Late on the last night of Council (Oct. 30), City Council voted 20-11 to support Councillor Heaps' motion to implement full bike lanes on Annette. The "sharrows" (basically a shared lane for cars and bikes, with painted chevrons) are dead.

Report from City Council (new: Nov. 2)
Some of our notes from the Chamber that evening:

We heard in the afternoon, that it was likely that enough votes were lined up to vote for the lanes, but that Councillor Saundercook was trying to work a last minute "compromise" that would put in sharrows for 2 years, after which the situation would be re-evaluated to look at lanes. It was possible this might weaken the pro-lane vote.

The item didn't come up until well after 8pm (the scheduled close of the meeting). It was a very long day, and a number of councillors were not there by that time.

Councillor Heaps introduced the motion for full bike lanes. Among his comments:

• He said he had been originally told by Saundercook the the community was pushing for sharrows. He (Heaps) went to the Sep. public meeting, but instead found it was a "love-in" for bike lanes. that everyone "adamantly" wanted bike lanes. He then asked Saundercook to give him a compelling reason for sharrows.
   

• He thought we shouldn't even be having this conversation. Bike Lanes are important, and need to be built. They are also not a "local" issue, but are part of a city-wide strategy, and fulfilling a city mandate. He suggested that Saundercook, as co-chair of the pedestrian committee should recognize this.
   

• He cited the 212 individually written, "highly articulate emails that passionately asked for bike lanes". Most came from area residents, and he hadn't received one written submission against.
   

• He had a map displayed on the Council screen. This was one prepared by staff, and previously shown at the Oct. 10 PWIC meeting. The map showed the location of everyone who included their address on comments submitted at or after the Sep. 15 meeting. Almost all were located within a block or two of Annette -- strong, visual evidence that the local community overwhelmingly wanted the lanes.
   

Then Councillor Saundercook took the floor, and against all the concrete evidence of the emails and the staff map, baldly stated that the "community was willing to agree to sharrows for two years". Those of us in attendance were pretty much stunned by this statement. (There's another term for it).

When he talked about the emails and other requests, it was always in reference to "the cyclists" -- to us, a clear suggestion that these demands were from some shadowy "bike lobby", as had been suggested in some media reports. Again, the evidence on the staff map, and the 200 emails showed that the majority of requests were from local residents -- along with others throughout the city...it is after all, a city-wide issue.

If that wasn't enough, Saundercook then insulted city staff. He suggested that at the Sep. 15 public meeting, staff may have "presented" the sharrows option, but not seriously. He claimed that they had their own agenda, and ("understandably" for them) really wanted bike lanes. Another astounding statement, especially to those of us who witnessed staff's completely professional presentation of all three options. It was no doubt also noted by Gary Welsh, the General Manager of Transportation Services, and Dan Egan, the Manager of Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure who were present at the Council meeting. (And Egan was present at the September meeting).

Gord Perks of Ward 14 who was heavily involved in promoting these lanes (an already approved portion runs through his ward -- there was no issue there) -- spoke quite passionately about the importance of real bike lanes. Sharrows he pointed out are a new feature, designed only for those roads that are not wide enough to accommodate lanes, and are definitely not safe.

One interesting speaker was John Parker, who was one of the members of PWIC to vote for sharrows. He seemed surprised by this apparent widespread popular support for lanes. "I was told that a compromise [the sharrows] was in place, and that's why I voted the way I did". So, we wondered, did that mean he now realizes that was a crock, and would tonight vote for lanes? (He didn't). He spoke about being sensitive to the concerns of the community and businesses, and against forcing a solution onto an unwilling community. We couldn't agree more.

Also speaking up for lanes were Councillors Palacio and Giambrone, and Mayor Miller. He pointed out that he lives in the area, and "people are stopping me on the street"... every one of them asking for Bike Lanes.

The matter came to a vote, and the result was 20-11 for lanes. A 2:1 victory, and rejection of Councillor Saundercook's tactics.

The vote:

For lanes: Augimeri Cho Davis De Baeremaeker Del Grande Filion Giambrone Heaps Kelly McConnell Mihevc Miller Moeser Moscoe Palacio Pantalone Perks Peruzza Rae Vaughan

Nays: Ainslie Di Giorgio Feldman Ford Hall Holyday Lindsay Luby Nunziata Parker Saundercook Stintz

Some older items...

Our letter to Councillor Saundercook (Oct. 28)

We have written a last-minute letter to Councillor Saundercook, copying the members of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) which had voted against the lanes, as well as Councillor Heaps (chair of the Cycling Committee) and the Mayor.

We are delivering the letter to their offices, but in the emailed version, we have attached a 63-page WORD document -- a copy of all 138 emails we've received to date. Every single email supports full bike lanes. (See Councillor Heaps' comments below).

In our letter, we pointed out the overwhelming public support, made sure he knew that the large majority of these emails were from local residents -- his constituents. We indicated our ongoing support for the local businesses, and our confidence that they will remain healthy even with the parking reductions, and finally re-iterated the important safety aspect of the lanes.

We included excerpts from a few emails, including this one: 

“Bike lanes will improve safety for riders. Bike riding is environmentally responsible. The majority of city staff and the community support the idea of bike lanes on Annette St. Let’s just get on with it.”

-- Resident of Durie St.

A copy of the letter (WORD format) is posted here.

Councillor Heaps on CBC Radio (Oct. 28)

Adrian Heaps, the chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee will be backing the full bike lane option at City Council. He was on CBC Radio very early Tuesday morning discussing the issue. The interview is available on the Metro Morning website. Click the "Disputing Bike Lanes" link. Our summary of what he said:

He briefly discussed the history of the issue, and clearly put the blame for the mess on Councillor Saundercook. He claimed that Councillor Saundercook "adamantly" insisted that the community and residents "wanted sharrows" as a compromise, however he (Heaps) saw just the opposite at the Sep. 15 public consultation. (Bike lanes were the overwhelming choice). Since then he said he has received 130 "highly articulate" emails from residents all supporting bike lanes. In opposition, he has received one phone call and one email against the lanes.

We wish him great luck -- and success -- at this week's Council meeting.

 

Brief Background:

At Councillor Saundercook's instigation, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) turned down the bike lanes on the last stretch of Annette (Runnymede to Jane), despite overwhelming public support (81% of respondents at the Sep. 15 public meeting), and city staff's recommendation for lanes.

Instead, the Committee voted to create a shared bike/car lane in the existing curb lane. How does this differ from the status quo? A little paint. See Spacing.ca for some background on the  "sharrow" approach.

City Council, at their Oct. 29/30 meeting CAN reverse that mistake, IF they hear from enough of the public -- especially those in the area.

• See our Oct. 17 newsletter for more details

• Our bike page has some older items on the issue, including a list of reasons why we feel the bike lanes are critical

• See below for a handy email link below to send an email to Council. You can write up to and including Council dates.

 

Toronto Star Oct. 25 article

The Toronto Star carried an article in its Saturday issue, which to our view largely mis-represented the situation. It cast the situation as a conflict between small, local businesses on Annette, and a highly organized, lanes-at-all-costs bike lobby which cares little about others.

There are far too many issues in the article to point out here. You can read some good commentary on the I Bike T.O. blog here.

There is no doubt that many cycling activists around the city are helping to campaign for the lanes for very good reasons. However, anyone who has read the numerous emails sent to the city (many of which are on our website), recognize that the large majority of people writing City Council are in fact area residents, along with others who live elsewhere but bike here.

At the PWIC Oct. 10 meeting, staff showed statistics confirming this -- a huge majority of those submitting written support for bike lanes along Annette in fact lived very close to Annette St.

And, it's clear from most comments -- and from our own postings -- that those of us supporting Annette bike lanes are also very supportive of the businesses along Annette St.

It's sadly understandable that a newspaper depends on polarizing stories, but it is very bad timing for campaign here, as it may tend to trivialize the issue.

Here are some of our links about the lanes

• OUR OCT. 17 NEWSLETTER
  With some background, plus more details on how to email.
   

• OUR FLYER
  Distributed in the Annette St. area. (Note: It's a 900K+ PDF file). This was produced with the Bloor West Village Residents Association, and designed by Dave Meslin (founder of the Toronto Cyclists Union, formerly of Toronto Public Space Committee, etc).
   

• OUR MEDIA RELEASE (Oct. 21) WORD format.
   

• GLOBE & MAIL ARTICLE
  Read Jeff Gray's Oct. 20 column in the Globe & Mail. While he quotes world19, Councillor Saundercook's "threat" is the most interesting bit.
  
  Mr. Saundercook warns any intervention from Mr. Heaps on Annette could threaten his support for other bike lanes: “If you’re going to jam it down my throat, then we’re going to go a whole different way.’”
   

• SOME OTHER ARTICLES/POSTS:

  • John Barber's column, Globe & Mail, Oct. 29 ""Councillor fears '500-kilometre discussion' over 700 metres of bicycle lanes"

  • Opinion piece by local activist, Chris Holcroft on the Toronto Star website.

  • Toronto Star, Oct. 25 (see comments above)

  • Torontoist, Oct. 24

  • I Bike T.O., Oct. 22

  • Toronto Cranks has an interesting post, "Scapegoat BBQ on Annette", Oct. 22

   

The Community Responds!

Many people writing to Council copied us on their emails to Council. Below is the final count of emails that were copied to world19:

FOR BIKE LANES = 150
AGAINST BIKE LANES = 0

The great majority of these emails come from area residents. We have reprinted most of them on several pages on our website (personal information removed). Click here to read...