The next phase of Toronto's Municipal budget process gets underway this coming Monday when the Operating Budget is released. Cycling advocates will be looking at the budget to see if there is support for the the Toronto Bike Plan. On March 29th, 2007 they have a chance to ask to members of the Budget Committee to support the budget requests made by the Toronto Cycling Committee (TCC) and echoed by the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation and its supporters.

The Capital budget, which was set by Council in March, held one significant improvement for advancing the Bike Plan in that it added 4 staff to the Cycling & Pedestrian Infrastructure Unit of the Transportation Services Division to accellerate the work on planning and designing bike lanes. The lack of adequate staffing was identified in a 2005 staff report on accelerating the Bike Plan Bike Plan 3 Year Strategy Report. This lack of staff not only slowed down the progress in getting bike lanes on streets but also in getting bike trails in parks and in getting cycling promotion, safety and education programs developed and delivered. As it works on the operating budget the Budget Committee should ensure that these other elements of the Bike Plan are accelerated by getting the additional staff needed to implement them.

The TCC operating budget recommendations address these areas of concern where a lack of staffing has slowed the implemention of the Bike Plan:

• Add a senior position of Cycling and Pathways Planner to the Parks Forestry and Recreation Division
  
• Increase the budget for Cycling safety, education and promotion by $270,000.00 to the Planning Division budget fund programs recommended in the Toronto Bike Plan. This would allow for the following programs to be funded.

  -Bike User Group Network -$50,000.00 to expand the network of Bike User Groups
  -Cycling Ambassador program - $150,000.00 to expand this program which has had no funding increase since 2001 which has lead to a 40% cut in staff to deliver this program
  -Bike Week - $10,000 to expand Bike Week in 2007
  -New Cycling promotion events - $60,000.00 to support and develop promotions and events year round beyond Bike Week.
  

• Sidewalk Cycling Public Education Campaign - Add $100,000 to the Toronto Public Health budget to fund a public education program to address the issue of sidewalk cycling.

The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) has included these recommendations in its platform and is calling on Council to adopt these recommendations. You can see more info on this at the following link TCAT - 2007 Operating Budget.

The opportunity to ask the Councillors to support these recommendations is next Thursday, March 29th. You can make a deputation to the Budget Committee in person or you can send in a written deputation.

• To make a deputation in person on March 29th call 416-392-6662 to get on the list.
• To send written presentations to the Budget Committee.
  - by e-mail: send to mmacdona@toronto.ca
  (note this e-mail address has been corrected. In the original post I had the e-mail incorrectly listed as mmcdonna@toronto.ca. If you have sent to this e-mail please resend to the correct e-mail above.)
  - by fax: send to (416) 392-1879
  

There was disappointment among cycling advocates that the promised increase the Transportation Services for Cycling infrastructure to bring it up to $6 million was not supported by Council in the Capital budget and that the Parks budget for cycling infrastructure has not seen any increase. There is still an opportunity for the Mayor and Council to follow through on their commitments to support cycling and the Toronto Bike Plan by approving the above recommendations in the Operating budgets.