Committees

TCAT Director Nancy Smith Lea gave a presentation on Clean Air Partnership’s study “Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business, Year 2 Report: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto's Bloor West Village" to the Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee on June 7, 2010.

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, at its meeting of June 15, will be considering a staff report seeking authority to install 13 new traffic control signals and road alterations to enhance 5 uncontrolled trail crossings, related to 30 kilometres of new trails and 4 kilometres of upgraded trails along the Finch Hydro Corridor, Gatineau Hydro Corridor and CN Leaside Rail Corridor, across the North York and Scarborough Districts. View the report here.

There are several exciting and ambitious active transportation reports going forward to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) next week. Some, but not all, will require a strong show of community support in order to be approved at PWIC on Apr 20th and by City Council on May 11-12. Please email your support for these motions by April 19th at 12:00 noon to Candy Davidovits, Committee Administrator at cdavidov@toronto.ca or 416-392-8032.

Each November the City's Budget Committee decides which divisions and what projects to allocate its capital budget for the next year. The committee sets aside one day to get feedback from the general public on these decisions.

Date: Friday, November 13

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Committee Room 1, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 100 Queen St. W.

After hours of debate at the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on Sep 14th, councillors opted to refer both the helmets and licensing motions to staff for further study. More information here. Read TCAT's deputation here.

On Sep 16, 2009 the Toronto-East York community council approved a plan to build a 42-storey condo building at Dundas and University without permanent parking spots. In an area where groceries and entertainment are just steps away, the plan makes good sense and is reflected in sales.

As identified in earlier TCAT News, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) is considering two "Bicycle Safety" motions at next week's meerting. The first motion is to enact a bylaw to mandate that all cyclists wear helmets (PW26.4) and the second is to develop a cyclist licensing program (PW26.5). The full agenda can be viewed here.

The Toronto Civic Employees' Union Local 416 (CUPE) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79 are on strike as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 22, 2009.

On June 3rd, TCAT will be addressing the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on the following four issues:

1. Motorized Bicycles on Sidewalks. TCAT supports the Toronto Pedestrian Committee's recommendation that no bicycle that includes a motor of any kind be allowed to travel on the sidewalk. For more info, see this recent Toronto Star article.

On May 6 TCAT's Program Director Nancy Smith Lea made two deputations at the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC). The first was in support of the City's new walking strategy. The overall visionary aspects of the strategy got lost in the committee debate and subsequent media reports that revolved around one minor recommendation.