bikeToronto: Civic Vote 2003 Council Candidate Jeff Brown Survey Results

Ward 19 - Trinity-Spadina Candidates

Survey Posted:
Jeff Brown
Joe Pantalone
Philip Vettese

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Candidate: Jeff Brown
Office: Councillor
Ward: 19 - Trinity-Spadina
Website: www.electjeffbrown.org
Email: jeff@electjeffbrown.org

Survey Results

1) Are you familiar with the Toronto Bike Plan and will you support its implementation of as one means of reducing car dependance as outlined in Toronto's Official Plan?

Strongly Support

Comments: As a former community newspaper publisher (The West End Revue), I donated advertising space in our publication for the promotion of the City of Toronto’s Bike Week. The newspaper itself was distributed each month to over 200 location using bicycle trailers. I am very committed to cycling issues and, yes; I am very familiar with Toronto’s bike plan. I am in full support of implementation of the existing bike plan, however I think that it should be more aggressively expanded in the downtown core, as that is the area, according to City report, where most of the collisions involving bicycle occur. Safety for cyclist on our downtown Toronto city streets is a key factor that must be addressed in order to reduce car dependence. Car users will not take up cycling if they perceive that the conditions are unsafe for them to do so.

2) Would you support requests to amend bylaws to exempt bicycles from traffic calming turn restrictions and entry restrictions on streets in your ward?

Strongly Support

Comments: These measure must be undertaken with proper community notification.

3) Do you support measures to ensure that the City of Toronto's policy of keeping bike lanes clear of snow is carried out; and would you support expanding this policy to off road paths?

Strongly Support

Comments: Yes I would fully support removal of snow from bike lanes provided that the City of Toronto also clear the sidewalks of snow as well. If we expect Toronto to become less car dependant, then we must not only encourage cycling in the winter but also make the cities sidewalks safe for pedestrians.

4a) To build the Bikeway Network over the next three years, the Bike Plan recommends that the following amounts be spent by the Works and Emergency Services to build new bike lanes, paths and signed Bike Routes, and by Parks and Recreation to build new bike paths.

Year	Works and Emergency Services	% of Works Capital Budget	Parks and Recreation	% of Parks Capital Budget
2004	$3.0 M	1.23%	$1.2 M	1.66%
2005	$4.5 M	1.85%	$1.2 M	1.66%
2006	$6.0 M	2.46%	$1.5 M	2.08%
** Based on 2003 Parks capital budget of .1 M * Based on 2003 Works capital budget of .67 M

Will you support the above budget requests to implement the Bike Plan?

Strongly Support

Comments: As a member of the Sierra club and the Citizens Against the Front Street Expressway, we actively lobbied council not to accept the proposed FSE for several reasons. The Environmental Assessment on the FSE concluded that the project would increase traffic as much as 200% in some areas while at the same time diminishing air quality in the neighbourhood. The 245 million dollars earmark for this project would be better spent on improving our transit system and paying for the Bike Plan.

5) There are bike lanes and routes proposed for your ward over the remaining eight years of the Bike Plan. Will you be working to get these bikeway routes through the approval process and installed? View Map

Strongly Support

Comments: Yes I would strongly support any bike lanes in Ward 19 with some conditions. One of the proposed bike lanes in this ward is slated for the Front Street Extension. If we succeed in have the FSE removed from the plans, than the bike lane would go with it. However, if we were only successful in removing the connections to the Gardiner to the FSE, then the proposed bike lane would have to be accommodated.

5b) The Toronto Bike Plan proposes a new off road path in the rail corridor which runs through your ward (as highlighted on the attached map). Will you be supporting the building of the railpath? (see www.railpath.ca for more info.)

Strongly Support

Comment: The rail to trail proposal was featured in The West End Revue as a lead story for one of our publications. This proposal is an excellent example of how Toronto should be transforming previously industrial lands into thoughtful and intelligent urban designs.

6) Do you support improved integration between Cycling and The Transit system by such measures as: Bike carrying racks on TCC Buses, and, building secure bike parking facilities at TCC stations?

Strongly Support

Comments: Yes. There needs to be more cooperation between the Cycling and Transit system. In addition to these plans, the TTC and the City of Toronto should also expand and upgrade its bike ring posts.

7) Do you support an expanded city-funded bicycle safety program for adults and children?

Strongly Support

Comments: Both cyclist and car drivers are in desperate need of education. If cyclists are to be respected as vehicles, then they should obey all of the same laws, which many currently do not. Nothing alienates cyclist more from drivers than the flagrant disregard for the same laws that they must adhere to. This only generates ill will towards other cyclist regards if they obey traffic laws or not. Motorists are equally as fraudulent when is comes to disobeying basic traffic laws as the recent surge in pedestrian injuries and fatalities indicates. We need to put more emphasis upon the driver education aspect of this initiative as motorist disregard for traffic laws have a far more devastating results for pedestrians and cyclist.

8) Would you support dedicating more resources to promote bicycle commuting by employees of private and public sector employers, including City of Toronto staff?

Strongly Support

Comments:

9) Would you support initiatives to promote Toronto as a Bicycle Tourism destination?

Strongly Support

Comments: Yes I would, however we must first improve cycling conditions in the city before we start promoting them.

10) Would you support the extension of the former City of Toronto's Zoning Bylaw regarding Bicycle Parking Requirements (which requires bike parking facilities as well as shower and change facilities) to cover all new commercial and residential buildings across the rest of the Megacity?

Strongly Support

Comments:

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