The first annual progress report on the implementation of the Toronto Bike Plan went to Toronto City Council last week at its May 21, 22, 23, 2003 meeting. This report outlines all of the work done by the City of Toronto in 2002 to implement the Toronto Bike Plan and also lists the priorities for 2003. It has sections on activities in all 6 elements, or spokes of the Bike Plan: Bicycle Friendly Streets, Bikeway Network, Safety & Education, Promotion, Cycling & Transit, and Bicycle Parking. You can see the complete report at the following link. Toronto Bike Plan - Year 1 progress report (PDF)

The release of the report was timely as it came the week before Bike Week 2003. It gives us a chance to see what was accomplished last year and look forward to the work to be completed in 2003. These accomplishments have been reported here at BikeToronto.ca and are being celebrated this week and next during Bike Week 2003. The report also points out some areas where objectives of the plan were not met and gives cycling advocates some direction as to where to focus their efforts. One of the disappointments was in the area of Transit and Cycling. The Bike Plan called for a demonstration project of having bike racks on busses. This is a service that most major cities in North America have. The Toronto Cycling Committee asked both the Toronto Transit Commission and Go Transit to report on setting up a pilot project. Both were reluctant to entertain the idea. This one project that advocates of a more cycling friendly transit system will have to roll up their sleeves and apply more pressure to see this objective met.

This year the 2002 report was sent to Council in May of 2003. The original plan was to have each year's report released in the spring of the following year. It has been decided by the Bike Plan Coordinating Committee to have future reports completed earlier. They will be released in the fall of the year that is being reported on. This will allow for better planning for the subsequent year and so that the projects for the following year will be ready to be submitted to the budget process which starts in the fall and wraps up in March of the next year. This mean's the 2003 Bike Plan Progress report will be released in fall of 2003 and it will contain the plans for 2004.