The City is Alight

For every bike, have at least one backup.

Waste of Time

Heroes Aren't Born

Not made of sugar but

A call to action during COVID-19

Mayor Tory and the Toronto Public Health team,

Recently, cities such as Bogota, New York, Berlin and Calgary have closed traffic lanes to provide extra space for people who walk or bike. There’s no reason why Toronto shouldn’t do the same particularly on streets such as Yonge where in the downtown 75% of the users are pedestrians but are given only 25% of the space. While I respect the tireless work done Dr. De Villa and the Toronto Public Health team to stop the spread of COVID-19, I am disappointed to find out Toronto would not consider this.

In the case of Yonge Street, it’s worth reminding public consultations were under way to pedestrianize the stretch from College to Queen Streets. Other studies already happening which would make great candidates for traffic lane closures include the Danforth Study (from Broadview to Victoria Park Avenues) and the Bloor bike lane extension to Runnymede Road. With those streets being studied anyway, why not accelerate the process at this time of need to make these traffic lane closures a reality now?

Without gyms or parks, people still require a way to remain active and many may choose to avoid crowds on public transportation by walking and biking. This is particular true as temperatures rise and the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Now is the time for you and Toronto Public Health to temporarily close traffic lanes on Yonge, Danforth, Bloor, and Lake Shore to help people who walk or bike maintain physical distancing on these busy arterials. I also recommend identifying other streets through a data driven approach which could be good candidates for closures during COVID-19 and future pandemics.

I thank you for your consideration and feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,
Peter Rogers
Ward 13 Resident and Toronto Centre Cyclists Advocate

Building the Grid, One Candidate at a Time

Cycle Toronto is asking municipal candidates if they would commit to building cycling infrastructure with their #BuildtheGrid campaign. You can sign the pledge here.

In Ward 13 (aka the ward previously known as Ward 28) the local Cycle Toronto Advocacy Group asked candidates how they were respond and here are the ward 13 candidate responses (so far) - including a bonus question about Shuter Street, compiled in the Google Sheet below.

If you want others to see the document you can use either the original Google Sheet URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSP82vsd4OsXcTboKUVpVm0-RH0NSdJdFtCqGOiwQQ87517m5gmB_FFOHA1PbjyEtBwfoHyVTCWVnI8/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true

…or the shortened version: http://bit.ly/2yiPiMW