighbourhood connections for cyclists of all ages who wish to avoid cycling on busy arterial roadways and major intersections.
Relevant Resources:
1) The PWIC agenda item for Dixon (PW32.5)
2) Staff presentation boards to Public Open House on the Dixon Avenue Bicycle Lane (PDF)
3) Background on “contra-flow” bike lanes
If you have any questions, please email ward32@cycleto.ca
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My Letter to PWIC:
(Use this as a template replacing my story about Dixon Ave - with your story about Dixon Ave).
TO: pwic@toronto.ca
Cc: info@cycleto.ca, ward_30@cycleto.ca, ward32@cycleto.ca
Subject Line: PW32.5 - Contra-flow Bicycle Lanes on Dixon Avenue
Public Works and Infrastructure Committee Members and Chair,
I am writing in support of an item the Committee is to consider at your meeting scheduled for June 18, 2014 - a Transportation Staff recommendation for the installation of contra-flow bicycle lanes on Dixon Avenue, from Kingston Road to Woodbine Avenue.
I am a year 'round utility and recreational cyclist. I have never had a drivers license and I do not own a motor vehicle. As a resident of Ward 30 nearby Dundas Street on Jones Avenue, the Dundas Bike Lanes are a very important transportation route for me. When I reach Kingston Road on the Dundas Bike Lane eastbound, I am forced (due to the traffic calming one-ways on Dixon), to either turn south or north on Kingston Road - a busy and fast moving Avenue with no Bicycle Infrastructure.
Annoyingly, the south bound route forces me to travel back on my easterly route in a south-westerly direction - back to Queen and Kingston Rd. - at which point I then take Queen Street East (a fast moving, busy Avenue) back eastbound over to Lockwood; then left off Queen back up northbound onto the On-Street Connection that is Dixon Avenue (which notably - gets me to Norway Avenue and Woodbine Avenue - another On-Street route on my path east - that I often take all the way over to Scarborough Road and beyond - all the way on quiet residential streets!).
The northern route around the Dixon Avenue barrier on the other hand, is on a section of Kingston Road that is marked by a steep upward incline, and a curve in the roadway at which point, simultaneously, motor vehicle traffic is travelling at a high rate of speed, accelerating and merging - and where I feel like the parked cars along the south side of the Avenue there create a pinch-point for cyclists between the parking zone and the motor vehicle traffic there. A dangerous stretch to be sure.
Thus I urge the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee to accept the Staff Report and send this recommendation for the installation of contra-flow bicycle lanes on Dixon Avenue from Kingston Road to Woodbine Avenue to City Council for a vote.
Sincerely,
Michael Holloway
# Jones Avenue,
Leslieville, Toronto
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Use this as a template replacing my story about Dixon Ave with your story about Dixon Ave..
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