According to the May edition of the City's Cyclometer newsletter, the G20 security zone will require that all post and rings will be removed 2 weeks before the event and installed afterwards.
The G20 Summit security requirements mean that all street furniture within the 'security zone' must be removed temporarily. This includes bike parking rings, of which about 1000 must be removed two weeks prior to the event. The area effected runs from Yonge Street west to Spadina Avenue and from Queen Street south to the lakefront.
Every effort will be made to replace the rings quickly once the summit has concluded by the final week of June. Posts will remain intact so re-installation will be simpler.
The security zone may still be a huge area, potentially going as far north as Queen St, as far east and west as Yonge and Spadina, and maybe as far south as the Gardiner. The actual size is all top secret.
I hope the feds and the G20 will reimburse the City for removing and re-installing all the street furniture; and while they're at it, reimburse all the cyclists for for having to walk blocks out of the way because there isn't any parking anywhere.
Comments
anthony
G20 Summit and Post-and-Rings: Correction
Thu, 05/20/2010 - 21:41From Cyclometer:
If history is any indication, the rings are as good as gone. Expect them to be gone for quite a while before they (or is that IF they ever...) get replaced. It's not the city so much, but the contractors hired by the city that I don't trust to get it done.
chephy (not verified)
A. Bunch. Of. Fucking.
Thu, 05/20/2010 - 22:25A. Bunch. Of. Fucking. Retards.
Sorry...
Seymore Bikes
Spend in the Clowns
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 00:18If anybody wanted to make a seriously large pipe bomb, the post of the bike ring would be ideal. But' I'm sure the security experts excluded the option of filling them with concrete before commiting a huge sum of tax payers money to some ridiculous undertaking.
Because why would you want to provide 1000 secure bike rings to an area that has restricted vehicular traffic?
Pedro (not verified)
G20 Meetings not a good idea in cities
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 02:20I completely understand why the organizers of such events need to be paranoid. In fact, they should be even more paranoid than they are. Bombs can be planted in bike rings and bikes themselves but they can also be planted in telephone poles, street lights, heck even in filled in potholes.
This is why meetings of this nature should be held in rural areas, free of the complexities of a big city.
darren
Post and rings may stay
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 09:32The CBC reported last night that the post and rings are not likely to be removed, but it's being considered. I don't remember the exact wording of the city official who spoke, but he made it sound more like something that had been considered at some point, but was never acted on.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
It's not about the post and rings.
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 11:03Where ya gonna park that bicycle son. Why you want to go there if there is nowhere to park your bicycle. Step over here for a random search.
It's about banning/discouraging cyclists from the green zone... cars are far easier to identify, coral and locate.
The bicycle is a threat to their security because it is harder to coral, identify the owner(no plates) and locate in a crowd. Not only that, a cyclist suspect can make good time through a crowded area to evade most police which most likely will be on foot. A lot of protesters will probably use bicycles... be prepared for further blind reprisals from authorities!
God help the touring cyclists trying to get through, cops probably all flip out when they see a set of panniers on an unattended bicycle... he'll be lucky if they don't blow it up. Fear does funny things to people.
Dan (not verified)
TTC
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 20:52I wonder what there going to be doing about Union Station and the King Streetcar line? Union Station alone recieves tens of thousands of people going in and out all day via bus, subway, go train/bus, via rail.... What are they going to do with that?
J (not verified)
Correct this post
Mon, 05/24/2010 - 22:51Cyclometer sent out a correction but i dont see this post updated.