Submitted by yvonne on 24 February, 2010 - 16:02

Here's a little update for those who are wondering what happened to the debate/discussion about bike lanes that was supposed to be held on CP24's LeDrew Live last night (Feb 23) between Rocco Rossi and I.

Unfortunately, the live discussion was called off.  The show's producers told me that Rossi refused to speak on the issue at the same time as me once he found out who he was scheduled with. He almost cancelled in fact - requested a separate green room, and then appeared separately after me. I was quite surprised to say the least. If he can’t have a civilized debate with the representative of a key stakeholder group in an issue he is speaking out on, how on earth can he expect to run the largest city in Canada?

My one main regret about the interview was that i didn't get to mention the fact that the long running Jarvis Streetscape redesign project has only recently been about the addition of bike lanes because cyclists had not originally been included within the scope of the project, and that this Jarvis St. project is primarily about changing this inner city highway into a more livable street for the increasingly residential area that also hosts 3 schools. I tried to get there but not enough time...

That said, the conversation i did have with Stephen LeDrew went well I think. The CP24 head producer made a point of asking for my card after the show and giving me his. He said he thought it went really well, thought i delivered some of the most articulate and clear comments on the subject, and that he would like to have me back on the show. That's gotta be a good sign ;)

Yvonne Bambrick - Feb 24, 2010