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05-28-06, 04:22 PM
Cyclists of the city unite!
May 28, 2006. 09:06 AM
LESLIE SCRIVENER
STAFF REPORTER
Growing up in a small town in the Netherlands, Astrid de Vries was always on her bike — it was a way of life. "Almost everyone cycled to school as children," she recalls. "I rode a half hour each way."
As an adult, de Vries trained to be a diplomat, and spent four years working in The Hague, where she cycled every day — in business suits and high heels — to her job in the ministry of Foreign Affairs. When she had children, they too, travelled in a carrier attached to the front of her bike.
Now 37, de Vries is deputy head of mission at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Toronto. And here, she cycles far less often.
When her husband bikes with their children, now two and four, drivers and passersby shout, saying he's crazy for transporting them in the carrier — "a reaction we never had in the Netherlands."
De Vries finds the hulking SUVs and minivans, along with the lack of bike lanes, nerve-racking. "You feel more vulnerable," she says. "In the Netherlands, you are part of a constant stream of cyclists, and it makes drivers more aware. In bike lanes, you feel more relaxed; here, you feel you have to be on guard."
Cycling activists say it's elementary: more bike lanes, and connected bike lanes, are key to making Toronto a great city for cyclists.
But consider this: in 2005, just one kilometre of bike lane was built across all of Toronto.
And this: 31 cycling projects—trails and paths — were slated to be built in 2005 and 2006, but only two were approved.
Toronto may be decades away from being North America's Amsterdam — (half of that city's population cycles every day) or years away from catching up to Portland, Oregon, where instead of ticketing cyclists who biked at night without lights, police give away bike lights and help install them.
Now halfway in, Toronto is woefully behind its ambitious and visionary 10-year bike plan. The city was to double the number of cycling trips, build a 1000-kilometre network of paths and cycling lanes, and ensure no one is more than a five-minute ride away from some kind of bikeway. There is now scant hope that the plan will be in place by 2011.
"Everyone feels overwhelmed, even the activists," says Nancy Smith Lea, a cycling researcher who works at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Since Toronto and surrounding municipalities were amalgamated into one super city in 1998, what was conceived as a Toronto-only cycling plan has now been stretched to include the furthest suburbs. "It's hard to plan for a huge city what was really a downtown thing and in many ways, still is."
But one thing that can be done is to build bike lanes. People feel safer riding in them, and will cycle more if they are available — a simple case of if you build them, they will ride.
Separate studies by Smith Lea and the city show that the volume and speed of automobile traffic are the greatest barriers to cycling. "It's the number one thing to be addressed," she says. "Everything else is secondary." Her research shows that fear of heavy traffic is a greater concern for women, at 82 per cent, than men, at 65 per cent.
In a variety of city plans, including Toronto's official plan, and in bylaws, the city of Toronto has laid out a vision that encourages cycling and calls for a reduction in the number of cars on city streets. One of the founding principles is that every city street is a cycling street.
"We could argue that the city has already recognized that bikes are not equal to cars, but better than cars," says journalist and cycling advocate Steve Brearton.
But when it comes to making the great leap — to reduce car use — a kind of gridlock sets in.
"Take, as an example, an east-west corridor," says Brearton, who's also curator of an exhibition on the history of the bicycle in Toronto that opened last week at the Market Gallery.
"They're very keen to say it's not possible, they're not willing to expend the political capital to change the status quo — say, to take out parking spots, which is a big issue. There is a tremendous lack of vision and leadership."
Last week, as Bloor Street makeover plans were announced, cycling advocates were stunned to read that parking spaces were being removed to benefit pedestrians only, including those shopping in chic shops west of Yonge.
What's needed, says Brearton, is a passionate cycling advocate at City Hall — "the way (former planning chief) Paul Bedford would stand up and argue for communities and neighbourhood."
He and others agree that an old-school way of thinking needs to be overcome, one that holds that cycling is the pursuit of children, and that adults don't bike except in parks. Mostly it disparages cycling as a respectable means of transport.
"It's still `the road is for cars' mindset," says Martin Koob, a sign-language interpreter who operates a first-rate website called biketoronto.ca for the Toronto Bicycling Network.
"It hasn't changed to a view that the roads are for cars, bikes and pedestrians, where cycling is a mode of transportation that deserves its fair share of planning, staff and money — though the money is slowly getting better. They're not against cycling; they just don't see the utility of it."
Councillor Case Ootes, of Ward 29, contends that bike lanes are fine for people who live and ride downtown but are not practical for the city as a whole.
"I'm concerned about the overarching strategy of these activists in promoting bicycle lanes," he says. "They want to make it as difficult as possible for people to drive. I don't think it will catch on."
He sees cycling as a seasonal and recreational pursuit and says people are most comfortable travelling in their own cars. "Motorists are suffering more and more frustration. There's no way you can encourage motorists to get out of their cars to use a bicycle to commute to work. It's just not going to happen."
The idea of cyclists and motorists sharing the road has a nice ring, he says, but usually leads to greater traffic congestion.
That's not the case. Since the construction of the contentious Dundas East bike lane, the city's tracking shows 200 fewer cars heading into the city between Kingston Road and Broadview Avenue, and 400 fewer cars leaving in the afternoon.
Most conversations about improving cycling in Toronto eventually come back to approving bike lanes. So far, there are 64 kilometres in the city. But the problem is, they are a broken web — they end suddenly and don't connect.
Margaret Hastings James, 32, who works in desk-top publishing, has cycled only in bike lanes since experiencing three bicycle accidents, including one in which she was hit by a right-turning uniform delivery truck whose driver couldn't see her. "I prefer them because I have a sense of ownership — others recognize my right to be there."
The collision pushed her under the truck, and she was lucky enough to have time to roll away before being crushed by the rear wheels. She's an advocate for side guards on trucks, which are mandatory in the European Union. "I'm both more aggressive and more defensive," she says of her cycling style now.
"I used to expect that people would follow the rules of the road. Now, I don't. I prepare for the worst and am constantly looking for people who turn without signalling.
"I will never ride near a truck."
Two cyclists were crushed to death by trucks in Toronto this year; there were three last year. Reported cyclist collisions are about 1,200 a year. The true numbers are likely higher
The city can't even manage to spend the money it has already allocated for bikeways. Last year $2.2 million was budgeted but only $1.4 million was spent — on trail work on Eglinton Avenue West, and other smaller projects. The rest has been carried over to this year.
A city report from 2005 acknowledging the delays suggests that rather than negotiate the sludge of public meetings, it may be enough, in cases where parking or traffic lanes aren't affected, to deliver information notices to households.
Toronto has the geography to encourage cycling. Travelling east-west, it's relatively flat. The sweep of the lakeshore is a green and pleasant direct link to downtown. A Decima Research study in 1999 showed nearly half of people older than 15 are cyclists, and 20 per cent are "utilitarian" bikers who cycle to work or school, to shopping or social visits. Seventeen per cent — 341,000 cyclists — make 1.6 million trips each week.
And that's good from many standpoints, including health. A half-hour of cycling (or any other low to moderate physical activity, such as walking) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer and other illnesses by as much as half.
A study of 10,000 British civil servants suggested that cyclists who logged 20 miles weekly were half as likely to suffer heart disease than their non-cycling workmates.
Steady bike riding — the kind that leaves you feeling warm and a little out of breath — burns about 300 calories an hour. A half-hour's vigorous cycle, the sort someone might get going to and from work, could burn 11 pounds of fat a year.
There's also the more subtle effect of enhancing quality of life. Cyclists arrive at work energized — endorphins come into play, some say — and they travel at a more intimate pace, even making eye contact and connecting with fellow cyclists while really taking in the sights and sounds of the city.
The links between air pollution caused by vehicles and health, meanwhile, are well documented. More than 1.5 million vehicles use Toronto's roads every day. Environment Canada suggests that vehicles and "road dust" are responsible for two-thirds of the nitrogen oxides emitted, one-third of the sulphur oxide, one-quarter of the fine particulate matter, and three-quarters of the carbon monoxide. Recent studies have linked exposure to pollutants with increased respiratory problems, including asthma and bronchitis.
Toronto had 48 smog days in 2005, compared to the previous high of 20 smog days in 2001.
What's more, air pollution contributed to 5,800 premature deaths, 60,000 emergency-room visits and $507 million in related health-care costs in 2005, the Ontario Medical Association reports.
So, if the benefits of reducing car use are so clear, why is progress so slow?
In fact, Toronto was once a leader in cycling — in 1995, Bicycling Magazine named it the best big city in North America for biking. "Amalgamation set us back a bit," says Dan Egan, manager of Toronto's cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. "It's been a frustrating period." He adds: "We created expectations with the bike plan we haven't delivered on."
And it will take more than the bike plan to change people's way of thinking, he notes. Distances in Toronto are huge, with 5,200 kilometres of roads, and it's unrealistic to expect someone to ride from outer Scarborough to downtown Toronto. But you can encourage cycling and transit links, as in a pilot project championed by councillor Adam Giambrone, in which west end buses have been fitted with racks for carrying bicycles.
Cycling activists understand that there's only so much Egan and his small staff of four can do. For his part, Egan is heartened that this is shaping up to be a turnaround year. One of the positive signs: There's money to hire four more people.
There's also a sense of irony among some in the cycling community over the fact that Egan reports to the city's transportation boss, who's in charge of moving traffic across the city. "It's absolutely the right place to be," says Egan.
"It includes pedestrians, transit, cyclists and motor vehicles. It's a linking of all these things. If cycling is a special project done by a special group of people, it won't be successful. My goal is to get more and more people to consider cycling and walking."
Which is pretty much what cycling activists say — there should be room on the road for everyone to travel without fear. Streets are public spaces, as Brearton says, and cars don't own the roads. After all, in a city with goodwill, motorists and cyclists could and should be harmonious fellow travellers.
TEN THINGS TO MAKE TORONTO A GREAT CYCLING CITY
May 28, 2006. 01:00 AM
1 Streamline bike-lane approval.
2Transport Canada should make side guards for trucks mandatory. Side guards, which are obligatory in the European Union, protect pedestrians and cyclists from being dragged underneath the rear wheels of a truck in a collision.
3 Follow Vancouver's example and paint advanced stop lines and bike boxes on city streets. Cyclists pool ahead of cars and have priority.
4Introduce the "road diet" — reducing or eliminating lanes of traffic. Drivers adapt — they go at different times or find a different route — and speeds are reduced. St. George St. is a good example.
5 Apply a hierarchy of the road — cyclists yield to pedestrians, cars yield to both.
6 Offer free transit and increase parking fees on smog days.
7 Create bike stations at terminals like Union Station with rentals, repairs, change- rooms, bike-storage lockers.
8 Employers should offer incentives to workers who cycle, and provide safe bike storage areas as well as change rooms and showers.
9 Clear the edge of the road and bike lanes in winter; don't use them to pile up snow.
10 Plan for cycling when building new roads or rebuilding old ones.
May 28, 2006. 09:06 AM
LESLIE SCRIVENER
STAFF REPORTER
Growing up in a small town in the Netherlands, Astrid de Vries was always on her bike — it was a way of life. "Almost everyone cycled to school as children," she recalls. "I rode a half hour each way."
As an adult, de Vries trained to be a diplomat, and spent four years working in The Hague, where she cycled every day — in business suits and high heels — to her job in the ministry of Foreign Affairs. When she had children, they too, travelled in a carrier attached to the front of her bike.
Now 37, de Vries is deputy head of mission at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Toronto. And here, she cycles far less often.
When her husband bikes with their children, now two and four, drivers and passersby shout, saying he's crazy for transporting them in the carrier — "a reaction we never had in the Netherlands."
De Vries finds the hulking SUVs and minivans, along with the lack of bike lanes, nerve-racking. "You feel more vulnerable," she says. "In the Netherlands, you are part of a constant stream of cyclists, and it makes drivers more aware. In bike lanes, you feel more relaxed; here, you feel you have to be on guard."
Cycling activists say it's elementary: more bike lanes, and connected bike lanes, are key to making Toronto a great city for cyclists.
But consider this: in 2005, just one kilometre of bike lane was built across all of Toronto.
And this: 31 cycling projects—trails and paths — were slated to be built in 2005 and 2006, but only two were approved.
Toronto may be decades away from being North America's Amsterdam — (half of that city's population cycles every day) or years away from catching up to Portland, Oregon, where instead of ticketing cyclists who biked at night without lights, police give away bike lights and help install them.
Now halfway in, Toronto is woefully behind its ambitious and visionary 10-year bike plan. The city was to double the number of cycling trips, build a 1000-kilometre network of paths and cycling lanes, and ensure no one is more than a five-minute ride away from some kind of bikeway. There is now scant hope that the plan will be in place by 2011.
"Everyone feels overwhelmed, even the activists," says Nancy Smith Lea, a cycling researcher who works at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Since Toronto and surrounding municipalities were amalgamated into one super city in 1998, what was conceived as a Toronto-only cycling plan has now been stretched to include the furthest suburbs. "It's hard to plan for a huge city what was really a downtown thing and in many ways, still is."
But one thing that can be done is to build bike lanes. People feel safer riding in them, and will cycle more if they are available — a simple case of if you build them, they will ride.
Separate studies by Smith Lea and the city show that the volume and speed of automobile traffic are the greatest barriers to cycling. "It's the number one thing to be addressed," she says. "Everything else is secondary." Her research shows that fear of heavy traffic is a greater concern for women, at 82 per cent, than men, at 65 per cent.
In a variety of city plans, including Toronto's official plan, and in bylaws, the city of Toronto has laid out a vision that encourages cycling and calls for a reduction in the number of cars on city streets. One of the founding principles is that every city street is a cycling street.
"We could argue that the city has already recognized that bikes are not equal to cars, but better than cars," says journalist and cycling advocate Steve Brearton.
But when it comes to making the great leap — to reduce car use — a kind of gridlock sets in.
"Take, as an example, an east-west corridor," says Brearton, who's also curator of an exhibition on the history of the bicycle in Toronto that opened last week at the Market Gallery.
"They're very keen to say it's not possible, they're not willing to expend the political capital to change the status quo — say, to take out parking spots, which is a big issue. There is a tremendous lack of vision and leadership."
Last week, as Bloor Street makeover plans were announced, cycling advocates were stunned to read that parking spaces were being removed to benefit pedestrians only, including those shopping in chic shops west of Yonge.
What's needed, says Brearton, is a passionate cycling advocate at City Hall — "the way (former planning chief) Paul Bedford would stand up and argue for communities and neighbourhood."
He and others agree that an old-school way of thinking needs to be overcome, one that holds that cycling is the pursuit of children, and that adults don't bike except in parks. Mostly it disparages cycling as a respectable means of transport.
"It's still `the road is for cars' mindset," says Martin Koob, a sign-language interpreter who operates a first-rate website called biketoronto.ca for the Toronto Bicycling Network.
"It hasn't changed to a view that the roads are for cars, bikes and pedestrians, where cycling is a mode of transportation that deserves its fair share of planning, staff and money — though the money is slowly getting better. They're not against cycling; they just don't see the utility of it."
Councillor Case Ootes, of Ward 29, contends that bike lanes are fine for people who live and ride downtown but are not practical for the city as a whole.
"I'm concerned about the overarching strategy of these activists in promoting bicycle lanes," he says. "They want to make it as difficult as possible for people to drive. I don't think it will catch on."
He sees cycling as a seasonal and recreational pursuit and says people are most comfortable travelling in their own cars. "Motorists are suffering more and more frustration. There's no way you can encourage motorists to get out of their cars to use a bicycle to commute to work. It's just not going to happen."
The idea of cyclists and motorists sharing the road has a nice ring, he says, but usually leads to greater traffic congestion.
That's not the case. Since the construction of the contentious Dundas East bike lane, the city's tracking shows 200 fewer cars heading into the city between Kingston Road and Broadview Avenue, and 400 fewer cars leaving in the afternoon.
Most conversations about improving cycling in Toronto eventually come back to approving bike lanes. So far, there are 64 kilometres in the city. But the problem is, they are a broken web — they end suddenly and don't connect.
Margaret Hastings James, 32, who works in desk-top publishing, has cycled only in bike lanes since experiencing three bicycle accidents, including one in which she was hit by a right-turning uniform delivery truck whose driver couldn't see her. "I prefer them because I have a sense of ownership — others recognize my right to be there."
The collision pushed her under the truck, and she was lucky enough to have time to roll away before being crushed by the rear wheels. She's an advocate for side guards on trucks, which are mandatory in the European Union. "I'm both more aggressive and more defensive," she says of her cycling style now.
"I used to expect that people would follow the rules of the road. Now, I don't. I prepare for the worst and am constantly looking for people who turn without signalling.
"I will never ride near a truck."
Two cyclists were crushed to death by trucks in Toronto this year; there were three last year. Reported cyclist collisions are about 1,200 a year. The true numbers are likely higher
The city can't even manage to spend the money it has already allocated for bikeways. Last year $2.2 million was budgeted but only $1.4 million was spent — on trail work on Eglinton Avenue West, and other smaller projects. The rest has been carried over to this year.
A city report from 2005 acknowledging the delays suggests that rather than negotiate the sludge of public meetings, it may be enough, in cases where parking or traffic lanes aren't affected, to deliver information notices to households.
Toronto has the geography to encourage cycling. Travelling east-west, it's relatively flat. The sweep of the lakeshore is a green and pleasant direct link to downtown. A Decima Research study in 1999 showed nearly half of people older than 15 are cyclists, and 20 per cent are "utilitarian" bikers who cycle to work or school, to shopping or social visits. Seventeen per cent — 341,000 cyclists — make 1.6 million trips each week.
And that's good from many standpoints, including health. A half-hour of cycling (or any other low to moderate physical activity, such as walking) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer and other illnesses by as much as half.
A study of 10,000 British civil servants suggested that cyclists who logged 20 miles weekly were half as likely to suffer heart disease than their non-cycling workmates.
Steady bike riding — the kind that leaves you feeling warm and a little out of breath — burns about 300 calories an hour. A half-hour's vigorous cycle, the sort someone might get going to and from work, could burn 11 pounds of fat a year.
There's also the more subtle effect of enhancing quality of life. Cyclists arrive at work energized — endorphins come into play, some say — and they travel at a more intimate pace, even making eye contact and connecting with fellow cyclists while really taking in the sights and sounds of the city.
The links between air pollution caused by vehicles and health, meanwhile, are well documented. More than 1.5 million vehicles use Toronto's roads every day. Environment Canada suggests that vehicles and "road dust" are responsible for two-thirds of the nitrogen oxides emitted, one-third of the sulphur oxide, one-quarter of the fine particulate matter, and three-quarters of the carbon monoxide. Recent studies have linked exposure to pollutants with increased respiratory problems, including asthma and bronchitis.
Toronto had 48 smog days in 2005, compared to the previous high of 20 smog days in 2001.
What's more, air pollution contributed to 5,800 premature deaths, 60,000 emergency-room visits and $507 million in related health-care costs in 2005, the Ontario Medical Association reports.
So, if the benefits of reducing car use are so clear, why is progress so slow?
In fact, Toronto was once a leader in cycling — in 1995, Bicycling Magazine named it the best big city in North America for biking. "Amalgamation set us back a bit," says Dan Egan, manager of Toronto's cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. "It's been a frustrating period." He adds: "We created expectations with the bike plan we haven't delivered on."
And it will take more than the bike plan to change people's way of thinking, he notes. Distances in Toronto are huge, with 5,200 kilometres of roads, and it's unrealistic to expect someone to ride from outer Scarborough to downtown Toronto. But you can encourage cycling and transit links, as in a pilot project championed by councillor Adam Giambrone, in which west end buses have been fitted with racks for carrying bicycles.
Cycling activists understand that there's only so much Egan and his small staff of four can do. For his part, Egan is heartened that this is shaping up to be a turnaround year. One of the positive signs: There's money to hire four more people.
There's also a sense of irony among some in the cycling community over the fact that Egan reports to the city's transportation boss, who's in charge of moving traffic across the city. "It's absolutely the right place to be," says Egan.
"It includes pedestrians, transit, cyclists and motor vehicles. It's a linking of all these things. If cycling is a special project done by a special group of people, it won't be successful. My goal is to get more and more people to consider cycling and walking."
Which is pretty much what cycling activists say — there should be room on the road for everyone to travel without fear. Streets are public spaces, as Brearton says, and cars don't own the roads. After all, in a city with goodwill, motorists and cyclists could and should be harmonious fellow travellers.
TEN THINGS TO MAKE TORONTO A GREAT CYCLING CITY
May 28, 2006. 01:00 AM
1 Streamline bike-lane approval.
2Transport Canada should make side guards for trucks mandatory. Side guards, which are obligatory in the European Union, protect pedestrians and cyclists from being dragged underneath the rear wheels of a truck in a collision.
3 Follow Vancouver's example and paint advanced stop lines and bike boxes on city streets. Cyclists pool ahead of cars and have priority.
4Introduce the "road diet" — reducing or eliminating lanes of traffic. Drivers adapt — they go at different times or find a different route — and speeds are reduced. St. George St. is a good example.
5 Apply a hierarchy of the road — cyclists yield to pedestrians, cars yield to both.
6 Offer free transit and increase parking fees on smog days.
7 Create bike stations at terminals like Union Station with rentals, repairs, change- rooms, bike-storage lockers.
8 Employers should offer incentives to workers who cycle, and provide safe bike storage areas as well as change rooms and showers.
9 Clear the edge of the road and bike lanes in winter; don't use them to pile up snow.
10 Plan for cycling when building new roads or rebuilding old ones.