At the recent re-launch of the bike union's ward advocacy program I had an opportunity to reflect on how far we've matured and developed into a city-wide advocacy organization — with over 1070 members we have grown and expanded our reach to all parts of the city. This year, I am excited that we have an opportunity to refocus on one of the bike union's foundational guiding principle: local advocacy is vital to the development of cycling infrastructure in our city.

In November, I had the opportunity to hear Councillor Shelley Carroll and Councillor Gord Perks speak at a Toronto Environmental Alliance event about the work that lies ahead of us over the next four years. The Councillors told us that now, more than ever, local advocacy matters! I left feeling optimistic and ready to meet the challenge.

A few days later I found myself in a buzzing room full of energetic bike union members, supporters and volunteer cycling advocates at the Evergreen Brickworks ready to take on local advocacy issues — at the ward level — with energy and enthusiasm. Despite the chilly headwind and the flurries that I faced to get to the event, I arrived on my bike happy, alert, and energised to face the day. Although focus was on city improvements to our cycling infrastructure, my excitement stemmed from my desire to help create a great city where we're all free to travel safely, with cleaner air, with less noise, where kids can walk or bike to school, and older adults can cross the street without fear. Bikes are a tool to help make this happen. When I talk about the work of the bike union in this way, I find that more people in my community are engaged. We need to do a whole lot more talking and listening to our neighbours' perspectives to find common ground to fully realise our vision and the impact of local advocacy. It's no secret: bikes are a really fun way to cultivate community and create a safe and vibrant city.

Local advocacy matters! It's work that we've done before and we know we can do. But here's the thing — this work can't happen without members and people in the local communities in our city who can spread the word. We've come this far with a little money and a tremendous amount of goodwill. As we grow, there's no limit to what we can accomplish.

A renewed proposal for separated bike lanes in downtown Toronto, supported by Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, made front-page headlines of the Toronto Star in January. This initiative calls for two east/west routes along Richmond Street and Harbord/Wellesley Streets, as well as two north/south routes along Sherbourne Street and a St. George/Beverley Street connection to Simcoe Street, via John Street and Richmond Street. To get a better picture of the proposed network, check out this map.

This is not the first time such a proposal has been initiated at City Hall. Councillor Minnan-Wong originally proposed this network in May 2010 and the Toronto Cyclists Union submitted a similar proposal to the Pubic Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) in August 2010. At the August 2010 PWIC meeting, Councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker and Councillor Cesar Palacio supported our proposal and Gary Welsh, General Manager of Transportation Services, stated that the proposal was completely in line with the transportation goals of the City. The proposal was strongly supported by the community as well. As many as 20,000 Torontonians supported this initiative through petitions, e-mail and endorsements by associations such as the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, the ABC Residents Association, the York Quay Neighbourhood Association, the Toronto Island Community Association and the University of Toronto Graduate Student Union. Councillor Minnan-Wong's renewed proposal differs only with the addition of St. George/Beverley Streets.

The Toronto Cyclists Union has identified Richmond, Sherbourne and John as the first streets to be considered for construction in the plan — Richmond because it has been in the Toronto Bike Plan since 2001, Sherbourne because it is scheduled for re-construction in 2011 and John because it is a critical connection from Beverley Street. Although we have identified priorities, overall, this is a plan that makes sense. This is also a plan that we need, given the amount of work that’s being proposed for downtown streets that may block cyclists from gaining safe infrastructure, such as the two-way Richmond plan.

We believe that a network of separated bicycle lanes is essential because they save lives. Separated lanes eliminate the problem of dooring and illegally parked cars, so that cyclists aren't forced to swerve into traffic. Studies show that separated lanes attract a broader range of people to ride bikes, thereby increasing ridership in the city; and we all know that cycling becomes safer when there are more cyclists on the road. The evidence that bicycle lanes separated from traffic are safer for cyclists is irrefutable. In the Netherlands almost the entire network of bicycle lanes is separated from traffic and the rates of injury and death for cyclists are 30 times lower than in North America.

The Toronto Cyclists Union endorses the current proposal by Councillor Minnan-Wong for a network of separated bikes lanes because:

• Separated lanes create safer streets for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers — everyone gets their own space
• Safer cycling infrastructure will increase ridership — more cyclists on the road increases safety
• Increased ridership will increase awareness of cycling and will demonstrate the benefits of cycling around the city
• Children will be able to safely ride with their parents on city streets and off sidewalks
• Most bike lanes aren't ploughed in the winter, but Councillor Minnan-Wong has included snow removal in this proposal

For these reasons, the Toronto Cyclists Union will continue to support this plan and we are committed to working with anyone who supports safe infrastructure for cyclists.

We'd love to hear from you: E-mail us at info@bikeunion.to telling us how physically separated bicycle lanes would improve your cycling experience in Toronto!

Bike Boxes — The city’s first bike boxes were installed! The intersections of Hoskin-Queen's Park, Harbord/Hoskin-St. George, and Harbord-Spadina received a bike-friendly upgrade in 2010. Look out for more bike boxes coming in 2011 at the intersections of College-Spadina and College-Beverley/St. George.

Bikeway State of Good Repair Roadway Improvements — Repairs and upgrades were conducted on the following existing infrastructure:

• Harbord Street and Hoskin Avenue
• Poplar Plains Road
• Russell Hill Road/Boulton Dr between St. Clair Avenue West and Macpherson Avenue
• Yonge Street (southbound only) between Harbour Street and Queen’s Quay Blvd
• Davenport Rd between Christie St and Ossington Ave
• A portion of the Bayview Extension on the east side of Bayview Avenue, north of Rosedale Valley Rd

Bicycle Lanes — Approximately 7.6km of bicycle lanes were approved by Council in 2010, of which 4.4km were installed. The remaining work will be completed in 2011. Here's a snapshot of 2010 approvals and installations:

• Installed — Moore Avenue, Jarvis Street, Rathburn Road, Westhumber Boulevard, Dufferin Street Tunnel
• Delayed — Lansdowne Avenue, York Mills Road, Bay Street, Spadina Crescent

To get a better picture of all 2010 installations, check out this great Google map developed by our City Staff!

Toronto has a total of 117km of bicycle lanes, falling far short of the 495km proposed in the Toronto Bike Plan. As we enter the final years of the bike plan, it's more important than ever for Torontonians to make their voices heard. Here's what you can do:

• E-mail your local Councillor — cycling is important to you and your families; we all deserve safe and healthy streets
• Cycling is good for neighbourhoods — encourage your neighbours to consider using their bicycles to travel through your community
• Get involved with the bike union's Ward Advocacy Program, where neighbours all over the city are connecting to advance cycling issues and to promote safe streets in their communities.
• Join the Toronto Cyclists Union to help spread the word for safe streets and a healthy city for all

So far, 2011 is off to a good start with increased support for a network of separated bike lanes. Let’s keep this early momentum going by staying vocal and getting involved!

The topic of sidewalk cycling was discussed at the January 26th meeting of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. Councillor Karen Stintz brought forth a motion to implement a strategy to enforce the City by-law against sidewalk cycling. We believe that cycling on sidewalks puts both pedestrians and cyclists at risk, and urge cyclists to avoid riding on sidewalks. On that basis, we understand the need for the type of enforcement against sidewalk cycling that Councillor Stintz proposes to implement. However, we believe that in order to effectively address the issue of sidewalk cycling, it's important to tackle its root cause. In some situations, the road may be so unsafe that a cyclist's safest option is to ride on the sidewalk. Recognizing this, Councillor Mike Layton proposed a motion to develop strategies to enforce illegal parking in bike lanes, as well as to remove snow and accelerate repair of utility cuts in bike lanes. The Public Works Committee passed both Councillor Stintz's and Councillor Layton's motions, which will be voted on by City Council on February 7th and 8th. Members of the Public Works Committee focused their discussion on the need to provide cyclists with greater safety options in addressing sidewalk cycling. We believe this is a first step in the right direction on this matter, and commend members of the Public Works Committee for taking this step!

In early October we had a call-out for a volunteer membership coordinator — someone who could form great relationships with our members and know their way around a database. We had a swell of respondents - many talented people with a variety of skills who were willing to spend their time helping to develop our membership administration. In the end, three volunteers were chosen to form our very first Membership Coordination Team. Perhaps you may have already spoken to one of them — they have been busy following up and keeping up with our members — this is no easy task with a 1000-strong and growing membership base. They are a huge asset. Meet your new Membership Team:

• Angel Chen is a freelance graphic/web designer, an illustrator, and an artist. She dreams of being able to bike tour for an extended period of time in the near future.

• Tomasz Mrozewski is a mild-mannered librarian by day, and by night dreams of supplementing his fixie with a BUB from Curbside.

• Phil Koole has just set sail into the wonderful world of clown. He thinks that putting some of his time towards propping up the coolest form of transportation in the city, is, well, pretty neat. He plans to bike to all his future clown gigs.

Angel, Tomasz and Phil we be focusing on outreach and answering all of your membership-related questions. Feel free to drop them a friendly line at members@bikeunion.to!

Meet SoDa Bikes!

We aim to improve cycling conditions not only in Ward 30, but also in neighbouring wards. We have benefited enormously from the advice of 29 Bikes, the Ward 29 advocacy group. We were a small group of like-minded people who came together in October of 2009. Soon, we were invited to hold meetings at Bike Sauce, a DIY bike repair/ education centre at Queen St. East and Broadview Ave. Since then, some 30 cycling advocates have participated over the course of our discussions and gatherings.

SoDa has been working on many projects ranging from a ward survey on cycling conditions to a proposed redesign of Leslie Street between Queen St. East and Lakeshore Blvd. A SETBUG group from Ward 31 and beyond has joined us. Daniel Egan of the City's Transportation Services, participates with us occasionally as well. In addition, we have the ear of Councillor Paula Fletcher, who has worked with us to identify specific cycling goals, to work closely with the TTC and to ensure safer passage from Eastern Avenue to the downtown and from the Danforth to Bloor Street.

We welcome new members. You can join us on the first Tuesday of most months at Bike Sauce at 7:00pm. Our contact information is found on the Ward 30 page of the bike union's website.

In December, we asked our twitter followers what we could do to add 1,500 members in 2011 and you gave us many great suggestions! We had already begun work on some ideas and others were brand new. To gain a broader understanding of your membership needs, we have created a short survey with the aim to improve our member benefits. Specifically, we’re rolling out a member discount program in the spring and would like your input on what to offer.

Please take a moment, whether or not you’re a bike union member, to complete the survey here.

We're ready to grow!

Are you new to Canada? Or, do you have experience working with newcomers?

The Partnership for Integration and Sustainable Transportation, a joint initiative of CultureLink Settlement Services and the Toronto Cyclists Union, is recruiting volunteers for our newcomer outreach project.

We share information about cycling safely and enjoyably in Toronto, with people who are new to Canada. We learn from experiences of people from other parts of the world. We are helping to create a welcoming and diverse cycling community.

Volunteers receive training in public speaking, outreach, and cycling safety. Volunteers help present workshops and carry out community outreach.

$250 honorarium, snacks and TTC tokens provided. You must apply and spaces are limited! Click here for more information.

Or, contact Kristin at cycling@culturelink.net or 416-588-6288 x229