Tragedy on Avenue Road not an Anomaly
Last Wednesday, Miguel Joshua Escanan’s young life was taken while riding his bike on Avenue Road, metres beyond the end of ActiveTO bike lanes (and where a speedway begins).
Bike Plan City Council Update
Exciting projects approved at council!
City Council was in session last week, with a long list of bike infrastructure that was voted on. We've pushed long and hard to ensure our politicians know that building a grid of high quality bike lanes across Toronto is what their constituents want, and now. Thanks to those efforts, the time has come to rejoice!
Thanks to our members' support, these important projects are moving forward:
✅ Danforth Ave: detailed design for bike lanes from Broadview to Dawes due by summer 2020, with implementation to follow
✅ Bloor St W: consult on and implement a bike lane extension from Shaw St to High Park Ave as early as mid-2020
✅ Complete streets process by default: when reconstructing a street, staff must consider building a Complete Street, which includes bike lanes
✅ Cycling Network Update Plan approved, giving staff the go-ahead to pursue studies and consultation on key city-wide projects
That's not all. Some councilors tried to introduce "poison pills" to city staff as a means to slow down bike projects..
Thankfully, we saw these motions aimed at delaying bike lanes ALL struck down. The majority of councillors are now fed up with road blocks that make it harder to build bike lanes:
❌ Only build a bike lane if enough people already bike on a dangerous road? Motion FAILED.
❌ Allow sidewalk riding to avoid building proper cycling infrastructure? Motion FAILED.
❌ Halt the study or consultation process if a bike lanemight remove a car lane? Motion FAILED.
Council also agreed to build bike lanes on Argyle Street, Blue Jays Way, Vaughan Road, and Lawrence Avenue East, while Scarlett Road, Willowdale Avenue, and Conlins Road will receive cycle tracks - all in 2019!
It's great to see progress in the right direction so early on in this term of council. To continue making these approved plans a reality, we need support. The timelines are ambitious, and getting these projects up to the construction stage can still be fraught with roadblocks. This is where our advocacy and organizing work plays a vital role and is exactly the work that our membership dues would continue to support.
Help support our work: join, renew or donate today!
Header photo by Claudio Vera
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