advocacy

I feel like I should explain (while also being a bit pugilistic, fighting the good fight). Being a volunteer blogger I have to rely on the goodwill of others who have gathered information for me, or who are actively involved in the issue and are willing to share with me what's going on. I think it's better to get the information out there while couching it in terms like "likely" and "maybe" rather than keep it locked up.

The Chief Coroner of Ontario, Dr. Andrew McCallum, announced this morning that his office would be investigating cycling deaths over the last four years to determine ways to prevent them, reports the Star and CBC (read the announcement).

NOW featured a letter by the daughter of the man hit and killed by a cyclist on the sidewalk this month. She felt people were quick to blame cyclists when in fact her own father loved cycling but found it hard to bike in the suburbs:

http://vimeo.com/25991149

Video shooting and editing by Lisa Logan (a big thanks Lisa!). Herb of I Bike TO and Lisa are asking the questions. Produced for the Toronto Cyclists Union and the Save Jarvis campaign. Join the Bike Union and come out on July 12 and 13 to raise your voice in support of bike lanes in Toronto!

In politics there is usually compromise and negotiation. Politics is messy. In particular, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting last month was messy. Cyclists were demoralized by some bad decisions to remove bike lanes on Jarvis, Pharmacy and Birchmount that were unsupported by any evidence that they created traffic congestion. Traffic engineers be damned.

On John Street looking north towards Queen Street

It's taken a bit of community pressure from the Bike Union, business and residents associations as well as pressure from above with Chair of Public Works and Infrastructure (PWIC), Councillor Minnan-Wong as a born-again cyclist. Things are looking up for the separated bike lanes aka cycle tracks when they go to PWIC in June. The proposal has support from the left as well as the right. Even though PWIC is packed with some suburban councillors, I'm guessing they are unlikely to try to oppose the Chair's pet project.