Thursday, March 29, 2007

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Hand signals explained to drivers.

Critical Mass this Friday!

Love the Rebels tonite!


Featuring among many lovely short films my
'Love to all the rebels' video collage.

Ok, and then what?

Cyclists can soon take a spin to lake on new Yonge St. bike lanes -- Mar 28, 2007 (The Star)
New bike lanes running along Yonge St. from Queens Quay up to Front St. will enhance access to the lake and provide another piece in the revitalization of the waterfront, says the area's city councillor.

The project calls for bike lanes on the west side of Yonge from Front to the lake, and on the east side from the Esplanade to the lake. Work on the project, which goes to city council for approval next month, could begin in summer, pending design approval, and be finished later this year.

"Having bicycles and pedestrians along this iconic street sends an important message that this is the most important street in our city, that this is a street we want everyone to enjoy,'' Councillor Pam McConnell said yesterday. "This is a city of walkers and bikers, and that's exactly what we want our waterfront to be."

Toronto is kicking in about $432,000 for curb reconstruction and markings, and developers in the area are paying about $1.2 million in street and sidewalk improvements.

Construction of the bike lanes won't significantly reduce traffic capacity, said Daniel Egan, city manager of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Northbound Yonge will go from two lanes to one for the first 110 metres north of Queens Quay. Beyond that, curb adjustments will make room for the bike lane.

Some parking spaces near The Esplanade will be removed at a loss of about $25,000 a year in parking fees.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Bike Sale



Parts Unknown in Kensington Market.

A dream job.

This was lifted from a job posting for a Toronto hotel. At least they are honest.
Reporting to the Manager of Parking; you will be responsible for providing Hotel Guests with to quality, safe, fast valet service. This position requires working various shifts, including working weekends. Your working environment is an internal/external one. Which include exposure to cold dirt, vehicle exhausts, noise, dust, heat, odours, poor lighting at times, rain, snow, and a lack of privacy.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Metal as F!*K


Photographer unknown.

Will post a link where you can buy bikes soon.
Without ...

via Kwota

Friday, March 23, 2007

Mayor rushed to hospital


NEWSFLASH- It has been confirmed that Toronto Mayor David Miller was rushed to hospital after a large growth on his nose was discovered moments after he released his "Green Plan". He was being challenged on his poor record on cycling infrastructure at the time. Doctors at St.Mikes are working furiously trying to keep up with the growth. No word yet as to its cause.

Mayor Miller & The City back-peddle on the Bike Plan even further

From the "Plan" announced today
"Potential Action " -- Complete the Bikeway network by 2012 !
Also, get this: Number of times these words are mentioned in the plan ...
Cars: 5
Transit: 7
Bus: 25
Smog: 25
Subway: 1
Bicycle: 0
Bike: 1
Cycling: 0
Cyclist(s): 0
Bikeway: 1
Bike Lane(s): 0
Bike Route(s):0

Mayor Miller vs The Bicycle

Mayor David Miller (2006 TCAT Election Survery)

19. Eliminate delays in building the Bikeway Network

Active Transportation requires a network of bike lanes and paths that span the city. To enable this to happen each bike lane project should be approved and built in the year that it is proposed for construction by city staff. Transportation Services staff have proposed projects for 2007 and 2008. Projects for 2009 and 2010 have not been determined yet. There is still a backlog of projects proposed for 2005 and 2006. If the backlog of projects is to be cleared up and the future projects are to be built on time the Mayor will have to play a leadership role to ensure that the issues plaguing the implementation of the Bikeway Network, as recommended in the Toronto Bike Plan, are resolved.

How will you show leadership and what measures will you take over the next 4 years to to deal with the delays plaguing the implementation of the Bike Plan to ensure that the bike lanes proposed over the next 4 years go through the approval process and are constructed on time?

Mayor Miller's Comment: "I've always been a strong believer that bicycling is an essential part of Toronto's transportation strategy. That’s why we have developed the Toronto Bike Plan which is a comprehensive cycling promotion strategy encompassing: bicycle friendly streets, a bikeway network, safety and education, bike parking, and promotion of combining cycling and transit.

One of the keys to promoting cycling is to give people a safe place to ride. Currently, Toronto has 90 KM of bike lanes, and the Bike Plan calls for 1000 KM to be built by 2011.

Under my leadership, the City of Toronto has aggressively promoted cycling as not just a method of transportation, but a way of life. Every year, I launch Bike Week which is a week-long series of events that promotes biking around Toronto. The City also issues a cycling newsletter, encourages residents to form local cycling committees, and has launched the "door prize" campaign to educated motorists and taxi drivers about the need to check for cyclists.

We've started a number of pilot projects - like putting bike racks on the front of buses, and increasing the amount of transit parking in front of subway stations - to encourage people to combine cycling with transit. In fact, next year the bicycle infrastructure budget will double to $6.2 million. For as long as I am Mayor of Toronto we will continue to pursue an aggressive bicycle promotion strategy. When we talk about funding issues it is important to note the context in which they occur. Toronto has more people than Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut put together - and yet we lack the powers and funding sources of even the smallest of these jurisdictions.

Toronto lacks support in critical areas. For example, in 2006 alone, the cost of delivering programs that the province once provided -- such as social services, the Ontario Drug Plan, affordable housing and transit -- cost the city an astonishing $731 million.

A recent Conference Board of Canada study determined that Toronto is underfunded by $1.1 billion a year. This is counter-productive - for our citizens, for our city and for our nation.

To unleash Toronto's true economic potential and compete with the world's greatest cities, I argue that just a small portion of the vast wealth Toronto generates for Canada should be invested back into the city."


In the end, he and council, including all those who supported an increase before the municipal (election) voted for 3 million [http://www.toronto.ca/budget2007/pdf/capbudget_feb8.pdf] ...
So, you get the picture! That's a big budget cut. Actions speak louder than words. Furthermore, there are no Federal nor Provincial zero-carbon transit strategies nor initiatives. Nothing to promote cycling!
So remember, whatever Miller will announce in future for cycylng is likely just that: talk.

I say: Make space for bikes! (Just a few ideas below, feel free to add yours!)
Remove parking, traffic lanes if you have to, close streets to traffic every Sunday, reduce the number of cars entering Toronto on a daily basis, lobby the federal government for side guards on trucks, crack down on illegal parking in bike lanes by making them tow-away zones, create east-west -- north-south cycling corridors, provide incentives for employers and city staff to use cycling as a means of transport to work, create safe routes for children to bike to work, provide bicycles parking facilities at all schools in Toronto, get on a bike yourself Mayor!

(Yeah, I know he has no money. But there is no political will either. So maybe we just need to get together and do things ourselves.)
Graphic by Martin Koob (biketoronto.ca)

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Monday, March 19, 2007

Toronto police confirm no drivers killed by cyclists in 2006

NEWSFLASH- Toronto Police spent nearly three months carefully reviewing 2006 collision data for the City of Toronto and have concluded that no drivers were killed by cyclists in that year. They also confirmed that no cars were seriously injured by cyclists in 2006.

Report. pdf file

Toronto Filmmakers at FilmedByBike 2007!

This years' super popular Bike Film Festival will feature Benny Zenga's Ski Boys and my short 'Love to all the Rebels'. To find out more click on this link.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Best of Craigslist ...

T.O. Bike lanes prove US spy satelite is a fraud.

In attempt to catologue the total number of cars parked in Toronto bike lanes at one time we here at BLD turned to a US corporate sponsored spy satellite. We quickly discovered it is a fraud and it became apparent why US spy community has to make intelligence up. Check out this spy photo of Dundas St E.

See it? Dundas St E at this location has not had four lanes for at least 3 years.

Hope

Anti-visual diarrhea campaign earns threat of lawsuit



The Public Space Committee and illegalsigns.ca have earned a threat of a lawsuit by Clear Channel for their efforts to rid Toronto of visual diarrhea. Illegalsigns.ca has the full story about the threat.

Clear Channel http://www.clearchanneloutdoor.ca/
The photo is not of a Clear Channel product but rather an example of the visual diarrhea citizens face everyday.

The Legacy

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Biketrain getting ready to roll

Ah, just imagine, hop on a train and go for a spin in the countryside. But they need your help first. Please take a moment to fill out their online survey. I did.

Sunny Day Bike

Art by Sandy Plotnikoff.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Canadian military denies Ford was member

Newsflash - The Canadian Armed Forces today denied that Toronto Councillor Rob Ford was ever part of a specialized Canadian military task force or ever in the military for that matter. Cpl. Poupoun called rumours of Ford's exploits as a military officer as "...just that, rumours. Fallacy." He claimed that, "If anyone was ever sent to blow up a car and came back with burnt lips that they would be put in the stockade long term."