I wanted to do a couple of background articles on the Bike Plan related items in (actually not in) the 2007 Operating budget. However time is short. The budget process is rushed. To save time I decided to publish my planned budget deputation here as an open letter with a link to some background information on the state of the implementation of the Bike Plan in the Parks Forestry and Recreation Division. Please feel free to use this information to develop your own deputations or letters to councillors to encourage them to support "speeding up the implementation of Toronto's Bike Plan" as the Mayor's Mandate states. The deputation follows:

It has been recognized that there is a need to accelerate the Toronto Bike Plan. That need was first formally identified in a staff report of August 2005 entitled “Toronto Bike Plan - 3 Year Implementation Strategy”. It was recognized by the Mayor and members of this committee when they were surveyed on their views on cycling and walking in the past election by the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) . It was recognized by the Mayor when he included "speed up the implementation of Toronto's Bike Plan" as one of the priorities in the Mayor's Mandate. Unfortunately it was not recognized as the 2007 Operating budget was being drawn up. Two of the divisions with responsibilities for delivering major components of the Bike Plan, the City Planning Division and the Parks Forestry and Recreation Division, included no enhancements to the Bike Plan related programs under their responsibility. This will leave the cycling promotion, safety and education programs underfunded and undelivered and will leave a serious backlog in the expansion and maintenance of the Bikeway Network trails in Toronto's parks and ravines.

The Bike Plan tends to be seen as a program to build bike lanes, on streets. There is more to it than that. In addition to building the Bikeway Network on streets and ensuring that all streets are bike friendly, it recognized that there needs to be the promotion of cycling as a transportation alternative. It recognized that there needs to be cycling safety information and cycling education programs delivered to the residents of Toronto to ensure that they get out and use the bikeway network and use it safely.

The 2005 staff report stated that there was a need to increase the funding to cycling promotion, safety and education programs. It found that the funding for these programs had not increased since 2001 it was still at 2 staff positions and $150,000 in program funding. In 2007 there are still only 2 positions and $159,000 in program funding for these areas. The staff report indicated that to be able to implement the programs recommended in the Bike Plan it would require “something like a doubling of current City Planning Division staff and funding levels”. The Toronto Cycling Committee (TCC) followed that guideline in their 2007 Operating budget recommendations. They are recommending a total of $270,000 be added to the City Planning Divsion Budget for these programs and $100,000 to Toronto Public Health budget for a cycling safety campaign.

The lack of funding to this point has lead to an erosion in the programming that is offered. The 2005 staff report indicated that there was a 30 % erosion in purchasing power. The effects of that were seen last year when the Cycling Ambassadors program saw a reduction of staff from 10 to 6 positions in 2006. This is from a one time high of 20 positions. These are the staff that are supposed to deliver the cycling safety, education and promotion programs. Fewer of them mean that they will be reaching fewer people. The lack of increase has also meant that new programs cannot be developed and implemented. The Toronto Cycling Committee saw a need to start a safety campaign on the issue of sidewalk cycling. They proposed that the 2006 Planning Division budget be increased to undertake that. Council turned it down saying outside funding would have to be secured first. For the 2007 budget the TCC has recommended that Toronto Public Health take on this project under its mandate of injury prevention and health promotion with the potential of getting provincial funding toward the program. Other programs that the TCC has recommended for funding are an expansion of the Bike User Group program and the creation of more cycling promotion events year round. Since the inception of the Bike Plan the TCC has recommended that funding for cycling safety education and promotion programs be increased. Staff have recognized the need. Every year those requests have been turned down. Now that the Mayor has said that speeding up the Bike Plan is a priority in his mandate, what more needs to be done to get an increase in the funding for these programs.

The other Division that has not addressed the Mayor's priority to “speed up the implementation of the Bike Plan” is Parks Forestry and Recreation. There have been problems with getting capital projects completed. In 2006 70% of the $500,000 Bikeway Network Expansion budget did not get spent as projects proposed did not get completed. When you look at the State of Good repair backlog the biggest single item is Trails and Pathways. It is $20 million of the total 78 million 2007 estimated need. In spite of it being over 25% of the need only 4% of that need is being addressed in 2007. The challenges facing the acceleration of the Bike Plan in Parks is outlined in the attached background document “Background on Parks Forestry and Recreation Capital Budget 2007 - Toronto Bike Plan related items”.

There are no staff in Parks Forestry and Recreation Division dedicated to overseeing the work on Parks Pathways and Trails. The lack of Staff has been recognized in the Transportation Services Division and has finally being addressed in 2007 with the addition of 4 staff. This issue needs to be addressed in PF&R as well. The TCC is recommending that one staff position of Senior Trails and Pathways Planner be created to coordinate the work done on trial and pathways and to ensure that the issues of project completion and the huge backlog in repairs to trails and pathways in parks be addressed.

I would ask that you ensure that the Mayor's Mandated priority of “speeding up the implementation of Toronto's Bike Plan” is taken seriously and that funds are budgeted toward these programs that have been neglected for far too long.

This is the critical week to put pressure on Council and get all elements of the Toronto Bike Plan funded so write early and write often. The details on how to contact the Budget Committee and councillors are in the Previous Article