Active Transportation News - TCAT - April 6

1. Two Weekends with the Alliance for Biking and Walking a Great Success!
2. Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business Webinar recording now available on-line
3. Fort York Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge: Public Meeting April 16
4. Martin Goodman Trail redesign: Comment by April 17
5. Walk & Bike for Life brings Janette Sadik-Khan to Ontario: April 22
6. Roncesvalles Village Considers New Street Designs
7. Reminder! Bike Summit 2009 in Toronto - Early Bird Rates to Apr 24th!

1. Two Weekends with the Alliance for Biking and Walking a Great Success!

Over the past two weekends TCAT and the Toronto Cyclists Union hosted intensive training and strategic development for advocates.

Between Mar 27-29, a group of nineteen dedicated advocates spent the entire weekend together with sleeves rolled up developing campaigns to improve cycling and walking in Toronto and across the province. Facilitated by a talented team of three: Chanda Causer and Jeremy Grandstaff from the Alliance for Biking and Walking (formerly known as Thunderhead Alliance) and Ron Milam, the group worked together to develop effective strategies and to learn how winning campaigns have been implemented elsewhere. Yvonne Bambrick, the Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union, captured how fun and productive the training was for everyone involved with these photos.

Then on April 4th, Jeremy Grandstaff from the Alliance for Biking and Walking returned to Toronto with Randy Neufeld, Chief Strategic Officer of the Active Transportation Alliance to lead key members of TCAT and the Toronto Cyclists Union through a strategic development session. Randy has decades of leadership experience, in particular with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (now Active Transportation Alliance) where he grew it from a small group of volunteers to the large, successful organization it is today. It was a valuable experience and we have every confidence that it has set both TCAT and the Toronto Cyclists Union on course to continue to grow and thrive.

With special thanks to the generous sponsorship of these valuable events by Alliance for Biking and Walking, Mountain Equipment Co-Op, and Planet Bike.

2. Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business Webinar recording now available on-line

The Clean Air Partnership's research report titled Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business was the subject of a recent webinar. For anyone who missed Fred Sztabinski's excellent presentation, the recording is now available online.

3. Fort York Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge: Public Meeting April 16

The City of Toronto is undertaking an environmental assessment to determine the preferred option and preliminary design details for a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the railway corridors near Fort York, intended to improve connections between the city, Fort York and the waterfront. The public is invited to attend the first of two Public Information Centre Meetings, to learn more about what is being considered, information on work completed to date, and next steps.

Date: Thursday April 16, 2009
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Niagara Public School, 222 Niagara Street (gymnasium in basement)

The meeting will be a drop-in, open house format, where the public, stakeholder groups, agencies and other interested parties meet one-on-one with members of the study team. Comments that provide support, constructive suggestions and/or voice concerns related to any aspect of the project, will be welcomed.

4. Martin Goodman Trail Redesign: Comment by April 17

Waterfront Toronto recently held public consultations to reveal the plans for the redesign of Queen's Quay. What is particularly exciting is that the plans call for two traffic lanes to be removed and to be replaced by wide pedestrian boulevards and a continuous off-street Martin Goodman Trail, completing the Lake Ontario Trail.

However of two designs in contention, one is definitely better than the other for cyclists. We encourage everyone to read Martin Koob's excellent analysis of the designs posted on Bike Toronto.

The comment period for input into the designs ends Apr 17th. Submissions can be e-mailed to central@waterfrontoronto.ca.

5. Walk & Bike for Life brings Janette Sadik-Khan to Ontario: April 22

Walk and Bike for Life has invited Janette Sadik-Khan, the NYC Commissioner of Transportation to come on April 22nd to speak to GTA decision makers, staff, organizational representatives, and citizens. Their first event will be held in Toronto at 11 am in collaboration with the Canadian Urban Institute, and the second event will be held in Port Credit, Mississauga at 7pm. The general public is invited to attend these events to see how Janette has created people-oriented initiatives across the city which improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. More information here.

6. Roncesvalles Village Considers New Street Designs

Roncesvalles will be reconstructed in 2009-10 and the community is actively involved in debating how to best balance the needs of everyone who uses the street. To find out more about the design proposals being considered and to comment on how to best incorporate walking and cycling into the process, go here.

7. Reminder! Bike Summit 2009 in Toronto - Early Bird Rates to Apr 24th!

Mark your calendars for May 28th in Toronto. The Bike Summit is back for a second year. Register now and take advantage of early bird rates until Apr 24th. We look forward to having you join us.

If you know of other cycling or pedestrian related calendars to include, please let us know by e-mailing info@torontocat.ca

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