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July 13, 2018
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Sign the pledge to #BuildTheGrid
On Monday, October 22, 2018, Torontonians will cast their votes for a mayor and city councillors who will shape our city over the next four years. We're excited to share our #BuildtheGrid campaign, which will help raise cycling as a key election issue.
We'll be asking all mayoral and council candidates these three questions:
1. Will you be a champion for building safe connected bike routes in my neighbourhood?
2. Will you support building protected bike lanes on main streets? (use local examples like Bloor, Danforth, Yonge, etc.)
3. Do you support accelerating the City’s 10-Year Cycling Network Plan to be completed in the next four years, instead of by 2026?
Over 650 people have signed the pledge!
Support #BuildtheGrid campaign:
Contents
1. Advocacy updates
2. Ride for Safe Streets: register by July 31 3. July rides you won't want to miss 4. District Cycling Summits: report back 5. Bike Month wrap-up 6. Staff announcement 7. BikeSpace 8. Business Member Profile 9. Newsflash 10. Events Advocacy updates: Danforth, Vision Zero, St Clair 
Danforth bike counts, courtesy of our Ward 36 (formerly 30) Group.
#BuildtheVisionTO
On June 19, we announced #BuildTheVisionTO, as part of a coalition of road safety advocates. In the wake of a number of vulnerable road user deaths in early June, Cycle Toronto participated in a press conference with coalition partners TCAT, Walk Toronto, 8 80 Cities, and Friends & Families for Safe Streets to launch #BuildTheVisionTO.The campaign is a call to action with 15 recommendations for City Council to address the slow pace on eliminating traffic collisions resulting in serious injury or death. Media and public response to the launch was significant and positive.
This announcement was soon followed by Council’s decision to double the Vision Zero road safety budget for 2018. Later that day, Mayor John Tory responded that he would take the calls to action seriously. His announcement of $13 million in 2018 for the City’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan was increased to $22 million after recommendations from Executive Committee passed through Toronto & East York Community Council. Pending final Council approval, the current 2018 budget of $21.6 million for Vision Zero will be doubled.
In a related measure, the school safety zones proposed in June were adopted without issue by full Council at their June 26 meeting (note that these are officially Community Safety Zones, which can be implemented on a full block instead of only the 150 metre frontage of a school that a School Safety Zone covers).
Good news for the Danforth
Cycle Toronto joined the David Suzuki Foundation and Friends & Families for Safe Streets in speaking to the excellent Danforth Planning Study report presented to Toronto & East York Community Council on July 5. We were pleased to see the Community Council pass motions (subject to full Council approval) supporting a Complete Streets Study for the Danforth in 2019 which will lay the groundwork for the installation of protected bike lanes.
Visit our Danforth campaign page for details, including a brand new bike count conducted by Ward 36 Bikes (formerly Ward 30) demonstrating an incredible demand for cycling on the Danny.
St Clair West Master Transportation Plan
We had the opportunity to offer feedback to the City of Toronto on the Transportation Master Plan for the area around St Clair Ave West, between Keele St and Old Weston Rd. Our recommendations include:
 Want to see protected bike lanes on Bloor Street, Danforth Avenue, Yonge Street and beyond? So do we. Join the Ride for Safe Streets (RFSS) and you’ll help us raise $50,000 to fund cycling advocacy. New this year—register by July 31 for our early-bird price of just $30, which includes lunch and a fully-escorted ride (10 km and 25 km options, both ending at Christie Pits Park). You can also join or renew your membership at our $20 ride special rate when you register! Deepen your impact by setting up an individual or team fundraising page, encouraging your friends to sign up, or simply by making a donation. Don't miss out: register by July 31. 
Join us for a relaxed group ride this summer.
TBMF Sunset Rides
We kicked off the first of four magical Sunset Series rides last night with local musician Adrian Underhill performing a pedal-powered set in beautiful Memorial Park, after riding up the Humber River. Our next musical ride is on Thursday, July 26 to Bell Manor Park.
Don’t miss out: RSVP here!
 Scarborough Cycles - North Scarborough Green Loop Tour
We’re riding the North Scarborough Green Loop on July 28 for our annual Scarborough Cycles Ride. We'll begin the ride at Leslie TTC Station (25 km option) to Chester Le Park, next to Scarborough Cycles' new Bike Hub. From there we will ride the North Scarborough Green Loop (15 km option) with stops along the way to talk about about the project. Ride participants will get a free picnic lunch hosted by CultureLink's Bike Host program at Chester Le Park before we return to Leslie Station at 3:30 p.m.
Register here. Report back on our 4 District Cycling Summits 
Students presenting at the Scarborough Cycling Summit on June 28.
Last month we met over 150 cycling advocates from across the city during our Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and Toronto & East York District Cycling Summits. These events were designed to make it easier for new volunteers to get involved in shaping the growth of cycling culture in neighbourhoods all across the city.
We focused on discussions about:
Bike Month Contest & Member Drive 
Thank you to the nearly 250 people who joined or renewed with us in June. This flurry of activity brought us to a new membership high of 3,300!
Everyone who joined or renewed was entered to win a sweet prize: $500 to spend at MEC. Our lucky winner is Geoffrey Carter, pictured here with Liz Burnside, Assistant Manager at the King Street store, and our new staff member Claire McFarlane.
Congrats to Bike Month Member Drive winner Geoffrey Carter.
This year over 4,600 people registered in the Bike Month contest for a chance to win one of three amazing prizes: a $500 MEC gift card and a $500 VIA Rail Voucher. We invited our three lucky winners from Hamilton, Guelph, and Toronto to share their stories. Visit the Bike Month blog to discover how riding a bike fits into their daily lives, and how they plan to enjoy their prizes!
Amy Hondronicols was one of our three Bike Month Contest winners.
If you joined or renewed during Bike Month (May 28 to June 30) you are welcome to come by our office to get a free T-shirt (pictured) while supplies last.
Visit our office between 9:30-5:30PM next week to grab yours. Please call before you head out (416-644-7188) to make sure someone is in the office to greet you.
 We are pleased to welcome Claire McFarlane to the team as our Programs & Operations Coordinator. Claire most recently worked at Sweet Pete’s and brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm about bikes to the organization. She's also the director of The Bad Girls* Bike Club—an organization that runs workshops and group rides for women, trans and non-binary people—which she co-founded in 2016. Claire sits on the Charlie's FreeWheels board as the director of marketing and communications. In 2017, she graduated with a bachelors of Journalism from Ryerson University. She likes to go on cycling adventures whenever she can. BikeSpace Ever wished there was a way to report issues with bike parking around the city? BikeSpace is a community-built web app supported by the City of Toronto. This simple app is quick, easy to use and designed for mobile and desktop. Toronto needs a data-driven solution to bike parking; BikeSpace will produce that data and drive real change. They have recently released a beta version of the web app: try it out and tell them what you think!  Gold Business Member Profile: Toronto Hydro  Cycle Toronto is pleased to have Toronto Hydro as a Bike Valet partner and Gold Business Member again in 2018. Here's how to stay safe when a work zone occurs on or near a bike lane:  With Toronto Hydro crews working 24/7 on maintenance and emergency response, work zones are required to safely access equipment and conduct repairs. Sometimes, they can block bike lanes or cycle tracks. While pylons may disrupt the roadway, they are there for your safety. Crews work on live wires. When approaching a work zone, do not enter. Merge into traffic carefully, or dismount and walk around. Let's work together to keep our roads safe. NEWSFLASH: Cycling in the news
Platinum Business Members
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