The contentious Jarvis bike lanes should be operational by the end of July. Transportation Services will be removing the reversible centre lane and hardware starting Friday July 16. Depending on who you are this will either be the end of the world as we know it, or a small addition to a street network that is safer for cyclists.
Read more about the Jarvis Streetscape improvements, and read the press release:
News Release
July 14, 2010
After Councillor Howard Moscoe's prodding, City Council has released the previously confidential manual which explains who can get their parking tickets cancelled. I am glad that they did this, and it helps make things much more clear to everyone in this city. Many thanks to Councillor Moscoe, and the other councillors, who made this happen.
Before this manual was released, I had though that more enforcement would help to diminish the number of vehicles found parked in bike lanes. I had also thought that on-street separated bike lanes should be used sparingly and strategically.
Last week, riding home on College Street, I encountered a territorial idiot in the bike lane. This individual decided to open his car door into the bike lane, then stand beside it chatting on his cell phone. On seeing me, he closed his car door enough to leave me six inches to pass. I told him, politely but stiffly, that I needed more room than that, and he closed it almost completely. I rolled by him. From his comments about me not leaving the bike lane, he clearly thought he had the right to use it as a substitute living room.
I was lucky enough to get in on some delicious pancakes on Sunday morning. Albert Koehl, Angela Bischoff and the rest of the Bike Lanes on Bloor gang held a little fundraiser. For twenty dollars you could have as many pancakes as you could stuff in your face, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee and the company of some really great people.
I took this footage riding along the bike lanes taxi loading and unloading zones on College Street between Spadina and Bathurst.
It has been well over two days since Toronto cyclists woke up to a shattered dream: the dream of a pilot bike lane project on University Avenue. No, it wasn't the right-wing bike hating extreme that put it down, but a bike lane loving councilor that blamed it on technology, or lack of sleep, or perhaps it was memories of communist day camps in the wilds of Manitoba, but regardless, Paula "fat fingers" Fletcher was the one to blame.
City Council debated late into the night on the bikeway network plan for 2010, which was passed 26-8, with one caveat: it was amended by Councillor Hall (Ward 1) to remove the pilot University Ave bike lanes from the motion. The vote to amend was 15-13, but apparently Councillor Fletcher, who has been quite pro-bike lane, made an error in her vote (or some have said there was a technical glitch).
Tomorrow is do or die. Either council approves the loan guarantee and contract with Bixi, or it will be a long, long time before Toronto gets its own bikesharing program. Please go to City Hall at 10 am with your bike helmet on to show your support. The Mayor is making a special push for it!
Here is a fast update about what is happening in the world of Sam James and the bike lane that runs in front of his shop. For those not in the know, Emma, barista extrdinare had a wee bit of a run in with a car driver that really needed a coffee and had to park in the bike lane to get it.
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