This month, Vélo Québec released Planning and Design for Pedestrians and Cyclists. This 150+ page technical guide is intended for planning professionals as well as active transportation advocates. According to Vélo Québec:

“The information in Planning and Design for Pedestrians and Cyclists is drawn from Vélo Québec's expertise in the field of active transportation and from the contributions of experts in matters of local planning, design and mobility.”

In a recent Pembina Institute Foundation report of transportation case studies in 6 Canadian cities found that 43% of Toronto commuters occasionally choose to walk, cycle or take transit, second only to the City of Montreal (46%). The number of Torontonians regularly commuting by walking and cycling increased from 2% in 2001 to 9% in 2006. However, Toronto has the fewest bike lanes and bike paths per capita (on-street 250 km, off-street 168km) of all comparison cities.

What does “complete street” mean? Spacing Toronto’s Andrew Walsh attended TCAT's Complete Streets Forum and spoke with Barbara McCann from the National Complete Streets Coalition and New York City's Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Sustainability Andy Wiley-Schwartz and learned about the history of the Complete Streets movement and the potential for Toronto.

The City of Toronto is currently considering reconfiguring Front Street West from Bay Street to York Street to accommodate anticipated increased pedestrian traffic resulting from GO Transit’s expansion.

Ideas coming from the city include:

Toronto. Great news BUT City Council imposed several important conditions that need to be fulfilled by Nov 30th in order for the program to move forward. One of these is that 1000 membership pledges are required by Nov 30th.

The Toronto BIXI team has prepared the attached Q&A. Please have a look and get ready to sign up for BIXI Toronto as soon as memberships become available!

Last week, City Council approved the installation of “No Right Turn on Red” regulations at 5 downtown intersections. Prohibiting right turns on red at these intersections is required in order to install bike boxes and pedestrian scrambles, similar to those already in place at Yonge-Bloor and Yonge-Dundas.

The Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) released their Mid-Campaign Mayoral Candidate Report Card last week. The organization ranked five of the mayoral candidates based on their commitment to the following six categories:

Each month Good News Toronto features a suggested act of kindness in their ongoing Kindness Campaign. This month's campaign is aimed at improving the relationship between cyclists and motorists. Readers are invited to perform a suggested random act of kindness (or one of their choosing) and leave behind the “Kindness Card” provided in the newspaper.

Mountain Equipment Co-op’s Bikefest is gearing up for its full day event this Saturday July 3 from 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. in Liberty Village, next to Lamport Stadium, on Fraser Avenue between King Street and Liberty Street.

MEC's Bikefest is a community celebration of bicycles and all things bicycle related. The goal is to connect the bicycle community with new cyclists. Activities will include:

On June 22nd, Toronto and East York Community Council voted unanimously to a report authorizing right turn on red prohibitions at four intersections in order to install bike boxes. The report also included a fifth intersection (Bay-Bloor) where right turns on red will be prohibited when the pedestrian scramble is installed. Prohibiting right turns on reds is critical to improving both the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.