Sign petition for separated bike lanes in downtown Toronto

To: All City Councillors and Mayor's Office

I support the immediate implementation of a connected separated bicycle lane infrastructure with pilot projects beginning in 2011. This single step can greatly enhance the safety and efficiency of Toronto streets at a very low cost.

I support the proposed plan for lanes to be installed along Sherbourne, Wellesley/Harbord, St George/Beverley/John/Simcoe, and Richmond to provide a completed circuit around the downtown core.

Separated bicycle lanes have been proven to be a low cost way to improve roadway efficiency for all street users. They will protect thousands of Toronto cyclists from collision with automobiles and while also further protecting pedestrians by creating a safe barrier between automobiles and the sometimes tight sidewalk spaces. Separated lanes reduce the perceived need for cyclists to ride on sidewalks out of self-preservation. More Torontonians will feel safe cycling, adding to the cities transit infrastructure capacity with minimal capital investments.

Do it. Do it. Do it.

Separated bike paths have been demonstrated to create safer streets for cyclists (by getting them away from cars) and for pedestrians (by getting more cyclists off the sidewalk).

The city can't ignore the number of cyclists killed and injured on the streets anymore.

Please create a safer environment for kids, adults, and the elderly, who choose to get out of their cars and get healthier by cycling around Toronto. Our city will be so much better for it.

When he first came out with the idea last month, I wrote Mr. Minnan-Wong a letter saying that I strongly supported his scheme and thanked him for bringing it forward. I still have not received any reply.

Kevin Love

"The scheme would see second curbs installed a metre or so out from the existing curbs, allowing cyclists to pedal safely in the space between sidewalks and parked cars or traffic, depending on the location."

Think about what you are signing here!!!

The devil's in the details folks; and what has worked in some areas might be bad news here.
We really need something on Richmond and Adelaide; it's been nearly 20 years since those roads were first proposed for some bike route, and they have width, and there's nothing else around, plus a proven pattern of harm and crash in the general area/direction.

But otherwise, I think we really need filling in of the gaps and connectivities ahead of a rework of some existing bike lanes, and some road repairs on other streets/roads. And why not put in a separated bike lane where there's a high cyclist volume and problem - getting a barrier on the College St. lane just east of Spadina to stop all those parkers....

Like the above commenter, please truly think about what we ask for, including maintenance.

On the spacing atlantic site, http://spacingatlantic.ca/2011/02/14/first-bikeways-community-engagement...

there was a biking post recently, and it had some guidelines for a network/wish list as follows:

After compiling and amalgamating the results of our smaller group discussions, the CEU team came up with seven prevailing priorities that our ideal Bikeways Plan would address:

1) Continuity/connective
2) All-season use
3) Innovative infrastructure
4) Cyclist priority at intersections
5) Accessibility for all ages and levels
6) Common language (consistent signage and branding, e.g.)

7) Changing attitudes and building awareness

Here in TO we should like add smoother roads/repairs into the mix.

While Mr. Heisey's efforts do have a continuity and connectivity, it's the larger issues of how to get to these core routes that should be of real concern for cyclsts, and the crash data show a real set of issues on the east-west streets in the older core, including out to the High Park and Parkdale area. But the west end especially hasn't had zilch done, and it's harsh riding.

Only the Richmond/Adelaide part of this proposal really really makes sense - the rest seems as if it could be a distraction, or worse, could be given to us as the Big Win from the Fordkers and so go away on everything else. But painting a street for a bike lane, as imperfect as that method is, is only $25,000 a km - so we could have 8kms of Bloor St. from Sherbourne to High Park.

Not that the City is counting this bike traffic, ignoring Bloor on a recent count, even though the earlier traffic Cordon counts of the 1990s did include Bloor, and guess what? it was really Big as a corridor.

With the exception of the Richmond/Adelaide, I'm less sure that this proposal will possibly save a cyclists' life - but focussing on the east-west corridors west of Bathurst - where if we look we will find massive numbers of cyclists now, riding in less-good conditions - that set of measures could make a life or death difference.

How much will all this two-in-one separated cost us? If the City has been unable to do some basic repairs on bike lanes and proposed bike lanes, and hasn't been able to fix up/repaint the error in measurement they made on the dangerous Wellesley curve east of Jarvis, why give them such faith? I'm still awaiting to hear from Dan Egan about why we can't put down some coloured paint on our asphalt too - I'd tried to get that on the former TCAC agenda but Mr. Heaps nixed it saying Dan would get back to me.

There's definitely some good in what folks are proposing, just we need to have far more focus on basic issues of connectivity and road repair and response to the now-very-old crash data ahead of rebuilding stuff that now exists and sorta works.

We ought not to be dismissing this proposed work on the grounds that there are other priorities, nor should we speculate about issues with implementation or management of a project that is still in the very early stages. Progress happens with one eye on the horizon and the other on the ground, it's actually fundamental to the process.

Separated bike lanes work well in every case they have been installed, and I'm pretty sure that the people charged with building these facilities would employ best practices to ensure they are effective.

Great study of separated bike lanes in NYC:

http://xoxosoma.com/ppw/

Summary: Motorists outraged, convinced bike lanes causing disaster. Data shows car traffic quantity and travel time unchanged.