The new City Council will have their first meeting next week. One of the first big tasks that they will face is to set the new city budget. Included in that budget will be items related to implementing the Toronto Bike Plan. Bike Plan projects will be competing with other initiatives or projects for the limited funds the City has. Last year the Bike Plan did not do well. only $1.5 million was budgeted for Bike Plan capital projects where $3 million was needed for the Bike Plan to stay on course. Supporters of the Bike Plan will of course make the case to Toronto City Councillors to fully fund the Bike Plan, however, perhaps it is time for cycling advocates to take a new tack. We need to help City Council find new funds for cycling infrastructure.

Since the provincial and municipal elections there has been talk of a 'New Deal for Cities' or a New Urban Agenda. There appears to be money available from the upper levels of Government for municipal infrastructure. Some of that money should be earmarked for cycling infrastructure.

Today, November 28th, 2003, the Federal Liberal MPs and the Provincial Liberal MPPs had a caucus meeting in Toronto. They discussed the new urban agenda. The only two topics on that agenda they discussed were transit and housing. There are many other urban issues that need to be looked at. In particular we need to convince them to add cycling infrastructure to the agenda.

The Toronto Cycling Committee has passed a motion at it's November 17th, 2003 meeting asking City Council to requests funds for cycling infrastructure in its negotiations with negotiations with the Federal and Provincial governments on the new urban agenda. Once the new council is in place we will have to lobby councillors to get City Council to take this postion.

In the mean time Toronto residents who want a more bicycle friendly city need to convince the other levels of government to support funding cycling infrastructure. Toronto residents should e-mail or phone their Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament and ask them to add cycling to the New Urban Agenda.

If we want to get long term stable funding for the Toronto Bike Plan will have to lobby of all levels of government. To find out who your MPs and MPPs are you can go to the following sites and enter your postal code. You will then get the MP's or MPP's web page with all the contact information. Click on the following to Find your Member of Parliament by Postal Code. Click on this link to Find your Member of Provincial Parliament.