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Ward 18: Davenport

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Davenport has one of the highest percentages of commuter cyclists in Toronto, but doesn't have a lot of cycling infrastructure. Come join us in advocating for more bike lanes!

Ward News

Collecting one BIG post and ring bike parking request
4 Dec 2011 - 15:00 herb

Help us make a big post and ring bike parking request! In Ward 19 we had talked about collecting information on areas that really need more bike parking. The City's post and ring system needs some pushing: not enough are being installed and when sidewalks are being rebuilt it's taking too long to replace the bike parking. It's not just a problem for staff, but a political problem. We need to let councillors know that this is an issue. So towards that goal, we've created a "watch area" on SeeClickFix.com, a website that helps engage citizens in fixing local issues:

http://www.seeclickfix.com/issues?watcher_token=707e22bded32dc596fdc765172f135ce2adca4c9

This watch area is for tracking the post and ring / bike parking requests in Toronto. Please make new requests and vote on listed ones. Also let others know where they can submit there requests.

We will keep our councillors aware of these ongoing issue and send the data to City Staff so they can start working on this.

Thanks!

message from Ana Bailao, explaning her position/voting response, and comments on the vote relative to the bikePlan;
26 Jul 2011 - 17:54 BoGoWo

Ana sent me this commentory of the bikePlan vote @ council, and kindly agreed to my reposting it here;

"The decision to remove the Jarvis Street bike lanes was premature and a significant step backwards for safe cycling in the City of Toronto. I opposed the removal of these bike lanes and supported the motion and amendments of the local Councillor to save these lanes. I also have significant concerns that the removal of the Jarvis Street bike lanes have hindered the local Councillor's on-going beautification efforts to improve the Jarvis streetscape. 

The decision to remove the Jarvis Street bike lane was due to concerns that traffic, specifically travelling North in the evening, is being significantly delayed. Traffic congestion is a serious issue in the City of Toronto and poses a significant economic threat due to lost productivity; however, hundreds of cyclists a day regularly use the Jarvis lanes and the best way to increase cycling in Toronto is to make it safer.

The new Bike Network plan presented to Council included many important initiatives that I support, including curb-separated bike lanes, the expansion of the Railpath along the Georgetown Corridor, and many additional kilometres of cycling trails. Unfortunately, the plan also included the removal of the Jarvis Street bike lanes. During Council I was among those who pushed to have the items voted separately so that Toronto cyclists are not forced to choose between equally worthwhile projects. Unfortunately, this was ruled out of order and the plan was forced as an single item.

Fellow Councillors expressed their frustration with this difficult decision in many ways, some choosing to vote in favour of the network for the positive projects it contained, some voting against the included lane removals, while many others left the room, refusing to make an impossible choice. At the end of the day, the new Bike Plan passed, but all of these Councillors agree that the issue of cycling in Toronto is far from closed and I look forward to working with my colleagues on Council to improve the weaknesses of this plan.

Our City is growing rapidly and it is critical that sustainable transportation infrastructure become a priority in order to build a healthy and mobile city. With a balanced approach that includes pedestrians, public transit, cars and cyclists, we can develop an inclusive and sustainable transit plan for the future. "

Thank you again for taking the time to contact my office and please do not hesitate to do so in the future.

Sincerely,

Ana Bailão
City Councillor
Ward 18, Davenport

City counting in Dupont bike lanes;
2 Jul 2011 - 11:12 BoGoWo

I have been told by a reliable source (will check later this weekend) that there are counting meters on the bike lanes near the Dupont/Junction bridge.  It seems that someone is looking for numbers to support changes to the lanes on Dupont. Make sure if you are near this location that you make a point of 'being counted' to endorse the lanes on Dupont [good location for a Mexican 'hat dance' party!]

Ward 18, 19 Check-up! Meet at Euclid and College June 26 1:30pm
20 Jun 2011 - 09:59 herb

Meet us at the Starbucks at Euclid and College, Sunday June 26 at 1:30pm for the start of the Ward 18 and Ward 19 Check-ups! Please bring a pen and clipboard if you have them. Bring water. Forms will be provided. Snacks provided.

The Ward Check-up is a way for us to examine cycling conditions in our neighbourhood and develop a winning position on improving cycling for our ward.

Ward 19 participants will follow College Street west with Councillor Layton; take a left at Shaw Street down to Queen St, left onto Queen until Strachan and then right on Strachan til the Waterfront Trail.

Ward 18 participants will continue along College Street to conduct the Ward 18 check-up. More details soon!

Lansdowne not included in latest update / Dupont shortened
16 Jun 2011 - 13:47 vic

In the "Bikeway Network - 2011 Update" that was published by The City today, there's no mention of the already-approved Lansdowne Ave. bike lane (Bloor to Dupont). http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-38906.pdf However, there's discussion of shortening the Dupont bike lane:

Approve modifications to the bicycle lanes on Dupont Street at the approach to the intersection with Lansdowne Avenue, to move the beginning of bicycle lanes from a point 30 metres east of Lansdowne Avenue to a point 70 metres west of Lansdowne Avenue. 4.5 Modifications to the Dupont Street Bicycle Lanes at Lansdowne Avenue (Ward 18) Dupont Street, from Dundas Street West to Lansdowne Avenue, is a two-way arterial roadway, which operates with one traffic lane and a bicycle lane in each direction. East of Lansdowne Avenue, Dupont Street operates with two traffic lanes per direction. The T.T.C. operates the 26-Dupont bus route on the street. The transition from four lanes to two lanes occurs approximately 30 metres east of Lansdowne Avenue and has resulted in significant delay to motor vehicle traffic on Dupont Street. Transportation staff have worked with the Ward Councillor to review options for improving eastbound and westbound traffic flow at the Dupont Street/Lansdowne Avenue intersection. Based on a review of the intersection operation, Transportation staff have concluded the traffic flow could be improved by maintaining two westbound and two eastbound traffic lanes approaching Lansdowne Avenue and making the transition to a single lane plus bicycle lane west of the intersection. Accordingly, Transportation Services recommends that the bicycle lane design be modified so that the bicycle lane begins approximately 70 metres west of the intersection as illustrated in Appendix 7. With this change both the eastbound and westbound approaches to Lansdowne will operate with two traffic lanes in each direction, and the intersection will return to the configuration that predated the installation of the bicycle lanes. Following implementation of this change staff will continue to monitor the operation of Dupont Street and the Lansdowne-Dupont intersection, in consultation with the Ward Councillor and the community."

Summary: Ignore approved bike lane, shorten crossing bike lane so that it doesn't connect even if Lansdowne gets installed.

mtg notice from councilor's office:
24 Mar 2011 - 13:56 BoGoWo

COMMUNITY MEETING; On Transit in Toronto

Have your say, Tuesday, March 29, 2011 7:00pm - 9:00pm
St. Helen Catholic School - Gymnasium
1196 College Street

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

I am writing to invite the residents of Ward 18 to a public meeting to
discuss the state of transit in Toronto.

It is my intention to use this meeting as an opportunity for local
residents to share their thoughts on public transit and other methods
of transportation, what local services and programs need to be
maintained and/or improved.

As I promised last fall to continuously engage local residents on
important matters, I am very pleased to host this meeting that will
include city staff. Please come with your thoughts and ideas on how we
can make our community a better place to live and work.
Sincerely,
Ana Bailão
City Councillor
Ward 18, Davenport

railPath update re: requests for minor improvements;
15 Mar 2011 - 13:31 BoGoWo

I am pleased to report that the City has sent an information update to confirm their attention to matters that we brought up at our meeting with councilor Anna Bailou, and staff.

message from Michael M. Vieira, B.A.; City Staff:

"I wanted to provide you with an update on a couple of items concerning the West Toronto Rail Path. The first thing is that Councillor Bailão met with City of Toronto Transportation Staff last week and was informed that the sidewalk on Cariboo Avenue by the access point to the path will be cut. This will certainly allow cyclists easier access to the Rail Path.

Second, our office has bee in correspondence with City of Toronto Parks and Recreation in hopes of having some of the access points to the Rail Path cleared of snow starting next winter. I will keep you informed as to the status of this request on Councillor Bailão's part.

Should you have any other questions on this or any City of Toronto matter, please do not hesitate to contact me directly."

I have thanked all for their attention to our interests, and mentioned that we will be looking forward to the improvements.

Bruce

Invitation to the Green Opportunities Regional Forum in Toronto
27 Jan 2011 - 16:17 Kathy Raddon

Attached is information on an upcoming forum: Green Opportunities, which researched the most effective ways of engaging newcomers and immigrant communities into environmental initiatives.  It looked at municipal governments, grassroots organizations, conservation authorities, environmental businesses, and other organizations that fall in the ‘green’ category, in Southwestern Ontario (from Toronto to Hamilton and up to Waterloo County), and are now presenting findings at two regional forums, one in Guelph and the other in Toronto.

FutureWatch Environment and Development Education Partners (FutureWatch EDEP) is a Toronto based non-profit environmental organization implements community development programs, and works with diverse populations.

 

First Ward Meeting for West End - 18, 19, 20
2 Dec 2010 - 10:32 herb

We getting local advocacy ramped up for next year! We will have our inaugural meeting for Wards 18, 19 and 20 at the Linux Caffe on Monday December 6, 7pm. The Linux Caffe is at the corner of Harbord and Grace.

At the meeting, we'll share summaries of the discussions at the Ward Advocacy Program re-launch event, including the maps we worked on. We will start off with all three wards together, since it's not clear yet how many people will show up. If it looks like each ward will have a vibrant local discussion then we can decide to break up into each ward.

A rough suggested agenda:

  • decide on facilitator (and maybe ward captains if ready)
  • learning from WAP 
  • strategy for local engagement 
  • local groups and figures to approach - residents associations, BIAs, councillors 
  • share discussion from maps 
  • decide priorities by ward for coming year 

Note that whoever shows up gets to decide the direction of the advocacy. So please come out if you are eager to lend your voice!

Dundas West BIA trying to keep car parking
18 Feb 2010 - 19:51 herb

The Dundas West BIA has been protesting against Councillor Giambrone in order to keep rush hour car parking on Dundas West. Why should cyclists be interested? Well, the City's collision report showed that dooring is one of the major collision types. With car parking on such a narrow road with streetcar tracks, cyclists are forced to squeeze close to the car doors, thus risking getting doored and thrown into traffic.

Help inform our local merchants that we don't agree with them and that they are stuck in an antiquated view of their customer base. Many local customers arrive on foot, transit and bike; not by car!

Email Councillor Ana Bailao
Phone: 
4163927012
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