There is a motion on the agenda of the April 9th Public Works and Infrastructure Committee PWIC that asks City of Toronto Staff to report on a measure aimed at improving snow clearing from the City of Toronto's bicycle lanes. This is the result of a discussion at the The Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee (TCAC) meeting of March 17th, 2008. The measure being considered is:

...enforcing a temporary "No Parking" policy along designated snow routes, for key roads or key portions of major thoroughfares, preceding forecasted snow storms, in order to provide motorists ample notice to not park on the designated roads and to facilitate the clearing of snow right to the curb, thereby providing cyclists with sufficient space to ride safely on the designated road.

The TCAC will follow up on this at their next meeting on April 14th. Committee members have been asked to come forward with a list of priority bike lanes that should be kept clear of snow.

There have been complaints this winter, as there has been in past winters, that snow has been piling up in bike lanes. The issue was brought up last week at the Toronto Cycling Committee(TCC) meeting. Members of the committee had several examples of locations where snow was blocking the bike lane either because the plows only plowed up to the edge of the bike lane or people had shovelled snow from their driveways or side walks into the bike lane. The web site www.getoutofthebikelane.com has a series of photos illustrating the problem.

At the TCC meeting Daniel Egan of the City's Cycling and Pedestrian Infrastructure unit explained that for streets with bike lanes the policy is to plow 1 metre into the bike lane. It was apparent from comments around the table at the TCC meeting that that policy is not followed in all locations. There are actions that cyclists can take if their lane is blocked by snow.

The recent edition of the Cycling News, which is published by the City of Toronto. explained how you can call the City's SNOW line to complain about the condition of the bike lane and hopefully get a crew to come out and clean it out. I have quoted information from the cyclometer below.

4. Snow Clearing Phone Number

If the roads are ploughed but the bike lanes are not, here are the numbers to call. The general public snow line, for information or to make a complaint, is 416-338-SNOW. To call in a complaint about snow in bike lanes in Transportation District 1 (Old Toronto, East York and York where most of the bike lanes are) you can also call 416-392-7737. When calling, be prepared to clearly identify the location where you are requesting additional snow clearing. During and immediately after a major snow storm the crews are working around the clock. Wait for at least 12 hours after the storm has finished before making a complaint.

Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC) took action into their own hands and shoveled out a bike lane on January 8th, 2003. You can see photos here "Liberate a Bike Lane" or read about it at their web site.

Calling the staff at the City's Transportation Department will alert them to the fact that cyclists do use the bike lanes in the winter and that the plow operators need to keep them clear. The policy for winter maintenance of bike lanes is there. We have to remind them of it and make sure that it is applied.

Today will possibly be the last chance for the public to have their say on the Front Street Extension. The Works Committee will hear deputations on the propsal to extend Front Street from Bathurst to Strachan and then on to the Gardiner Expressway.

Throughout the process to approve this project many residents of Toronto have raised objections to the plan. One group that has been lobbying the councillors on this issue is Citizens Against the Front Expressway (CAFE). In a report that will be presented to the Works Committtee today city staff have outlined responses to the concerns raised by residents and in some cases outlined changes that have been made to the plan. You can read the full report here. (Front Street Extension Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design Study Addendum Report-PDF). Whether or not this report satisfies the residents will be seen at the deputations today.

Cycling gets mentioned in one section of the above report. Below is a quote of the staff response to concerns raised about problems cyclists will face given the increased traffic levels on the street.

(viii) Accommodation of Cyclists and Pedestrians Another common concern expressed by stakeholders was the need to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians within the Front Street Extension right-of-way. Between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue, the recommended plan includes a wide recreational path in the north boulevard to be shared by both cyclists and pedestrians as well as eastbound and westbound on-street bicycle lanes. The local street component of the Front Street Extension, west of Strachan Avenue, provides a sidewalk in the north boulevard, a promenade overlooking the railway and Exhibition Place lands in the south boulevard, and on-street bicycle lanes.

The other intersting change outlined in the report is the cost of the project. Originally budgeted at $140 million it used to be the case that for half of the cost of the 2 kilometre Front Street Expressway you could build the entire 1000 kilometre Bikeway Network that is outlined in the Toronto Bike Plan. Since that time the estimated cost has increased to $170 million and now in this report to $235 million. Again to build the entire 1000 km network of Bike lanes, off-road trails and on street routes would cost roughly $75 million dollars. That is less than the increase in the cost of this project. It seems City Council will have no problem approving this entire amount for 2 km of road but those wanting improved cycling facillities will have to begging to City Council every year at budget time.

The next stage for this will be City Council. If you have concerns about this you can contact your local Councillor. You can go to the City Councillors page to find the name of your Councillor and their contact information. You can also make your views known to the Mayor

In November of 2002 the City of Toronto launched a Transportation Master Plan Study for the Don Valley Corridor. A reader of BikeToronto.ca alerted me to this story and I found the City of Toronto's website with information on Don Valley Corridor Transportation Master Plan: toronto.ca/planning/dvp.htm. The goal of the study is "to improve transportation operations and person-carrying capacity in the Don Valley Corridor." This is something that should concern cyclists as the Don Trail, a major off road path runs right along the Don Valley Parkway. I am not sure if this has anything to do with a study that proposed adding more lanes to the DVP as toll lanes. That idea was rejected by City Coucil in November of 2001. (See previous article) The web page says the study will look at increasing "person carrying capacity". The study will look at a series of options. I have quoted those below.

To that end, this study will investigate options such as:
-operational/capacity improvements at strategic locations in the corridor (e.g. ramp, intersection and road improvements)
-dedicated car pool/transit lanes
-improvements and enhancements (physical and operational) to existing transit facilities
-parking facilities along major transit routes
new transit service opportunities.

I don't have much more information on this at the moment but I will post when I do. If any of you have more information please don't hesitate to e-mail me or post a comment to this article.

The Front Street extension was one of the four waterfront priority projects agreed to by the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and the Canadian Government. The others were environmental studies looking at rejuvinating the mouth of the Don River, preparing the Portlands for future development, and the expansion of Union Station. They were to be the first steps in a long term plan to regenerate Toronto's waterfront. One of the rationales behind the Front Street Extension was to provide an alternate route for motorists while the construction to bury the Gardiner expressway was ongoing. Here is the Waterfront Revitilization Corporation's Front Street Extension and interchange web page for the project

There is a citizens group forming to fight the Front Street Extension plan, Citizens Against the Front Expressway. They had a meeting on October 9th, 2002 and have a web site up: battlefront.respect.to. Their next meeting will be on October 22nd at 7:00 pm at Nativity of The Mother of God Cathedral (Dundas and Crawford, NW corner of Trinity-Bellwood Park). If you go to their site it has all the details and the minutes of their October 9th Meeting.

The plan for the Front Street extension originated as one of the plans to rejuvinate the waterfront. It will extend Front street from Bathurst to Dufferin. At $170 million this two kilometer roadway will cost at least twice what it will cost to create the entire 1000 km network of bikeways envisioned in the Toronto Bike Plan over 10 years. The design of this new roadway is now up for discussion with some public meetings to be held in October. Interestingly the design includes bike lanes or an off road path along the stretch from Bathurst to Duffering perhaps as an olive branch to those opposing increased car use in the downtown core. To mix metaphors, they are not biting.

A meeting will be held on October 9th to discuss how to oppose the Front Street Extension. An e-mail was sent out which is quoted below. The details of the meeting are contained in the quote along with contact information.

Public Notice


Do you accept a 200% increase in car traffic?

All three levels of government are studying the possibility of creating an expressway that would extend Front Street from Bathurst to connect with the Gardiner. According to the City of Toronto, traffic from the new extension will increase by over 200% in some of the immediate residential neighbourhoods along Spadina, Bathurst, Strachen and Dufferin.

Do you want an increase of smog and noise pollution?

More cars means more smog. According to the Ontario Medical Association (O.M.A.), over 1,900 people in Ontario die each from the effects of air pollution. 40 % of Toronto's air pollution comes from car exhaust. The O.M.A. estimates that it cost Ontario over a billion dollars each year to treat people suffering from the effects of air pollution.

Do you support another property tax increase?

The estimated cost of the Front Street Expressway is 170 million dollars. Additional, indirect costs, such as the relocation of the Toronto Police traffic Services Building, will amount to at least $155 million. Money that will come from taxpayers' pockets.

THE FRONT STREET EXPRESSWAY IS NOT A DONE DEAL

There is still time to voice our opposition to the Front Street Expressway. We also have politics on our side: the proposed expressway violates both the City of Toronto's new Official Plan and the Province of Ontario's Smart Growth Panel's initiative to reduce car dependency within Southern Ontario.

For more information on how we can oppose the Front Street Expressway, please attend;


Battle Front!

Citizens Against the Front Street Expressway
On Wednesday October 9th 201 Niagara 7pm.
Or check the CAFSE website
www.respect.to/postal/listinfo/battlefront
Or call Jeff Brown at 416-927-1856

The Toronto Department of Works and Emergency Services has sent out a message to cyclists in the City asking them to walk their bikes through the construction site on the Queen Street bridge that spans the Don River. The message is quoted below

There are signs posted

and messages painted on the sidewalk.

The message from the City is quoted below.
...(more)

If you cycle the streets of Toronto you will sometimes see these and often too late.

If there is one on your favourite route that you want to see gone you can contact the City of Toronto's service Access Toronto at 416-338-0338. Be ready with the area of the City that the pothole lives. Once you tell them that they can tell you the number for your district Transportation Services office for road or sidewalk repair. You then phone that number and report the pothole.

You can also e-mail Access Toronto at access_toronto@city.toronto.on.ca

The one above is on Scarborough Road near Swanwick. I will report this one and see what happens.