Cycling Advocacy 101

Cycling Advocacy 101

Getting started in cycling advocacy can be a bit daunting: there is a lot to learn! This guide outlines the steps to an effective advocate for the consultation and development of equitable cycling infrastructure in Toronto and your neighbourhood. This guide will walk you through:

  • How Cycle Toronto advocates for safer cycling routes
  • Plans and studies that identify locations for cycling routes
  • The process through which cycling infrastructure is installed at city hall
  • Cycle Toronto campaigns, such as Bikes Love Bloor, Yonge, and Danforth; Protected Bike lanes on Eglinton; and advocacy for vulnerable road users
  • How to get involved on city-wide and local projects, from writing the occasional email to taking on a volunteer leadership role
  • How to get involved in projects in your neighbourhood through the Ward Advocacy Program

The big picture: what is needed to get a cycling project approved?

  • Strong community support: Gaining the support of the local residents, businesses, and business improvement areas (BIAs) is hugely important in getting a cycling project approved. Often, the first step is making sure the community is aware that people are talking about change.
  • Local stakeholder buy-in: Stakeholders are organizations or residents that have a vested interest in the project at hand. For instance; stakeholders for a bike lane project on a major road could include nearby schools, major employers, residents’ associations, Cycle Toronto and more. Finding ways to identify the needs and concerns of stakeholders can help move a project forward or help you find a new ally.
  • Inclusion in a bike plan: having a route already identified in a Cycling Network Plan, which we discuss on the 'From Plan to Reality' page, is a big help in advocating for its construction
  • Councillor support: Councillors must hear from their constituents when something needs to be changed or else they may never know that desire is there. Hearing the same thing from many people reinforces its important.
  • City staff support: ensuring that a cycling project is feasible and a priority for city staff is important because they will be the ones designing it!

What does Cycle Toronto do?

advocacy on behalf of our members and provides resources for cyclists to be effective advocates themselves, such as through our Ward Advocacy Program. Together we are able to present a strong, unified voice advocating for the rights of people of all ages and abilities from every corner of the city to be able to safely choose how they travel. This includes legitimizing and raising the profile of cycling as a form of transportation and recreation.

Cycle Toronto does its advocacy work by:

  • Educational outreach: Create and share educational resources that enable more people to safely ride bikes and increase public familiarity with cycling,

  • Working directly with the City: Regularly interact with the Mayor, councillors’ offices, and City staff to identify problems and work toward solutions,

  • Collaboration: work with provincial and federal advocacy groups such as Share the Road Coalition, Velo Bikes Canada, and more!

  • Organization: Work with ward groups, volunteers, and extensive contact lists to collectively action important items

From Plan to Reality

Process of getting cycling infrastructure installed

The process of getting a bicycle infrastructure project approved typically starts with the Cycling Network Plan (CNP), but not always. With ActiveTO, some projects were introduced that were not in the CNP. For typical projects under the CNP, the Transportation Services department within the City of Toronto will evaluate a potential route using the following metrics:

  • How many people use it today or might use it if it was built (demand)
  • Does a route make it easier to get to a popular destination? (trip generators)
  • Connectivity
  • Barrier crossings
  • Equity
  • Transit access
  • Network coverage
  • Safety

These factors are then mapped in Attachment 1 of the Cycling Network Plan, "Analysis Scores of Proposed Cycling Network."

City of Toronto plans

The City of Toronto has approved many documents to guide the installation of cycling infrastructure. With the recent pandemic, there are both permanent and temporary projects. For more information on temporary projects, see our webpage on ActiveTO. As well, you can read more about the Cycling Network Plan on the City of Toronto website.

 

 

10-Year Cycling Network Plan (2016)

See page 2 for the full map. This is the overview of routes across the city that the city intends to study or build. The CNP identifies routes to grow, connect, or renew existing infrastructure.

View the Cycling Network Plan Map


Near-Term Implementation Plan (2019-2021)

This was passed in 2019 to focus the efforts of the next three years of work. This was done to focus the work efforts into a smaller time period and improve road work coordination, accountability, and implementation.

View the Near-Term Implementation Plan Map



Map of Major City-Wide Cycling Routes (2019-2021)

This map is one of the many maps passed as part of the Near-Term Implementation Plan. It shows major City-Wide cycling routes that will serve as the backbone of the cycling network.

View the Major City-Wide Cycling Routes Map

Consultation to Construction

Once a route is selected, City staff meet with the local councillors and other city divisions, such as the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and other divisions as needed, to identify known issues and plot a collaborative path to success. Once the initial known roadblocks have been identified, staff will prepare a draft design and present it with a community consultation, often with a public open house and survey to collect feedback from residents and stakeholders, such as business owners and local organizations. Throughout the consultation process, the city will also often work with stakeholders to identify challenges and work to solve them.

Learn more

"How do bike lanes get built?" It's one of the most commonly-asked questions we receive, so we asked the experts at the City of Toronto to walk us through the process. Hear from Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão, City of Toronto Ward 9 Davenport Councillor; Becky Katz, City of Toronto, Cycling and Pedestrian Projects Unit; and Kanchan Maharaj, City of Toronto, Cycling and Pedestrian Projects Unit, who present on the technical and political elements to getting a bike lane constructed in Toronto.

 

 

Watch the recording

How does the City of Toronto create a cycling map? What goes in to the creation? Learn more about the process!

Building Momentum

Building Momentum

Cycle Toronto maintains a number of campaigns with the goal of building long-term support for cycling infrastructure.

How long does a campaign last?

Building support can often take years, not months or weeks, so each campaign is carefully-selected to fill a gap in the cycling network. Historically, Cycle Toronto's major campaigns have focused on the core, where support for cycling is higher among both councillors and residents. However, as the culture of cycling grows, residents across the city have begun to call on elected officials to make it safe and easy to ride their bikes no matter where they live. Additionally, Cycle Toronto's most well-known campaigns have been focused on road redesign, but work will need to be done in the suburbs to make cycling affordable and accessible, which means thinking about more than just bike lanes and cycling infrastructure.

Building a culture of cycling

Demand for cycling has always existed in Toronto, but it was not always a priority. Making it possible for residents to share their stories is one way Cycle Toronto has been working to highlight the demand for improvements to cycling infrastructure in Toronto and a stronger understanding of cyclists' rights and the rules of the road. Building a culture of cycling requires two major efforts:

  1. Bicycle access: being able to own and afford a bicycle; having a bicycle to ride to get around, feeling confident enough to ride a bicycle, and
  2. Having safe places to ride

Step 1: Bicycle Access

The first objective involves having access to a bicycle, whether it means owning your own bicycle or using a BikeShare bike. For many residents, the cost of a bicycle may be a barrier, as it can be a much higher upfront cost compared to a transit pass, for example. Once someone has a bicycle, feeling comfortable and confident is the next step. Cycle Toronto runs workshops and webinars to teach new cyclists the rules of the road. Many of this information is available on our Resources page. We also announce upcoming webinars on our Events page.

Step 2: Having a safe place to ride

Once someone has a bicycle and has decided that they want to get around by bike, they need a safe place to ride. Depending on where you live in the city, this isn't always easy. Advocating for safe cycling infrastructure for all residents, regardless of where they live, is incredibly important. Toronto has seen major progress building bike lanes primarily in the core and we have a long way to go before we achieve a city-wide network of safe cycling routes.

How Cycle Toronto picks campaigns

Campaign direction is determined in conjunction with staff and the Board of Directors. Campaigns are developed after much consideration and may take many years to achieve success. As well, the campaign's focus may shift over time; for instance, Bloor Loves Bikes first campaigned to get a bike lane on Bloor St. When a pilot was installed, this shifted to building support for the pilot and advocating for it to become permanent. Once the bike lane was made permanent, a western extension to High Park was the next target for advocacy efforts. The bike lane has since been built as far as Runnymede Road.

How does Cycle Toronto build momentum and support for its campaigns? Learn more about the process, our current campaigns, and some of our past efforts.

Get Involved in Cycling Advocacy

Supporting cycling infrastructure and building a stonger cycling culture can range from a low level of involvement, from just an hour of time per month, to taking on a volunteer role, whether supporting a campaign or leading a working group. It's important to assess how much time you have so that you don't overcommit and burn out. Start out small, read about cycling projects, connect with your neighbours and family members to talk about cycling, and bring up cycling topics in your community. You always have an opportunity to reach out to your workplace, your neighbourhood or residents' association, or school to bring them in to the conversation.

Email, phone calls, and letter writing campaigns

  • Sign up to receive email updates from Cycle Toronto. Make sure you click the options to receive Action Alerts and subscribe to District Announcements. We email our members occasionally to ask them to send emails, write letters, or make phone calls to advocate for cycling infrastructure. If you have neighbours who want to see more cycling infrastructure, ask them to sign up for Action Alerts and District Announcements, too!
  • Email your councillor to express your support for cycling infrastructure in your neighbourhood. If there is a particular project happening, mention it! If you're not sure who your councillor is, you can type in your address to this city webpage. When you email your councillor, always provide your address so that they know you are a constituent.

Ward Advocacy

The Ward Advocacy Program is at the heart of Cycle Toronto. Individuals come together in groups that build relationships with residents associations, businesses, schools and local elected officials. The vision of the program is to build a movement of grassroots advocacy in local wards which will improve cycling for everyone in the city. The Ward Advocacy Program is meant to engage cyclists and non-cyclists alike to support activities that promote the everyday use of bicycles by improving infrastructure, facilities and the public perception of cycling as a valid and vital mode of Transportation.

You can get involved in ward advocacy in a number of ways:

Joining an existing ward advocacy group

If an advocacy group already exists, you're in luck! There will be at least one volunteer running the group and you'll want to attend their meetings to find out where they need help. Some activities you might be able to help out with could include:

  • Communication support: helping to write submissions to the City, particularly on projects happening in your neighbourhood, helping to run social media accounts or newsletters, or helping to monitor the email address
  • Advocacy support: tracking advocacy issues in your neighbourhood or acting as the lead on specific projects or developments
  • Outreach support: acting as a liaison between other groups, such as Residents' Associations, Community Improvement Areas (CIA), Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), and friends of park organizations; helping to organize or run bike rides or outreach events
  • Leadership role: supporting the ward leader as a Co-Leader or Vice Leader, for instance
  • Meeting-based support: making sure meetings stay on track as the meeting Chair or note-taker

If a new ward advocacy group does not yet exist in your neighbourhood, you can help to found one!

Deputations

When important cycling projects are brought to a committee, deputations can be an important way to show local support. We typically receive a one week notice before agenda items are posted to the committee's page on the Toronto City Council and Committee Meetins, Agendas, and Minutes (TMMIS). In advance of a major committee meeting, we will hold a training session to go over the procedures and protocols of deputing at City Hall and walk through how to deliver a deputation.

If we need volunteers to depute at a committee, we typically distribute the notice through a ward advocacy group Google Group, as they are often the most impacful when a resident deputes on a project in their ward.

Committees

Cycle Toronto has four long-standing committees, which support staff on strategic and tactical issues. They are composed of board and non-board members. If you're interested in joining a committee, make sure you subscribe to our Ring & Post newsletter, where we announce new committee openings.

Community Outreach

If you are involved with any community organizations, such as a local resource centre, a resident's association, or a recreation centre, talk to them about cycling! Cycle Toronto is interested in partnering with organizations that are based in the community to conduct better outreach across the city. If you have success bringing it up with your community or if you work with an organization that is curious to know more, please let us know! Cycle Toronto can also offer customized digital workshops.

Here are some ideas that you can raise with your community organization:

  • Writing letters of support when bicycle infrastructure is going to be discussed at Infrastructure and Environment Committee (IEC) or City Council
  • Improving bicycle parking, such as by installing a bicycle rack at a building
  • Find ways to make it easier for members to cycle, such as by fundraising to buy community members a bicycle, setting up workshops to teach people how to ride a bike or how to repair a bike, etc
  • Developing a proactive 311 squad to report issues to the City, such as broken glass in a bike lane, broken ring and post bike parking, etc

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