Cycling Common Sense...

...I don't believe there is anything that would prevent cyclists from riding on major roads.

Much pain, no gain with disappearing bike lanes


2011/05/24 09:51:01

When it comes to throwing money down the drain on bike lanes, Toronto isn't alone.

Hey Toronto...Get In Touch With Montreal!

What the future might hold...

Montreal’s Bixi pedals hard for more funds from the city

In two short years, Montreal’s shared bicycle, the Bixi, has risen to iconic status – a trendy symbol of a downtown taste for common experience and carefree two-wheeled commuting.

In the space of a week, it has become a symbol of something even more familiar to Montrealers: a nice idea buried in debt.

Bixi bike share launches in Toronto The not-for-profit, city-owned corporation that developed the Bixi bike system went cap-in-hand to city hall on Tuesday, getting approval for $108-million in loans and guarantees.

City backing for about $71-million in future financing will bolster ambitious plans to sell thousands of the bikes to cities such as Vancouver and New York, all in the hope profits will cover Montreal’s annual $7-million Bixi deficit and eventually pay back a $37-million loan.

Bumpy first ride for Bixi bike program in Toronto
Bixi bike sharing program begins

I Don't See Any Cyclists In The Bike Lane...

Traffic Woes

Bumper to bumper, all the way to Beijing

...quit bitchin' about the Don Valley, Gardaner, etc. 

China 60-Mile Traffic Jam -- Could Last Weeks! 

Pushing The Electorate's Buttons is Easy...

Bike lanes deserve better than to be exploited as a cynical election issue

Much-decried trial program on University could prove its worth with a forward-thinking candidate Apr 14, 2010 

...so the electorate should ask aspiring councilors and mayorality candidates exactly how they will guarantee their promisesd. 

No Problem...

...give cyclists the same privileges as drivers; 

* take a cycling test and obtain a cycling license

* purchase annual license plates for their bikes

* pay the new city fee for licensing their bikes

*obtain insurance

*mandatory helmet and seat belts

*using sidewalks is forbidden and is an offense similar to autos

*inclusion in Ride spot checks

Yikes, make way for the bikes!

By JONATHAN JENKINS and TAMARA CHERRY, Toronto Sun

Move over, drivers, the bicyclists are coming. 

Mayoral candidates' thoughts on bike lanes

By Sun Staff

Here’s what mayoral hopefuls have to say about the proposed bike lanes:

ycling Up. Fatalities Down

Possibly because cyclists are riding on the sidewalks.......

Few lessons learned at downtown site of bike death

By TAMARA CHERRY, SUN MEDIA

At the same intersection where Toronto saw its first cyclist fatality of the year, several cyclists zipped through red lights, road along the crosswalks and navigated the busy sidewalks of Chinatown yesterday.

It was his failure to stop at the red U-turn signal hanging over Spadina Ave. and Nassau St. that police say killed 66-year-old Harold Donald Bilodeau, who turned into the path of a southbound streetcar just after noon Tuesday.

The Toronto man died in St. Michael's Hospital late Thursday afternoon.

"It's not just a streetcar- or a TTC-related issue. That's a problem that we see on a daily basis, that cyclists just don't take enough precautions in their safety," Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows said yesterday.

"There's excellent signage down there ... plenty of opportunity where you can safely and legally make U-turns and turns. The problem was, in this particular case, the cyclist did it against a red light and never took into account the transit system had a green light at the same time."

In a matter of minutes yesterday, 48 hours after Bilodeau was fatally injured, several cyclists cut across the same intersection against red signals. Most of them looked both ways before doing so.

While public interest in cycling has gone up, the number of cycling collisions has gone down, Burrows noted.

TAMARA.CHERRY@SUNMEDIA.CA

'Rules' a cyclist lives by

By JENNY YUEN, SUN MEDIA

It wasn't the type of lesson the student expected.

A police officer on his bike chased down and fined the first-year U of T student yesterday on St. George St. after he ran a red light on his bicycle. The visibly upset student, who wouldn't give his name, said he was from China and didn't know the rules.

Full Story