Joint Letter Requesting Cycling Safety on Bayview

Our cycling advocate friends to the west and north of us recently sent a joint letter to several councillors and the mayor.  They requested for safety improvements on Bayview.  When you look at the map, it's quite striking how fragmented and incomplete the infrastructure is now. Please consider writing to the below councillors today in support of this.

To: Councillors John Burnside, Mary Fragedakis, Pam McConnell, Jaye Robinson, Kristyn Wong-Tam

CC: Councillors Josh Matlow, Christin Carmichael-Greb, Mayor John Tory

June 5, 2017

In light of the horrific and entirely preventable death of a 5-year-old on Lakeshore Blvd last week, we request the rapid installation of safety barriers onBayview Avenue between Pottery Rd and Moore Ave, and the initiation of a safety study - emphasizing cyclist safety - of Bayview Avenue over its entire route from Moore Ave to River St.

Bayview has been identified as a priority cycling corridor for over 20 years.  Bayview is the only on-street cycling connection from Midtown, North Toronto and Leaside to the Lower Don Trail system, the Don Valley Brickworks, and downtown either via Rosedale and the Sherbourne bike lane or via River St. This route is used by thousands of young and old people who ride bikes, from experienced riders to families out on a leisurely ride. This route is also used by speeding motorists as though it were a major expressway, despite Bayview being designated as a city road.  Evidence strongly shows that motorist speed is directly linked to collision frequency and severity, therefore this higher-speed corridor presents a high risk to cyclists. 

City Council in 2005 endorsed the Don Valley Corridor Transportation Master Plan, which recommended a full Environmental Assessment for Bayview. Unfortunately, this study was never completed. 

In 2016 the City reconstructed the roadway between Rosedale Road and Moore Avenue which included (1) installation of a guardrail on the east side ofBayview, between Rosedale Valley Road and Pottery Road and (2) widening of the paved shoulder from Pottery Road to Moore Avenue, so that it is in effect a bike lane.  Unfortunately, no guardrail was installed north of Pottery Rd, and simply widening the shoulder is an inadequate safety measure. 

Also in 2016 Councillor Fragedakis tabled a motion, approved by Council (2016.MM18.10) for a functional study of Bayview including cycling safety.  Unfortunately we learned earlier this month that City staff aren't even preparing to start this study.

This is unacceptable.  We don't need to wait for tragedies like this to happen before we install basic safety features such as guardrails on bike routes next to high-speed roadways.

Therefore we recommend to:

1. Designate Bayview Avenue from Pottery Rd to Moore Ave as a cycle track, in accordance with the City’s 2016 Cycling Plan.
2. Separate the new bikeway from the roadway using appropriate technology such as guardrails or Jersey barriers.
3. Service the new bikeway to cycle track standards (regular sweeping, pothole repair, snow clearing, etc).
4. Request Transportation Services to report how additional safety measures on Bayview Avenue between River St and Moore Ave can be addressed, including extending the bikeway south from Rosedale Valley Rd, widening the paved shoulder further, and closing the gap southbound between Moore Ave and Nesbitt Ave.
5. Fully engage with the cycling community as a stakeholder during the City study.

On behalf of the users of Bayview Avenue,
 

John Taranu & Tom Worrall Cycle Toronto Midtown Ward 16 & 22 Advocacy Group cycleto.ca/ward/22	Alex Korobchevsky & Georgina Wilcock Cycle Toronto Ward 25 Advocacy Group
Geoff Kettel & Louis Fliss Cycle 26 Ward 26 Advocacy Group cycleto.ca/ward/26	Peter Rogers Cycle Toronto Ward 28 Advocacy Group cycleto.ca/ward/28
Tom Flaherty Ward 29 Bikes Ward 29 Advocacy Group 29bikes.ca	Alison Stewart & Chris Hoyle Cycle Toronto Yonge Working Group cycleto.ca/yonge

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Woodbine Bike Lanes Approved - First Ever Protected Bike Lane for East End!

City Council met last week and we're thrilled to report that the Woodbine Bike lanes were unanimously approved! Not much in Toronto's cycling world happens unanimously, so this is special!

It's also the result of some serious outreach efforts from our friends at Ward 31 and Ward 32 advocacy groups, the efforts of the local councillors who really pushed hard for this, and city staff who organized a massive public outreach.

And it's not just a painted line!  Buffers and flexi posts!   Is this the best that cycling infrastructure can be?  No, not at all.  It's unlikely Scandinavian traffic engineers are going to get any best practice tips from this. BUT its moving in the right direction.  Buffers are better than single painted lanes.  And buffers turn into flexi posts, flexi posts turn into curbs or planters.   Curbs and planters turn into full fledged separated from vehicles paths like the waterfront trail.

You can read more here

Stay tuned for the installation!

Danforth East public meeting on Monday - help make bike lanes on the Danforth a reality!

There's a public meeting coming up next week for the section of the Danforth east of us. Not Ward30, but very close to us.  Below is Cycle Toronto's action alert, if you can make it out to the public meeting please do!

City Council recently reinstated the Danforth Corridor Study to determine the feasibility of bike lanes on the Danforth. This Monday, planners at the City are hosting a community meeting for a separate Danforth Avenue Planning Study, and we need you to remind them how important bike lanes are to the vitality, economy, and growth of the Danforth. This meeting is especially important as the study area intersects with Woodbine Ave, which is also being considered for future bike lanes.

The consultation will take place Monday, June 27th, 7:00pm to 9:00pm, at the Hope United Church (2550 Danforth Ave).

If you live, work, or play along the Danforth, this meeting is an essential opportunity to share your comments and concerns about cycling infrastructure with City staff. We urge you to go and have your voice heard.

Learn more about the project on the City's website.

Cycle Toronto is your voice at City Hall. We fought for bike lanes on Richmond, Adelaide, and Bloor, and the Danforth is next. Support our work by joining our more than 3,000 members or donate now.

We hope we can count on you. 

Jared Kolb

Cycle Toronto

Councillor Paula Fletcher urges PWIC Chair to Support and FUND the 10 year bike plan

Just in time for our Bikes Mean Business Event last week, Councillor Paula Fletcher issued a letter to the Chair of PWIC urging her to support and fund the 10 year cycling plan.  A copy of the letter is below:

April 19, 2016

Councillor Jaye Robinson, Chair PWIC
100 Queen Street West, Suite A12
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
Dear Chair and members:

Bikes Mean Business

Cycling is more popular than ever in Toronto and I urge you to support, and fund, the 10 year cycling plan which will be in front of you at Committee on May 16^th.

The eagerly awaited Major Corridor Study for Danforth Ave for bike lanes on the Danforth (from the Prince Edward Viaduct to Danforth Rd.) is just one of many great initiatives included in the plan. Every day, the Danforth is both a popular destination and a major commuting corridor for thousands of cyclists in the City. I believe the time has come to conduct this study, and closely examine the implementation of a bike lane on the Danforth.

Cyclists are not only commuters, athletes, tourists and residents—they are also customersof our City’s small businesses along the Danforth. As we have seen from other cities the introduction of bike lanes have revitalized commercial strips, and increased retail sales. Additionally, cyclists have been shown to spend more money on average compared to those who arrive by car. Bikes really do Mean Business.

Recently, I have already been working with local BIAs, east end cyclists and City staff to enhance and increase our bike parking on the Danforth. Last year, Ward 30 Bikes canvassed local businesses as part of their Danforth Loves Bikes campaign. Over 70 businesses indicated support for a bike lane with many others curious to learn more.

This Danforth Corridor Study means local residents, business owners, the biking community, Bike Share, city staff and design experts would work together on the specifications for a Danforth bike lane. They would study how parking and traffic flow would be maintained at the same time as creating a safe commute for thousands of cyclists.

I urge you to support as a minimum $16 million in annual funding for the Cycling Network Plan over the next 10 years; and to include the Danforth Major Corridor Study in the funding envelope for 2017.

Sincerely,

Councillor Paula Fletcher
Ward 30 Toronto Danforth

Read the full post here:   http://councillorpaulafletcher.ca/2016/04/bikes-mean-business-on-the-danforth/

Draft 10 year Bike Plan: Another Round of Feedback for City Staff

Over the weekend City Staff from the Cycling Unit gave up a solid block of hours to meet with representatives from Cycle Toronto Ward Groups to talk about their latest draft map for the city.  Thanks to those who joined us on Friday night to brainstorm ideas

There we are at a table covered in maps. pic: CycleToronto

Are we still talking about a DRAFT map?  ya, we are.  Its a long process, but we can report back that it is careful and with thoughtful planning.  With a limited budget to spend each year, city wide projects need to be ranked to decide what happens when.  So we don't always get what we want when we want it, but know that other parts of the city are being worked on.  

Want more sooner?  Demand a bigger budget! Submit your comments to Public Works Infrastructure Committee - NOW.  The cycling budget will be discussed at the next meeting February 29th. Do it!

Back to the map, some interesting things:

- Eastern Ave over the DVP has something planned.  Sorry to say we didn't get many details about what they want to do there, but there was a spark of excitement in their eyes.  However, this one is a 'few years' away.

- Danforth, Danforth, Danforth! (sign the pledge if you haven't yet!). It's in the draft, it's been in every draft.  And for our Ward, I'd say this is *the* project they want to focus on. ya!

Want to hear more?  come to our next meeting to find out:

Tuesday March 1st 7pm

Ralph Thorton Centre

765 Queen St. East

Eastern Ave Bike Lanes: 'They Don't Go Anywhere!'

2014/08/27 7:26pm

A politician who is running for Councillor in Ward 30 has made a video¹ (shot about right here) about how the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes 'Don't go Anywhere'

Eastern Ave Bike Lanes: 'They Don't Go Anywhere!'


As the video says, "Well, actually they go to the Contraflow Lane on Logan Ave which gets you further westbound via the Lower Don Recreation Trail which gets you to Queen's Quay"
.. and access to the East Downtown, the Financial District and the Fashion District and Queen West and Parkdale.

(Beware the crossing at Cherry St/LSB, which is a high speed chicane and then wait for a spot and RUN! Then beware the ongoing construction on Queen's Quay all the way to Bathurst.)

But point taken. Eastern Avenue past Logan leads to the Eastern Avenue Bridge just past Broadview - which is partly an off-ramp for the DVP southbound - and is also constructed just like a 400 series highway ramp - so wide lanes and a very high speed traffic. Plus it has an off-ramp for north bound DVP off the eastbound lanes of the bridge at the eastern end of it; plus it has merging lanes at it's apex which connect it to Adelaide eastbound, and to Richmond westbound.

I don't see a way that it can be fixed (made a Complete Street).

So, candidates that want to be Councillor of Ward 30 need to be asked the question:

Should we extend the Bike Lanes on Eastern over to Broadview? Do we build a cyclist's pedestrian bridge off the end of Sunlight Park Road over to Corktown Common (that would connect to the planned Richmond/Adelaide cycling corridor)?

And because the approaches to that route are private property owned by First Gulf, part of the Leaver site - do we then therefore have to go with a short-term fix until that development package is sorted out, and put Bike Lanes on Broadview?

At a minimum, to create a sort-of-OK bike-commute-route network - we need Bike Lanes on Broadview up to the Dundas Bike Lanes.

Or do we face the facts and tear down the Eastern Avenue Bridge, and start over?

Hard Choices. Will these realities help move the conversation forward that often doesn't go anywhere around real cycling infrastructure - transportation issues in general - in the GTA?

I hope so.


¹Youtube Channel - Liz West - A Better Network of Bike Lanes - http://youtu.be/r14kfe-mZsw




NOTE:
The Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes go from Leslie to Logan - that's twelve neighbourhood blocks (not four); and - if we separated the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes form the traffic lanes - it would connect Bruce Junior Public School and Morse Street Jr Public School to the neighbourhoods.



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