I am writing to you regarding the proposed bikes lanes
on Annette Street (item number PW19.8), and the decision by a number of
City Councillors to vote against this recommendation.
In brief, I could expound on the points already raised
to date on the benefits of bike lanes on Annette Street, I could
reference the very high public support for this project, and the
divisive posturing that has been cast into this discussion by at least
one City Councillor, I could advocate the health, transportation and
environmental benefits of urban cycling to a growing city, and I could
easily make the point that Annette Street is the only east-west route
planned for its respective area of Toronto as indicated in the Toronto
Bike Plan, or that the future of the Bike Plan may be in jeopardy, but I
won’t.
I will however challenge Toronto City Council to
support its own goal of adding bike lanes to the streets of Toronto.
The failure of the proposed Annette Street bike lanes
would simply be the failure of a city to do what it said it would do, to
quote Mayor David Miller, “The Bike Plan reinforces our City's
commitment to providing a vision for cycling in Toronto.”
Toronto is far behind other cities in Canada, the US
and Europe when it comes to implementation of cycling infrastructure. On
October 29th Toronto City Council will have the opportunity to take an
important step towards changing this reality.
Providing vision is one thing, but providing results
is quite another; it is not just the interests of cyclists that is a
stake, it’s the integrity of a city.
Dear relevant politicians,
It's come to my attention that bike lanes on Annette
were voted down recently, item number PW19.8.
Please reconsider! It seems such a shame to have a
schizophrenic attitude towards cycling: create a bike plan, talk bluster
about our world-class and bike-friendly city, and then do nothing to
implement these things.
Did you see how many people were on their bikes this
summer? Imagine if they all felt safe!
We won't see any change until the City gets serious
about change. Please get serious, I am!
Resident of Davenport
I am writing in support of full bike lanes on Annette
St. rather than the shared lanes currently proposed by the PWIC (Agenda item
PW 19.8). I recently purchased a home on Beresford Ave. just south of
Annette and part of the attraction of moving to this area was the
opportunity to use my bike for both for transportation and for recreation.
There are so many positive benefits to cycling - reduction
of motor vehicle use, positive health benefits for the cyclists, etc., that,
as a city, we should be doing everything possible to encourage it. The
research indicates that the best infrastructure for safe cycling is a
separation of motor vehicle and cyclist traffic - and that this is
particular important in encouraging females to cycle for transportation (e.g., Promoting
transportation cycling for women: the role of bicycle infrastructre.
Preventive Medicine, 2008; 46(1):55-9).
Please do the right thing and follow the example of world
class cities such as Stockholm and Amsterdam by continuing to use every
opportunity to provide safe cycling corridors in our city. This includes
separating cyclists from motor vehicles wherever possible.
Thank you for your consideration.
Beresford Ave.
Although I don’t live in the immediate area I too am a
cyclist and would like to see as many bike lanes put into as many roads as
possible. I would like to see Toronto become an overall a safe and cycle
friendly city. This will also help to inspire people to be more active and
promote the green revolution.
Please have the clerk's office forward this letter
electronically to all councillors, so they will directly receive an email
copy as well as in the Council agenda package.
Yours Truly,
I am writing in reference to item number PW19.8. I am an
avid cyclist and support the bike lane that is proposed for Annette Street.
Toronto needs more bike lanes! We're supposed to be a bike friendly city...
I would like to request that the clerk's office forward my
letter electronically to all councilors.
Best regards,
I am writing in reference to item number PW19.8. I would
appreciate it if the clerk's office could forward my letter electronically
to all councillors.
I would like to convey my support for full implementation
of bicycle lanes on Annette Street between Jane Street and Runnymede Road,
as supported by City staff's own recommendations in their report of
September 29.
These bicycle lanes are what the majority of the citizens
in the neighbourhood want. In fact, 81% of respondents asked at the
September public meeting to rank three bikeway options identified bicycle
lanes as their first choice. The small number of opponents to the bicycle
lanes identified loss of parking spaces as a concern; however, parking will
be a non-issue, as city staff demonstrated that after implementing the
bicycle lane, enough parking spaces will be available to meet existing
demand.
To understand the importance of these bicycle lanes, just
ask a cyclist who lives or works in the area or has children who attend one
of the many schools in the neighbourhood. I myself commute to work by
bicycle through this area, and the hazards of cars weaving around me on
Annette Street, especially after dark once daylight savings time ended,
eventually led me to choose another route which was less direct, slower, and
had poorer connections to the official Bike Plan connections at Dupont
Street on one end and Runnymede Road on the other. I would love to get back
on Annette.
These bicycle lanes are in the Bike Plan. Year after year,
we have been told that the bicycle lanes in the Bike Plan will be installed,
and year after year we have been disappointed. Some of us still ride but
worry about our safety; others wait for the day they can feel there is a
place on the road for them and their families.
The people who live in and travel through this
neighbourhood have shown their overwhelming support for these bicycle lanes.
Please show that our opinions matter at City Hall, and that our safety is
worth more than a few places to store cars. Please reject the October 10
recommendation for sharrows and instead reinstate Option 1 from the
September 29 staff report for a bicycle lane along Annette Street between
Jane Street and Runnymede Road.
Thank-you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Shaw Street
Item PW19.8
I am respectfully urging you to make the decision on Oct.
22 that will implement a FULL BIKE LANE on ANNETTE ST. - instead of sharrows
- and reverse the committee's recent decision when it goes to City Council
for approval on October 29-30.
Is it so difficult to prioritize the health and safety of
our children over meager car-"convenience" or narrow "economic" greed?
Do you know that every traffic study in the world has
shown that where there is less over-accommodation of car-driving, there is
less car-driving and less traffic!
Not to mention less children dying of smog poisoning.
How many hundreds of children and others each year, and
thousands made ill, are directly attributable to automobile pollution
according to Toronto Public Health, the Ontario Medical Association, and
others?
Did you know that car accidents are the number one cause
of death of children in the GTA? And what of all the horrendous injuries,
often life-long?
Healthier children, and a generally safer, healthier,
happier, more beautiful, higher quality-of-life neighbourhood and city are
what we need!
Thank you.
Sincerely
Melbourne Ave
Colleagues;
I would like to add my voice to the chorus of opposition
to Councillor Saundercook's lame response to an overwhelming community
response, at a public meeting, no less. in favour of the City staffs
unequivocal recommendation for bike lines on both sides of Annette Ave.
between Runnymede and Jane. In 2008, we are watching an unprecedented
decline in the quality of air in the City of Toronto, driven by an industry
that is on life support from government subsidy, and the illusion of taking
a middle course on this debate is being fostered by the local councillor. He
is among the reasons why politicians are held in such low esteem, because he
genuinely believes that his position is a middle course. Has he ever spoken
for the trees, plants, air or water that have no voice in the parliaments
and councils of men. I suspect not because that will not get votes. As a
secondary school educator and ethics instructor, I urge all of the
Counsellors to become the voice for a transportation system that puts pedal
power and clean air ahead of mundane commercial interests.
This resident refuses to be silenced by ineptitude.
I have lived at Runnymede and Annette for 27 years. I am a
cyclist, drive a car and fervently support independent businesses in the
neighbourhood. For 10 years I cycled east along Annette and Dupont to the
Parliament and Wellesley area. For the past 5 years I have been heading west
on Annette and cycling to Jane and Finch. I initially used Jane Street
(truly a nightmare) as the main access to Finch until I discovered the
Humber Valley Path. The Annette section from Runnymede to Jane is obviously
a part of the East/West bike network and easily connects with the
north/south path using the Humber Trail. Without hesitation I fully support
option 1: full bike lanes on Annette. This is part of the Bike Plan and the
community overwhelmingly supported this (81%).
Of dire concern is the lack of political leadership in
this process:
1) While the Bike Plan, the report from the city staff,
and 81% of the community supported the full bike lanes how does it happen
that option 3 is introduced by Councillor Grimes on behalf on Councillor
Saundercook? This process is not only problematic but unconscionable and
speaks to a lack of integrity with the misrepresentation of the community
consultation and city staff input.
2) Business owners were pitted against other community
members and cyclists. There appeared to be no leadership in mediating
opposing views in a conciliatory manner
3) And finally a quote from Jeff Gray's article in the
Globe and Mail today: 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.'"
Perhaps this quote is out of context but it is difficult
to imagine any context where it would make sense or be appropriate. It
sounds like bullying.
A larger picture is at stake here: not only the Bike Plan
but a sense of integrity for public consultation. Please help to remedy this
costly and unnecessary situation by voting for full bike lanes on Annette.
I want to ask you to support the Annette bike lane. I have
been riding my bike to work every day, all year for the last fifteen years.
I believe it is a practice that should be encouraged, and we should take
steps to make this safe for everyone on the road and sidewalk. I don't ask
that you make it effortless, or convenient - merely that you make it
possible, and make it safer. Bike lanes are a great way to do that.
Sincerely,
Rhodes Ave
It was with sadness and anger that I read about the
decision not to install bike lanes along Annette Street through the
Junction. I moved to the Junction in March of 2007 from an area just west of
Little Italy at College and Dovercourt. I had been riding my bike to work at
Adelaide and Spadina for several years and wondered how the move would
affect my ability to bike commute. I began bike commuting again in May of
2008 and it became quickly apparent to me that there is really no safe way
to get from the Junction to downtown. Dundas is extremely busy with traffic
often moving at an unsafe rate of speed. It has also recently been dug up by
the gas company (Runnymede to Quebec St) and given the state of Roncesvalles
(with a similar patch job that is obviously several years old) it is
unlikely to be repaired any time soon. Annette, is also busy with high speed
traffic and the area between Clendennan and Runnymede should be safer given
the presence of several schools and a community center, but the traffic
moves extremely quickly along there despite the curve in the road.
The community was consulted regarding the bike lane
installation and at the September 15, 2008 meeting 81% of respondents
supported full bike lanes and city staff endorsed the bike lane proposal. A
great deal of work, time, and attention went into consulting those affected
by this decision and to have what was clearly a well supported idea
overturned at the last minute by a city Councillor acting on behalf of a
Councillor that couldn't even be bothered to show up is insulting to those
that gave their time and energy to their community.
I would like to take the time to remind you of the
following:
- Staff studies taken at 3 different times (daytime,
evening, overnight) show that even with the reduced parking capacity, there
will be sufficient parking capacity to meet the demand.
- It is likely that parking will not be quite as
convenient as without the lanes. However, we feel that it is no longer
practical in the heart of a big city for drivers to expect to always find a
parking spot within a few steps of their destination, when sufficient
parking does still exist mere steps away.
- Many of the shops on Annette – including those we
understand are most upset by the proposed Annette lanes – are unique in
terms of the products and services they offer. They should not feel
threatened by this proposal.
- Cyclists are consumers too, and keeping cyclists on a
route with shops and services will benefit local businesses.
I sincerely hope that the decision to downgrade the
cycling plan for Annette St to a 'shared roadway' will be overturned at the
October 29, 2008 meeting and the original plans for the bike lane will
become a reality. The Junction is an area undergoing a wonderful
revitalization right now and new, young families seem to be well
represented. Many of them cycle, many of them cycle with their small
children. I would like to see their safety a priority and their decision to
leave their car at home taken seriously.
Please forward this email to all Councillors regarding the
above item for the Oct. 29/30 Council meeting.
Sincerely,
Ward 13
I am a recreational bike rider in this area. I live on
Mayfield Avenue. I attended the last public meeting and supported Option 1.
I continue to support Option 1..( bike lanes) on Annette Street. As a
recreational rider and one that rides mainly in her neighborhood, safety is
a key issue for me and one that I believe is best provided by Option 1. Bike
lanes will also help keeping bicycle riders off the sidewalks, which also
has become a danger to pedestrians. Bicyclists are using the sidewalks
because there are not enough bike lanes, and they do not feel safe riding on
the roads without them. Please vote for the bike lanes.
Please reconsider your choice to block the creation of
designated bike lanes along Annette St. As an area resident and a 3 season
bike commuter (from High Park to Union Station five days a week) these bike
lanes offer a safer and more convenient route for myself and others. If the
city is really serious about reducing congestion and pollution than this is
an important step in the right direction. To block this project will create
a president by which all future bike lane proposals will be judged and
possibly ignored or overturned.
Sincerely,
High Park resident, registered voter and 3 season bike
commuter
I am a home owner in Ward 13 and commute daily, year
round, by bike approximately 20 kilometres round trip from the Runnymede and
Annette area to my office downtown at Bay and Adelaide.
I am opposed to the decision made by three of the five
members present at the October 10th Public Works and Infrastructure
Committee (PWIC) meeting to install sharrows along Annette between Runnymede
and Jane instead of dedicated bike lanes.
This decision was influenced and recommended by our local
councilor, Bill Saundercook. His actions ignore the input and concerns of a
majority of his own constituents on this issue. He has even gone against
Transportation Services’ own report recommending dedicated bike lanes.
An overwhelming number of residents in our neighbourhood
want these bike lanes. Polling at the September Open House showed over 80%
of participants preferred the option of installing dedicated bike lanes
compared to only 11% favouring the sharrows option.
Councillor Saundercook has given in to a select number of
small scale shops along this 700 metre stretch of Annette all over concerns
with parking. There are no major “chain” retail stores here. All are
individual, family run and operated. As a result, many of the shops operate
on what could be considered “boutique - like” hours, not opening up much
before 10 or 11 AM, nor are they open late in the evening, or are completely
closed certain days during the workweek and/or weekends. There is no reason
why we can’t continue to have these types of businesses AND the bike lanes.
Parking availability will actually increase under the
sharrow option as the right hand lane will be given solely to cars to park
at all times of the day. With the average width of a SUV roaming our City’s
street ranging around 2 metres, you can see why many cyclists feel painting
arrows on a road and forcing them to share the left hand lane with live
traffic offers no safety or protection compared to an actual bike lane.
Should City Council approve the sharrows option, it will
send a message the concerns of a select group of businesses can triumph over
the desires of the local community. It will also mean the City will likely
end up making little meaningful progress toward the goals outlined in the
Council approved 2001 Bike Plan (where dedicated bike lanes are to go along
Annette Street in it’s entirety including the lanes already approved by
Council running east of Runnymede in June).
I urge City Council to overturn the decision from the PWIC
and install dedicated bike lanes on Annette between Runnymede and Jane as
recommended by Transportation Services.
Sincerely,
Durie Street
The mission statement for Toronto Council's Strategic Plan
states "The Government of the City of Toronto champions the economic, social
and environmental vitality of the city". These three potentially conflicting
goals form the sometimes difficult challenge that you, as councillors, have
been elected to oversee.
The City of Toronto Bike Plan, was approved by council in
July 2001. While the social and environmental benefits of this plan are
obvious, some may argue it compromises the economic element of the city's
mandate. It is this economic argument therefore, that I believe is worthy of
deeper consideration.
On a macro scale, the long term economic benefits of
developing an interconnected cycling and pedestrian infrastructure come, not
only from the well documented reduction in health and transportation costs,
but also from increased productivity of the city. Richard Florida in The
Rise of the Creative Class states that economic prosperity follows when a
city can compete to attract today's highly mobile and educated work force.
Such people, he goes on to suggest, are drawn to cities with well defined
cycling and pedestrian infrastructures.
This good news for the city is, however, of little benefit
to the poor shop keepers who feel that a bike lane in front of their shops
will reduce their sales revenue. Fortunately, a study done in 2004 by Emily
Drennen titled "Economic Effects of Traffic Calming on Urban Small
Businesses" dispels this common, understandable, misconception.
The study surveyed 27 small business owners in the area of
Valencia Street in the Mission District of San Francisco on their
experiences with a traffic calming and bike lane project, four years after
the project was completed. 65% of respondents stated that the bike lanes had
a positive impact on their business, 31% said they had no impact, while only
4% said they had a negative impact. The report concluded that "a majority of
the Valencia Street merchants reported that the bike lanes increased the
attractiveness of the street, increased pedestrian safety, increased the
numbers of customers who ride bikes, increased the number of residents who
shop locally, and increased employee convenience". "Overall, two thirds of
merchants felt that the bike lanes had a generally positive effect on their
sales, and also would support more traffic calming projects on Valencia
Street". "These results definitively show strong merchant support for the
bike lanes".
So it would appear that when visceral arguments are
removed, the Toronto Bike Plan is actually consistent with all three
elements of the Toronto Council's Strategic Plan. Economic, social and
environmental vitality can coexist - in fact, it would seem that for long
term sustainability, the three are actually interdependent.
If the dedicated bike lane along Annette Street is allowed
to be diminished or compromised by the misplaced sentiments of a few people,
not only will it severely compromise the safety of the people who try to
follow the City's own advertising campaigns and ride their bikes to work,
but it will also, by precedent, compromise the future integrity of the Bike
Plan itself.
Therefore, for the economic, social and environmental well
being of our city, please support the dedicated bike lane (Option 1) along
Annette Street.
Thank you.
Windermere Av
I am a service business owner and resident of Annette
Street, I think that Annette Street will do well by bike lanes. The parking
issue is not the only issue here. As a resident of this largely residential
street who walks his small children to school each day, I have found that
the reduction of the street to two lanes during the Annette Street
reconstruction has actually helped slow traffic down and made the streets
and crossings safer for us. In the future, I would like my kids to have the
option to cycle to school but I will not let them unless the lanes are in.
With respect to businesses on the street, I do understand
their pain at the reconstruction. However, when there isn't construction and
except for the corner of Jane and Annette, I believe there is ample parking
during the day if you take into account the side streets.
If my business depended on walk in traffic I would be
upset at the City for not pursuing a more comprehensive strategy around bike
lanes. For example, recently a City (TTC) owned property at 568 Annette
Street was sold to developers which could have been used by the City to
offset parking losses. The same is true at Jane and Annette, there was a
vacant property formerly a Biway and Loblaws that had a parking lot (that
the City apparently leased for the benefit of the nearby residents who
parked there). Why did the City not purchase this lot and create a Green P
parkade there like it has done at Dundas and Runnymede?
It is unlikely that bike lanes will ever be put in on
Bloor Street as some in the cycling community have campaigned for. The
Annette/Dupont route would provide a good alternative to this and I hope
that it would carry right down into the core as a sort of cycling corridor.
I would strongly urge the passage of the full bike lane proposal believe
that not passing it would seriously undermine the City's Bike Plan.
I am writing in support of bike lanes on Annette between
Jane and Runnymede. I am amazed and appalled that the Public Works and
Infrastructure Committee took it upon themselves to ignore the
recommendations of the public and city staff. This bike lane is very
necessary and long overdue, as indicated by the appalling progress that this
city has made on its bike plan commitment of 495km by 2011 of which only 85
have been created to date, and most of this in the form of a disconnected
'patchwork' of routes which create even greater confusion and danger for
city residents.
Annette is a perfect example of yet another bike route
with great potential and great support that has been swept aside by a small
group of councillors not representing the obvious wishes of their
constituents (81% of public supports this route).
With cycling accidents and fatalities continuing in this
city along prominent east-west arterials, this vote against safe, healthy,
transportation will not be soon forgotten.
I urge you to reconsider the decision and to respect the
wishes of your constituents and staff.
I have been riding a bicycle for a half century. As a kid
I bicycled for fun and to visit friends, I used to bicycle to school and
then as an adult only for pleasure. By the time I was forty and living in
Montreal there appeared the first major bicycle paths. I soon reverted to
bicycling on social occasions, visiting friends, my children and lazy
outings on weekends. I moved to Toronto in 2002 and quickly took up riding
everywhere because it’s so flat and it’s generally as fast as driving, not
to mention the obvious health, monetary and environmental benefits.
I know that change is a difficult thing for individuals,
ergo governments, to embrace. But to say that I’m disappointed with
Toronto’s inability to install bike lanes is a gross understatement. I try
and bicycle everywhere in this wonderful city and use my car as infrequently
as possible for eight months of the year. And for those four months of
winter I attempt to use public transport a third of the time.
I bicycle daily, to shop, to visit friends, to attend
classes and to business meetings; always with a backpack and a helmet. While
everyone in these business meetings pretends to applaud my “green”
sensitivity I know very well that significant numbers(men in particular) are
hardly green with envy; indeed I am sure that they think I’m an “outsider”
and this reputation probably works to my detriment.
Occasionally, I meet Torontonians that would like to do
the same thing, but they are intimidated by the mixture of cars and bikes
together on the same bit of tarmac. They would probably use a bicycle for
basic urban transport if there were bicycle paths and separated lanes.
What are we waiting for?
I hope that City Council will vote in favour of full bike
lanes on Annette. It is time that City Council stopped favouring the private
car and began to give higher priority to other forms of transportation,
including bikes and public transit.
Please forward this email to all Councillors regarding the
above item for the Oct. 29/30 Council meeting
As an actively cycling parent with actively cycling
children who live in the Junction, I was disappointed to hear of the
rejection of the Annette bike lane proposal by the Public Works Committee.
I understand that business owners are concerned about lost
sales they've already suffered due to extensive and ongoing water main
construction, but the argument that the only consumer alternative to street
parking in front of a local store is a big box store with plentiful parking
is short-sighted. A city study has already ascertained that sufficient
alternate parking exists to accommodate drivers. Providing safer cycling via
bike lanes, will go a long way towards attracting additional cycling
customers to these businesses, offering a potential net increase in
customers, rather than a decrease.
I live on Quebec Avenue, one block from Annette Street and
am an occasional biker. I would probably ride more often if we had dedicated
bike lanes. My daughter was sideswiped by a car last year while riding on
Annette, this is unlikely to happen if we had bike lanes.
I hope the City Council will approve this.
I am writing in reference to item number PW19.8. Please
forward this note to all councillors.
I am very disappointed to learn of the Public Works and
Infrastructure Committee’s decision to decline to put in dedicated bike
lanes on Annette Street. As a daily downtown cyclist, I can attest to the
danger that cyclists face from sharing the roadspace with cars.
While both vehicles have every right to be on the road,
having a dedicated space for cyclists makes a great difference to the degree
of safety for people like me.
Also, with more dedicated cycle lanes, Toronto citizens
will be more confident to cycle within the city instead of driving, helping
our city become stronger and healthier.
Thanks for your time
Elizabeth Street
I was very discouraged to learn that the Public Works and
Infrastructure Committee passed a last minute recommendation to install
sharrows instead of bike lanes on Annette. It is hard to understand how the
Committee could make this recommendation when it clearly flies in the face
of the choice made by the majoirty of people in the neighborhood who
participated in the public consultation process, and the City's own study.
This type of action is discouraging for everyone who believes in community
input into decision making at City Hall. Lets encourage community
involvement rather than feed apathy by confirming the view that there is no
reason to get involved because the politicians will do whatever they like
anyway. As a cyclist (and a driver) I fully support the installation of bike
lanes on Annette.
How we can improve the process to install bike lanes in
Toronto?
The current way is impeding the city's own bike plan, and
more must be done. We cyclists, we pedestrians deserve better.
At the Annette st bike lane meeting De Baeremaeker did not
mince words. "[T]he downside of not putting bike lanes in is someone could
be killed. Someone could be maimed."
I have been riding bikes in the city for 30 years -
traffic is becoming more intense by the month. I want my children to be able
to ride bikes in our city.
I never ride west to the Junction because it's dangerous.
As a longtime local resident, I am writing in support of
dedicated bike lanes on Annette between Runnymede and Jane. I was quite
dismayed by the October 10th PWIC decision that recommended the installation
of shared roadway markings (sharrows) in their place (PW19.8). I strongly
urge you to reject the PWIC decision and restore the staff recommendation
for full bike lanes. This stretch of roadway may be small, but the
implications loom large.
The PWIC decision is the wrong decision made in the wrong
way. The decision is at odds with all best evidence, the informed
recommendations of staff, the wishes of local residents and the city’s
languishing Bike Plan. It is a decision that in all good conscience cannot
be justified.
I know the shops along Annette are concerned about the
loss of some customer parking spots, should the lanes be installed. But,
from my years of living in this neighbourhood, I can tell you that there is
much parking available along Annette. This observation is in keeping with
the findings of the city staff survey indicating that sufficient parking on
Annette will remain even once lanes are installed. Please be aware that
there is also on-street parking available on the many intersecting side
streets, as well as on Jane St. itself.
So while I am sorry for the fears of local retailers, I
believe their fears to be unfounded. At the same time, we need to
acknowledge that as the city continues to grow and density intensifies, we
cannot always park right in front of the shops we are visiting, but that
doesn’t keep us from shopping there. And let’s remember that pedestrians and
cyclists are consumers too.
The bottom line is: I support bike lanes on the full
length of Annette. They are important for cyclist safety, for our quality of
life, for the sustainability of our city and for maintaining the coherence
of the long-suffering bike network.
As a precedent, if Annette fails, the entire bike network
is at risk. We need a bicycle network that makes sense, not a collection of
disjointed segments of lanes. As was mentioned by staff at the well-attended
community consultation in September, we wouldn’t have coherent bus routes if
planners had to stop on every block and seek approval of every resident and
business.
Please don’t make a mockery of the community consultation
process, the findings of staff, all best evidence and the Bike Plan itself.
Bike lanes on Annette are the right thing to do for all the right reasons.
So please, just do it.
Sincerely
Lincoln Ave
I am writing in support of the proposed introduction of
full bike lanes along Annette. Apparently this staff recommendation was
turned down at an October 10th Public Works and Infrastructure Committee
meeting. As a resident on Mackenzie Crescent this does not form part of my
typical commute (by bike of course) but I have often travelled this section
of Annette enroute to the Humber and feel its promotion to a proper bike
lane is necessary as part of one of the few key east west bikeways available
in the city. Until the city has a full network of proper bike lanes in place
residents of Toronto will not feel they can commute safely to work by bike.
Thank you for taking the time and consideration to read
this email, and I ask that you please take this issue into serious
consideration.
Doesn’t rejecting bike lanes from any Toronto street feel
like a big step backwards? Maybe even an especially big step backwards, when
we’re talking about an area that’s been getting a fantastic amount of
publicity as an “up-and-coming” area of Toronto. All eyes seem to be on the
west end these days and here we are, potentially paying less attention to
the importance of biker safety and the use of alternative transportation in
the city. Here we are, paying less attention to the importance of fitness,
health and wellbeing, all of which getting out of our cars and getting on
our bikes promotes.
Doesn’t promoting bike lanes in this family-orientated,
art-oriented, and very organic-oriented area of the city seem the right step
in promoting our image of the west end, as it has so beautifully (and
rightfully) been painted? As a cleaner area, whose residents are health and
Earth-conscious people?
Again, thank you for taking the time to read this email.
And thank you for taking the time to consider this an important issue in the
west end.
Sincerely,
Please support the bike lane on Annette Street!
I am writing in support of a full bike lane on Annette St.
from Runnymede to Jane, as recommended by city staff and supported by the
community during public consultation.
I use a bike as my main method of transportation in the
city. I feel much safer when I am riding in a designated bike lane. I travel
for my work to many different locations in the city, and look for safe and
direct routes. I recently travelled from my home at Oakwood and Vaughan to
Sherbourne and Shuter, and was grateful for bike lanes that are on most of
that route. (Vaughan, Davenport, and Sherbourne).
The city is making progress, but at too slow a pace. If we
want more people to cycle, and we want them to be able to cycle safely, we
MUST provide safe routes. Sharrows do not provide the safety that a
designated lane provides.
The city benefits every time a person rides a bike instead
of driving a car, in improved health, and decreased pollution. Cyclists also
take pressure off the overburdened transit system. Let's get moving to
provide the best, safest, most direct routes possible.
Vaughan Rd.
I was disappointed about the rejection of the Annette bike
lane proposal by the Public Works Committee, but I hope this can still be
corrected at City Council. We need more bike lanes in the City and here in
the west end, from Jane to Keele, we are particularly in need of some safe
alternatives to Bloor Street. The Bloor West Village is a great
neighbourhood, but riding your bike along all the parked cars with so many
people shopping is outright dangerous and discourages many people from
getting on their bikes. There is the Martin Goodman trail, but that is a big
detour if you want to end up at Yonge and Bay, for example, and you can¹t
really do your errands while riding along the lakeshore.
I think it¹s time for the City to put its money where its
mouth is. We have been hearing about how bike-friendly the City is becoming,
but as a cyclist, I find this simply not true. Most of the time you have to
take big detours to find safer routes detours that involve many a one-way
street. I still like to think of Toronto as a city in the vanguard but,
truly, we lost that status a while back and we¹ve got a long way to go to
regain it. Speeding up the adaptation of our infrastructures to non-drivers
is one of them Paris has done it. Barcelona, too. What¹s holding back
Toronto? After the bike paths, we can start talking about pedestrian malls
another feature of cities that are with it. After all, how are we going to
attract more tourists if we are just a large-scale run-of-the-mill American
town that doesn¹t even have a historic downtown? I would like my taxes
(which are high) to pay for more than police, firemen and waste disposal. We
need them, but they are not what make a city great. So, please get on with
the job.
Please, do not vote to maintain the same old mediocre
status quo.
Please accept this email as an indication of my support
for the bike lanes across Annette Street, between Runnymede and Jane St.
There are many children and adults who would benefit
greatly from a safer commute in the area, which would be facilitated by bike
lanes.
Thank you,
Willard Ave.
I am writing in reference to item number PW19.8, the
proposed Annette St. bikeway. Specifically, I am writing in favour of these
proposed bike lanes and to ask that they be constructed as recommended by
city staff.
As a resident of the west end, who cycles to merchants on
Annette St. and uses Annette as a recreational cycling route, these specific
lanes are important to me and many other nearby residents. Moreover, all
bicycle lanes and the city's cycling plan are extremely important to all of
us; improving bicycle safety throughout the city and thereby encouraging
more people to cycle is important to our collective health, to our
environment and to the quality of life in our city.
Thank you for your consideration and please ensure that
the clerk's office forwards this email electronically to all councillors
As a resident of Ward 13 who often commutes downtown by
bicycle I have a lot of experience with east-west travel by bike. I
regularly use Annette, Dupont, Dundas, and Bloor. I have taken the CanBike
II course and am familiar with what is and what is not a safe environment
for cyclists. I can say with confidence that Annette Street, including the
section between Jane and Runnymede, is an important part of an east-west
route for cyclists -- and a good east-west route is currently lacking (other
than the Martin Goodman trail which has very limited access from Ward 13, is
unusable in winter, and anyway is not a practical commuting option for
anyone north of Bloor Street).
At the September public meeting on this issue, feedback
forms invited participants to choose among three options. Some 80% of
respondents chose Option 1, the full bike lane, which was also the
recommendation of city staff. It is incomprehensible to me that PWIC chose
to ignore both the public input and the recommendations of its own staff on
this matter and I strongly encourage you to overturn their decision.
A parking study for Annette showed that parking would
still be adequate even after a bike lane was installed. In addition,
businesses would likely benefit from increased access by both local and
commuting cyclists. Cyclists shop too!
Safety at the Jane-Annette intersection was raised as a
potential issue but the 11 Division Traffic Sergeant dismissed that idea,
declaring it no more dangerous than any other local intersection and noting
that there had not been any injuries there in some years.
If we cannot succeed in putting bike lanes on a short
stretch of Annette despite strong public demand and the recommendation of
city staff, what kind of a precedent does that set? How will we ever
complete even a fraction of the Bike Plan? As I am sure you know, the Bike
Plan is a key element in reducing congestion and pollution and increasing
active transportation in Toronto -- it is key to creating a healthier
Toronto, in short.
Again, I urge you to support the Bike Plan vision by
approving the full Annette bike lane between Jane and Runnymede.
Ardagh St., Ward 13
I am writing in reference to item PW19.8. I was unable to
attend the meeting on this topic due to a work conflict but I have
communicated with my councillor (Bill Saundercook) after he sent out a
notice of the proposed change to remove the bike lane from the plan. I was
very upset when he made this unilateral decision without community
consultation. No one in my neighbourhood was informed of the meeting he held
to discuss the topic and this appears to have been orchestrated by a few
store owners along Annette.
I am a long-time resident of this neighbourhood (over
twenty years) a regular cyclist and I can tell you that Annette has become
one of the more dangerous roads for cyclists and we have very few East-West
alternatives to travel between the other major cycling routes. The section
between Runnymede and Jane connects us to the Humber park system and
Lakeshore. I was very excited when I heard that we would be getting a bike
lane along Annette and very disappointed when this was removed from the
plan.
Please reconsider and reinstate the original plan which
called for the continuous bike lane along Annette.
Gilmour Ave