Strong Show of Support Needed from Active Transportation Community - Apr 20
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.
Some highlights of the active transportation items are below. The complete agenda of the Works Committee meeting can be found here.
- PW32.6 Prohibition of Stopping at all Times Within 15 Metres on the Approach to a Pedestrian Crossover (PXO)
- PW32.8 Proposed Public Bicycle Program
- PW32.9 2010 Bikeway Network Program
- PW32.10 2010 Pedestrian Collision Summary Report
The current stopping prohibition in advance of PXOs is currently 9 metres. Extending it would provide an unobstructed advance sight line for drivers and enhance pedestrian safety. The full staff report on this item can be found here.
The last time TCAT reported on this issue the program was in jeopardy. Thanks to the 300+ support letters that Councillors received, and the tireless efforts of City staff, a public bikeshare system in Toronto is now much closer to reality! We urge readers to once again respond to the Toronto Cyclists Union 5-minute Call to Action to ensure this exciting program moves forward.
Transportation Services is submitting its bikeway implementation plan based on the priorities it presented to Council last year. This plan calls for an increase of on-street bikeways in the downtown area and off-street bikeway trails in the North York and Scarborough Districts. Council approval is required for several new bicycle lanes (Bay St, Landsdowne Ave, Rathurn Road, Spadina Crescent, York Mills Road and Westhumber Blvd), for minor modifications to the existing bicycle lanes on Annette Street and Pharmacy Avenue, for a contra-flow lane on Brunswick Ave (pending community approval at a public meeting on Apr 19), and a pilot project to install and evaluate protected bicycle lanes on University Avenue and Queen's Park Crescent. A photo of what the proposed new pilot bike lanes on University would look like can be found here. The staff report for this item can be found here.
The Toronto Pedestrian Committee has recommended improvements to enhance pedestrian safety including accelerating the zebra crossing program and improving the function of the pedestrian countdown signals. The letter from the Toronto Pedestrian Committee can be found here and the staff report here.
