The new Mayor and new council have been elected and all the media outlets are now trying to determine what the philosophical leanings of the new council are to attempt to predict the direction the new council will take. They are trying to determine whether the council has shifted to the centre or even to the centre-left. In the last council votes on cycling issues did not always go along the 1/3-2/3, left-right split that existed in the previous council. Many Bike Plan votes passed because advocates for the Bike Plan managed to appeal to a broader portion of council. It was always a struggle and we often came away with compromises rather than outright victories. The question that those who want to press on with implementing the Toronto Bike Plan is not necessarily "Has the balance of power at council shifted leftward?", rather the question is "Is the new council more bike friendly?"

We have compiled a list of the members of the new Council including the Mayor, David Miller, and all the victorious councillors. It has links to their Vote2003@BikeToronto survey responses, for those who returned them, as well as to voting records of the returning incumbent councillors. Also there are links to individual ward maps with the proposed Bikeway Network routes on them. You can see all of that information at the following page.New Toronto City Council .

In one third of the wards the incumbent did not run or was defeated. As I look through the survey responses of the new councillors I see that there are some who are much more supportive of cycling than those that they defeated. After a quick look over the new council I have seen a few significant changes.

The above three councillors, who are not returning, were not supportive of the Bike Plan. All three voted with Case Ootes on his motion to rescind the approval of the Dundas East bike lanes. They will not be there if Mr. Ootes tries to reintroduce his motion.

In other Wards the new councillors are replacing councillors who supported the Bike Plan to some degree. In Ward 18 Adam Giambrone is a staunch advocate of cycling and stated his support for the railpath project in his campaign literature. In Ward 14 Syliva Watson expressed strong support for the Bike Plan in her survey response. In Ward 30 Paula Fletcher expressed strong support for cycling carrying on the tradition in that ward that has been carried on by Jack Layton and Laura Jones. In Ward 6 Mark Grimes expressed strong support for Bike Plan initiatives. He replaces Irene Jones who was a steadfast supporter of cycling and who got some important Bikeway Network projects started. Mr. Grimes should continue the work of extending the Bikeway Network in Ward 6. In Ward 39 Mike Del Grande is a new councillor. His survey responses indicated he strongly supported the Bike Plan. He defeated Sherene Shaw.

For some of the candidates we don't have information as they did not submit survey responses. We will try to get their views on cycling issues in the near future. For now, we can look at who they are replacing. In Ward 44 Gay Cowbourne defeated Ron Moeser whose voting record on the Bike Plan was not supportive. In Ward 37 Michael Thompson replaces Lorenzo Berardinetti who has supported the Bike Plan to some degree but sided with Case Ootes on the vote to remove the Dundas East bike lanes as did Moeser. In Ward 25 Clifford Jenkins replaces Joanne Flint. Councillor Flint's voting record was generally supportive of the Bike Plan except for the Dundas East Bike Lane vote, she also voted to support Councillor Ootes motion. In Ward 16 Karen Stintz replaces Anne Johnston a councillor who consistently supported cycling. Lets hope Councillor Stintz continues that support. In Ward 13 Bill Saundercook replaces David Miller who is now the new Mayor. Given Miller's consistent support for cycling over the years that may be a loss in that ward but a huge gain in the Mayor's chair.

That brings us to the last seat on council with a new face. David Miller replaces Mel Lastman as Mayor. David Miller consistently voted to support the Toronto Bike Plan at the key council votes. He supported requests to increase the Bike Plan budget. In his survey response he was supportive but not given to rash promises. His answer to the question on funding of the Bike Plan was measured. He expressed support for the 2003 level of funding plus inflation but was frank about the budget pressures that the new council will face. He said he would support allocating a portion any surplus from the relevant budgets to the Bike Plan. He also endorsed using money in existing budgets to support Bike Plan initiatives. "I wholeheartedly endorse those initiatives that can be undertaken as part of new road construction or the reconstruction of existing roads, current information and education programs, current repair and maintenance programs. "

I think this Council is definitely more bike friendly than the past one. This does not mean easy sailing for the Bike Plan. It is just one of the many initiatives that will be competing for funds when the new council starts budget deliberations. Advocates of cycling will still have to make their case through the 2004 budget process, which will start very soon, to get full funding of the Bike Plan. Local residents will still have to work with their councillors in their communities to convince them that there is local support for Bikeway Network projects. The good thing is that I think we will get a much better reception than we have in the past.

On December 1st, 2003 the new Council will start their new term. BikeToronto.ca will follow their progress in implementing the bike plan over the next three years as we have over the past three. This wraps up our Vote2003@BikeToronto.ca municipal election coverage. We now resume regularly scheduled programming.