@TCATonline 'Difference between infrastructure merchants think visitors want and what they want, substantial'

TCAT just released a study on the impact of bike lanes on Danforth businesses.

A summary of the findings:

• Less than 1 out of 5 visitors drive to the Danforth
• Merchants overestimate the importance of drivers to their business, and underestimate the importance of cyclists
• Those who live or work in the area visit the Danforth more frequently than those who do not: 78% of those who live in the are visit more than five times per month whereas only 23% of those who do not live or work in the area visit more than five times per month
• Those who live or work in the area spend more money than those who do not: 62% of those who live in the are spend over $100 per month whereas only 10% of those who do not live or work in the area spend over $100 per month
• Those who walk to the Danforth are much more likely to spend more money that those who drive or take public transit: 67% of those who walk spend over $100 per month whereas only 14% of those who take public transit and 31% of those who drive spend over $100 per month
• The difference between the infrastructure merchants want for visitors, and what visitors say they want is substantial; merchants favour increased parking, but more parking was their customer’s lowest priority
• Survey respondents who reported spending over $300 or more in a typical month in the neighbourhood preferred street changes that included bike lanes and reduced on street parking
• Overall the majority of people surveyed (71%) preferred to see street use reallocated for widened sidewalks or a bike lane. Support was only slightly higher for those who live in the area (72%) than those who don’t (69%). Looking at preference by mode of transportation, the highest support for change was found amongst people who take public transit to the Danforth (77%), followed by those who walk to the area (72%). Interestingly, even the majority of drivers (59%) would prefer streetscape changes.

From: Toronto Centre for Active Transportation - Thu, Aug 7, 2014
"Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business: A Study of Danforth Avenue in Toronto Danforth Neighbourhood"
http://tcat.ca/node/2383


Via Val Dodge of Ward 29 Bikes


Bells on Danforth is on Sunday, September 14th this year - starting as usual  at East Lynn Park at 12:30pm. Bring the whole family to this marshaled ride on the Danforth to Nathan Phillips Square for "Bikestock" - a fun, entertaining celebration of cycling.
A marshaled, Return Ride to East Lynn Park is available.

Bells on Danforth 2014:

Web - http://bellsondanforth.ca/2014/06/23/bells-on-danforth-2014-sunday-september-14/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BellsOnDanforth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bellsondanforth


mh

First @OpenStreetsTO happens this Sunday, August 17th - 8am to 12noon!

Come walk, bicycle, sit, play, wander, even snooze - on Bloor Street, and on Youge Street - from 8am - 12noon on Sunday, August 17th.



Your next opportunity to experience our urban built form not dominated by motor vehicle traffic noise, stress and rage happens two weeks later same human streets same human hours - on Sunday, August 31th.



Think of a play opportunity you can organize. 

• Divide up into teams for street hockey, soccer, stick-ball! 
• Lay down a blanket and some pillows and have a picnic!
• Bring patio furniture and an umbrella - set it up in front of some of your musician friends who have organized a music set!
• Get on your bike that you've had in storage since the week after you bought it - and experience the wind in your hair as you human-power yourself around the city's core to your destination!.

Think WAY outside the box - Or not ...

But come! And experience this urban place set aside for people - rather than traffic.

Open Streets TO:

Web - http://www.openstreetsto.org/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/OpenStreetsTO

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/openstreetsto


Images served from www.openstreetsto.org



mh

Checking the Road Closed construction detouring for Cyclists at Eastern & Mosley

Video - Saturday, August 9, 2014 - 1:07pm
Checking the Road Closed construction detouring for Cyclists at Eastern & Mosley



The latest Leslie Street TTC street reconstruction configuration closes the intersection of Eastern and Leslie until September 7, 2014.

The Road Closed detouring for cyclists on Eastern Avenue at Mosley St was non-existent (as usual) when the new configuration was installed on July 28th.

After two independent walkabouts to study the way road users were using the spaces on July 28th¹ and on August 6th² - plus a @TTCLeslieBarns planned Safety Walk on the evening of August 6th, we now have a pretty good detour configuration for Cyclists.

Thanks go to Ward 30 Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher, who attended the Safety Walk on August 6th; to @TTCLeslieBarns who transmitted the idea concisely and quickly; and to Pomerleau Construction, who executed it perfectly.

Ward 30 Bikes was very disappointed that TTC ignored ideas that they asked us for at the last Community Liaison Group meeting on ways to implement cycling detour routes around the closed intersection on residential streets - detour route signage aimed specifically at cyclists that would have been separate routes from Transportation's suggested detour routes for cars (which are always on main arterial streets).

So - we invited Councillor Paula Fletcher to come to the Safety Walk that was supposed to review all the stuff TTC said they were going to do, but didn't (or couldn't) do.

As some background on this - the present road closure is at Moeley and at Leslie - this is resulting in road users using the Plaza Parking Lots as a detour route. This is mixing cars and trucks and cyclists and pedestrians in a narroew conjested and badly signed areas that are not edesigned to act as roadways - they are parking lots not streets.

The safe way to close this intersection is: - on the west side - Close Eastern at Pape with an egress point for local traffic. On the east side - the last arterial avenue is Coxwell - Eastern should have been closed there with an egress point for local access.

Much pressure from local businesses along this stretch has caused the TTC to do what they've done. The feedback their getting from business is that the businesses would rather have the egress through and by their stores in a congested and dangerous way - so that impulse consumerism will create shopping opportunities for people caught in tha chaos at their front doors.

As I put it to a TTC Leslie Barns representative during the Safety Walk - so your putting consumerism over road user safety?

That what is exactly what they've done.


So thinking on our feet we instead advocated for better detour infrastructure that would encourage cyclists to stay out of the Plaza Parking Lots:

Sketch submitted to TTC Leslie Barns - August 7, 2014

The FreshCo and Loblaws parking Lots are in fact the defacto detour route due to the road closure configuration that TTCLeslie Barns is facilitating by not blocking eastbound Eastern at Pape and westbound Eastern at Coxwell. If they had done that the added benifit would have been safe cyclists routes around Leslie Eastern on Queen and lessened motor vehicle impacts on residential streets north off of Eastern - like at Rushbrooke to West which is getting hammered and at Laing to the East which has been getting halmmer since trhis started in September of 2013 - for example.

So now Ward 30 Bikes suggests that you take the good Bike Lane detouring now open at Mosley and Eastern, and cycle through the Road Closed signage and continue through to LeslieStreet where you should dismount for the short pedestrian walkway that is open on the south side of the intersection there at this time (due to close at some point in the construction phase).

References:

¹ Facebook Ward 30 Bikes Page - August 1, 2014 | Cycling Issues - Eastern Avenue Closure (July 28th walkabout) | https://www.facebook.com/ward30bikes/posts/627966513983953

² Ward 30 Bikes - Wednesday, August 6, 2014 | Another Walkabout of the Eastern Avenue Closure at Leslie Street | http://ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/2014/08/another-walkabout-of-eastern-avenue.html




mh