The Toronto Bike Plan is arranged into 6 different Sections or 6 spokes. The Candidate survey that was sent to all mayoral and council candidates followed that same structure. Questions 2 and 3 of the survey looked at two of the recomendations from the Bicycle Friendly Streets section.

The principle of this spoke of the bike plan is “Every Toronto Street is a Cycling Street”. The intention is to make all streets, with or with out bike lanes, more bicycle friendly by ensuring increased safety and access. You can read more about this part of the Toronto Bike Plan at the following link: Bicycle Friendly Streets

One way to increase access is to exempt bicycles from traffic calming measures that are primarily intended to reduce car traffic in a particular area. This is done on a case by case basis and there are lots of examples already in the city where this is done. It is important that the local councillor be open to bringing these requests forward if local residents want to have success in making their neighbourhood bike friendly. Question 2 of the survey deals with this issue.

One way to ensure safety on all streets is to ensure that the curb lanes and bike lanes are kept free of debris and snow. The city has a policy that on streets with bike lanes the snow be plowed so that at least 1 metre of the bike lane is clear. This policy is not always followed however. We asked that candidates commit to ensuring that this existing policy be carried out. In addidtion we asked if they would support extending the snow clearing policy to off road paths. This is question 3 in the candidate survey. You can read the candidates responses to these questions. On their survey responses. Council Candidate responses Mayoral Candidate Responses Just click on the name of the candidate and you will see their survey response.

You can also play a role in making streets bike friendly. If you notice that there is debris in the bike lane you can call the City of Toronto for a clean up. Call the street cleaning hotline at 416-39-CLEAN. Right now leaves are piling up by the curbs creating hazards for cyclists. You can do your part in clearing away these hazards by keeping the City informed of them. The same is true in winter for snow. If you notice that a bike lane has not been plowed call 416-338-SNOW. Your job is to let the City Staff know there is a problem. It is council's job to ensure there are enough staff to do the job.