Cyclist will notice a bunch amazing improvements along Harbord Street this week.

First, there is the bike box. Bike boxes allow cyclists to “pool” in front of cars at stop lights. This is helps avoid collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles, particularly with right-turning cars. Both cyclists and motorist should love the new boxes.

Approved in April/May at City Council, this area of Toronto will see four sets of bike boxes: Harbord/Hoskin and St. George, Spadina and Harbord, College and St. George, and College and Spadina. So far, only Harbord/Hoskin and St. George has been installed:

Bike Box at Harbord/Hoskin and St George

The bike boxes come from Portland, which are slightly different from our Toronto version:

Bike Box in Portland, on Hawthorne

BikeSauce, along with Bikechain and the Transportation Sub-Committee of the Sustainability Office Advisory Board at UofT, are working together to submit recommendations on the bike boxes. Included in these recommendations are using coloured paint (like in Portland), adding a “bicycle excepted” sign to the “no right on red” and to repaint the line that marks the separation of through-traffic and left-turning traffic in the boxes. Also, we’re working on a public education campaign, where we pass out the City’s flyers to road users. Wanna join us? Then shoot us an email…

Continue reading Harbord Street Loves Bikes (Even More than Before)

YOUR CITY, YOUR VOTE

They’re here! They’re here! Municipal Elections are here, Monday October 25!!!

* Why should I vote? What are municipal issues? *
Municipal issues include: streets (including bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure), public libraries, parks, child care, housing, community
centres, community health centres, public transit, (tap) water, garbage collection and more!!!

* Am I eligible to vote? *
You can vote [...]

On May 11-12, 2010, City Council passed motion PW32.8, adopting a BIXI Public Bike Share system here in Toronto. BIXI systems, born in Montreal, have already been successfully launched in several other cities, such as London, Washington and Boston.

Not too long ago, Toronto’s public bike system was in jeopardy. Cyclists, advocates, activists and citizens alike flooded councillors’ [...]

It’s here! It’s finally here! The paint has finally been put down on Jarvis Street!

The press release came out July 14, saying that the work on Jarvis was about to begin. The lights down the reversible middle lane were removed and solid yellow lines were painted to indicate to drivers that they should no longer use [...]

SoDa Bikes: Ward 30 Advocacy Meeting, May 2010

Want to make the streets of Ward 30 and the City a better place to bike? Have ideas of improvements to cycling infrastructure that you’d like to see implemented?

Then join the meeting on Tuesday July 6!!!

SET BUG (South East Toronto Bicycle User Group) and SoDa: Ward 30 Advocacy [...]

Have you had a chance to go for a ride over the Bloor Viaduct yet this week?  Have you seen the new, wider bikes lanes and the sharrows at the conflict zones?

Over the past 2 years or so, Ward 29 Bikes, and the bike community, have been advocating for a safer crossing for cyclists along the busy Bloor/Danforth bridge. In 2008, Ward 29 Bikes released a detailed and persuasive report: The Bloor Viaduct Safety Report. Last week, the city started with the pre-stripping and by this week, the project was completed!

Take a look at new lines! The buffers! The sharrows!

Bloor Viaduct, (heading east)

And look how much wider the lane is now! (heading east around the curve, right before the bridge)

Curve before the Bloor Viaduct, (heading east)

There are also a few sets of sharrows to help east-bound cyclists make that ever so tricky left-hand merge, right at the DVP on-ramp:

Continue reading New Paint on the Prince Edward (Bloor) Viaduct