Biking Info

Several biking tidbits in one post for this rainy a.m. It has been so pleasant to get back on my bike these days!
The picture above is shamelessly stolen from an update from the Toronto Cyclists Union. Here is the info about it:
"Prospect Park West Separated Bicycle lane in New York City: After implementation, compared to prior conditions without the bicycle lane, weekday cycling has tripled, sidewalk cycling fell from 46% to just 3%, motor vehicle speeding decreased by 55% and crashes causing injuries are down 63% for all road users."
If they can do it there, we can do it here. And why do we always follow and not lead?

The second tidbit is from the city of Toronto and will interest you if you have your bike locked up on the street all winter:
"Abandoned Bikes to be Tagged for Removal in early April
Cyclists should be aware that the period of annual Spring tagging of bicycles locked to post-and-rings or other street furniture and left to rust over the winter, will begin in early April.
Rusty and damaged bicycles will be tagged, giving the owners 7 days to remove them; after that, Solid Waste will remove the bikes and locks permanently in order to clear the public right-of-way and maintain availability of short-term bicycle parking.
If you wish to keep a bike that has been left outside long enough to rust, now is the time to remove it from the public right-of-way."

And I'm late with this last piece of news, but just in case you haven't heard, the Annex Residents' Association is proposing some interesting, bike-friendly changes to our neighbourhood that I fully support.
The one getting the most media attention is "1. Implement a bike lane on Bloor Street in the Annex from Avenue Road to Bathurst Street within one year, in conjunction with accelerated city-wide infrastructure for bicycle lanes, including along Bloor-Danforth."
All I can say is: YES!
You can read the full proposal on the group's website.
Happy cycling,
Vanessa

Today Is The Coldest Day Of The Year (Bike) Ride

Statistically, this is the chilliest day of the year. This year is certainly holding to that phenomenon with a predicted high of minus ten.

If you're brave, and/or warmly dressed, you might want to hop on your bike and join The Coldest Day of the Year Ride today.

People are gathering at high noon at the Grenadier Cafe in High Park and then heading to the Waterfront and the cross-city Martin Goodman Trail.
Happy cycling!
Vanessa

Poll Results: Toronto Cycling Peeves

Tis the season for lots of things and top-ten lists are not the least of them.
I thought that this Toronto police news release about Toronto cyclists' top peeves was interesting and that other "bikers" might enjoy it.
It really nailed my pet peeves and got the top three in my personal peeve order, as it were.

"A couple of weeks ago, Sergeant Tim Burrows, of Traffic Services, asked Toronto via Twitter

and Facebook, "Hey Toronto Cyclists. What's your biggest pet peeve about cycling in

Toronto? Let me know. I'll be writing about it."

This one came about after the drivers top 10 pet peeves and a lot of cyclists wanted their

voices heard. Well, here is the writing about it and the results. Some great responses and

really diverse!

Here are honourable mentions that didn't make the top ten:
Drivers who don't let you change lanes, drivers who stop too close to you and my favourite...'drivers who wait for pedestrians when turning right and don't leave room to go straight ahead'.
More on that one...it gets a special section for itself.

# 10 − SUVs

I'm not really sure why cyclists don't like SUVs. Could be the carbon footprint, the size or

make. Either way, I think the dislike should be for poor driver behaviours, not the vehicles.

# 9 − No helmets

One of my favourite answers. Other cyclists who don't wear helmets. Sure, as the argument

goes, "a helmet won't save your life in all crashes." But what about the falls, the bumps and

the crashes that it will save your life? Pretty small piece of safety equipment that can be the

difference between life and death.

# 8 − Other cyclists running reds, makes us all look bad

Not only does it make the good cyclists look bad, but it also confuses drivers. Predictability

leads to better understanding, communication and respect.

# 7 − Not being seen

This is a shared complaint for cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. Not being seen is a big

deal. Drivers need to be more aware, alert and cognizant of vulnerable road users. Having

said that, make sure you are doing everything you can to be seen. Bright, reflective clothing, a light, reflectors, a bell, a whistle, not cutting in between cars... these can all help.

# 6 − Dooring

Drivers, do you open your doors in front of cars? Then why do it in front of cyclists? You can't

just rely on mirrors to see what's coming from behind you... you need to check over your

shoulder to get the big picture.

# 5 − Drivers who don't get Road Sharing

Fully agree with this one. Cyclists are vehicles and have the same rights to the roadway as

such. Because they are slower moving they are to stay to the right, but where situations

dictate, cyclists can block a lane for their safety. This also has to do with passing. Drivers

should pass cyclists giving them as much space as possible.

# 4 − Pedestrian Actions

Pedestrians have to consider their safety and the safety of cyclists. Stepping out from

between parked cars or onto roadways without looking is a recipe for disaster for both road

users.

#3 − Drivers who right turn without signalling

Drivers failing to signal was number one on their list and here it is in the top 3 here. Evidence

again that this is a problem.

# 2 − Vehicles parked in bike lanes

No surprise here at all. The bike lanes are not a place for delivery vehicles or cars to park for

convenience. They are to allow a safety zone for cyclists to travel.

# 1 − Infrastructure

By a landslide! Lots of responses for this in many forms from bike lanes that lead nowhere, to

lanes that aren't cleared of leaves and snow along with not enough bike lanes and poor road

maintenance and street car tracks."
Cheers,

Vanessa