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Welcome to the Toronto Cyclists Union's Ring & Post newsletter, your guide to Toronto cycling news. Bike union coordinator Lynda takes a breather after our team spoke to hundreds of Torontonians at the Word on the Street Festival Bike Valet service. Read Lynda's experience as a Bike Host mentor here! |
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October 2011
1. Get Lit! Get Lit!
As summer turns to fall, diminished day light hours put a renewed emphasis on cyclists having proper lights and reflective gear on their bicycles to help ensure their safety. Without a light, you become invisible at night. With lights and reflectors, you can be seen again. With this in mind, we're excited to announce our Get Lit campaign! Based on "Get Lit" from the Community Cycling Centre in Portland, we've partnered with several bicycle shops to give away front and rear bike lights to unlit cyclists at various spots across Toronto throughout October. We'll have our orange tent set up and flag down cyclists without lights as they pass, educating them on the importance of bike lights while providing them with a free set for a safe ride. The Get Lit campaign is made possible through the generous contributions of Mountain Equipment Co-op, Sweet Pete's, Curbside Cycle and Urbane Cyclist. For dates and locations, visit the Get Lit campaign page. Pushing Refer-a-Rider Into Overdrive
With under 2 weeks to go in our Refer-a-Rider campaign, we're kicking things into overdrive. To date, our members have recruited over 100 of their friends, family and colleagues to the bike union! It's been a dramatic race. Bike union founder Dave Meslin led the pack for much of the first half of the campaign, but latecomer Tonya Surman powered past him in Week 6. Bikewatch outreach volunteer Fiona Jones has put together a late drive and also pushed past Meslin. Mike Layton, Peter Lipscombe and Simon Strauss are all holding down the 4th, 5th and 6th spots. But we're still far from our goal of 2,500 members. In this spirit, we're adding a few milestone prizes late in the game to help motivate the rest of our membership. We're planning a big bike union party in November. Recruit 1 member through Refer-a-Rider and get in for free. Recruit 2 members through Refer-a-Rider and we'll throw in a free drink. If all of our members got just 1 of their friends, family or colleagues to join, we'd double in size overnight. We're pulling out all the stops to reach our 2,500 member goal so spread the word! More details on the bike union party to come! Protect Richmond and Adelaide!
In 2001, the City's official bike plan, Shifting Gears, identified Richmond and Adelaide Streets as candidates for protected bike lanes. The Plan highlighted the 15,000 cyclists travelling to and from the downtown on a weekday and the fact that there is no other east-west bikeway between the College/Gerrard bike lanes and the Martin Goodman Trail along the waterfront. Today, the number of cyclists travelling to and from the downtown has more than doubled, and cyclists still don't have an east-west bikeaway between College/Gerrard and the Martin Goodman Trail. After ten years of neglect, we think it's time the City of Toronto took action to make Richmond/Adelaide Streets safer for cyclists, which is why we're campaigning for protected bike lanes here. At its June 23rd, 2011 meeting, following a recommendation from the Toronto Cyclists Union, Toronto's Public Works & Infrastructure committee passed a motion for a staff report on a pilot project for a protected bike lane on Richmond Street. City staff will be reporting back on this pilot project in November 2011. To learn more about our campaign to Protect Richmond and Adelaide, please visit our campaign page here. And, to learn more about protected bike lanes and their benefits, check out resource page here! Reaching out to Thousands of Torontonians
This summer we talked to thousands of Torontonians about the big issues facing cycling on the streets of our city. Throughout July, August and September, bike union members and non-members alike stopped by our Tune Up Tuesday events for free safety checks and tune ups at locations across Toronto. Cyclists of all shapes and sizes also experienced our safe, secure and convenient Bike Valet service at events like Luminato, the Open Roof Festival and Word on the Street. We spoke with people of all ages at farmers' markets and pedestrian festivals. Across all of these events, we gave out bike maps, the Toronto Cyclists Handbook, signed up new members and alerted people to upcoming campaigns including Save Jarvis!, We Want More BIXI!, Get Lit! and Protect Richmond. We couldn't have spoken with so many Torontonians without the commitment and dedication of the more than 30 members of our Bikewatch Volunteer Outreach Team. Way to go team. These achievements are your achievements. It also wouldn't have been possible without our fantastic partners and sponsors. A special thanks to our Tune Up Tuesday partners including Sweet Pete's, Evergreen Bike Works, the Bicycle Commons and Urbane Cyclist. We'd also like to thank our Bike Valet sponsors including Autoshare, Planet in Focus and Mountain Equipment Co-op. Introducing Business and Club MembershipsOver the next few months you'll notice that bikeunion.to is changing. We're introducing Business and Club Memberships to help grow the bike union. Business Memberships are available at different rates for businesses, whereas Club Memberships are available at reduced rates for non-profits and charities. You'll notice the logos of our Platinum and Gold Business Members in difference places on bikeunion.to. You'll also see our Business and Club members in our new Business Directory and on the list of our Supporters. We're revamping bikeevents.to as the place for all cycling events in Toronto. If you think the organization you're a part of might be interested in becoming a Business or Club member, please get in touch with Jared Kolb. Ward Spotlight: 25The ward 25 group started six years ago when the former Councillor, Cliff Jenkins, asked one of his residents, Ron Kluger, to organize a group to meet and advise him on cycling issues. The group consisted of those who asked for his support for better cycling in ward 25. The group’s main goal was to complete the Bike Plan in ward 25. At that time, there was nothing for cyclists in the ward. Today we have a new Councillor, Jaye Robinson. Our group is now connected to the Toronto Cyclists Union and is not officially connected to the Councillor’s office – but we stay in touch! Continue reading... Bike Union Volunteer Shares Experience with Bike Host ProgramBy Lynda Young
In partnership with the bike union, CultureLink Settlement Services launched their Bike Host program this year in June and attracted more than 70 sign-ups. This is a program where mentors are matched to newcomer mentees, to introduce them to various aspects of cycling such as leisure rides, cycling advocacy and cycling safety education. Being a newcomer myself, I had thought that my participation as a mentor would help other newcomers get motivated into doing the type of cycling advocacy work that I have been very involved in since moving to Toronto a year ago. However, the program has given me way more than what I had to contribute. Continue reading... Upcoming EventsOct 11 - Get Lit! - 6pm at Linux Caffe
Oct 12 - Bike Valet - 6pm at Opening Night - Planet in Focus Film Festival
Oct 15 - Bike Valet - 6pm at the Tweed Ride
Oct 16 - Bike Valet - 6pm at Closing Night - Planet in Focus Film Festival
Oct 17 - Get Lit! - 6pm at Runnymede Library
Oct 24 - Get Lit! - 6pm at the AGO
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About UsWe are Toronto's only member-based cycling advocacy organization working toward creating safer streets. The more people we represent, the more power we have in creating a safe cycling city. Please join the bike union to make Toronto a better place to ride. Plus, your membership will save you money with discounts around the city. Learn more about our member benefits. Official Plan ReviewThe City's Official Plan Review has started and they want to hear from YOU! The Official Plan sets out the vision for where and how Toronto will grow to the year 2031. Complete this survey and let them know we need more bike infrastructure! Share This
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