Today was the day when the Bloor bike lane pilot was voted on by PWIC. It was a very long day, with the bike lanes as the last item (#9) on the agenda. What follows is some fragmentary notes from the day, since I don’t have the energy for a full write up. Crummy camera shots supplemented by screen shots from the City of Toronto video record. Much of the speakers quotes are paraphrased, except those in quotes that are as accurate as I can remember.
Here is the stack of correspondence for the meeting, mainly about item #9.
and here is the speaker list for item 9:
Mayor Tory comes and sits in for a few minutes to get quorum until Giorgio Mammolitti (GM) arrives.
Mammolitti wants to amend motion to limit speaker time on item #9 to 3 minutes and to limit questions from councillors to 3 minutes. Carries.
Councillor Anthony Peruzza (AP) is absent. (He was a potential yes).
During discussion of one of the earlier items about freight movement in the city, GM is convinced that the report is a trojan horse to introduce tricycle cargo bikes into the city. He imagines a “third world” dystopia where fridges and mattresses are delivered by cargo bike.
Some of the usual suspects nod off during another of his rants, this one about “pandas that can rip your arm off”.
I spot a block of potential speakers that will oppose the bike lanes, near the end of the list.
All the other items were finished before the lunch break.
After lunch: here we go.
First deputants: bring out the school kids so that they can go back to school after they speak.
GM wants to license cyclists so that they can pay for the bike lane.
Doctors for safe cycling: 3 MD’s make a joint presentation. They also sent a letter signed by 200 MD’s to Mayor and PWIC.
“Lack of bicycle infrastructure has a real human cost”
Jillian Baker: pediatrician with young kids that she didn’t allow to bike on Bloor until the bike lane went in. Here she is facing a slide of her riding a bike.
When I drive, I want fewer cars on the road. When I bike, I want fewer cars on the road”
Layton makes the point that driver’s licences don’t pay for roads, property taxes do.
Mammolitti: bikes and cars shouldn’t share the roads. Nobody wants to pay for bike infrastructure.
Kristine Hubbard, Operations Manager, Beck Taxi:
Surprise: she is not against bike lanes. “We need to see people share the roads in a safe way”. Bike lanes also make drivers more confident because they know where the bikes are. On the other hand she is against UBER: “If we are talking about risk mitigation, what about 50,000 untrained drivers on our streets?”
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment: “These bike lanes are a public health priority”
GM: what about the air pollution from cars stuck in traffic along Bloor
Kasia Briegmann-Samson, Friends and Families for Safe Streets (FFSS):
“ It infuriates me when discussions about safety digress to parking spaces and traffic delays.” “With all due respect, councillors, keep your condolences and build safe streets.”
Kyle Ashley: (traffic policeman who has been detailed to ticket cars parked in bike lanes)
We are people, people who bike, people who drive. Vision zero requires more than zero vision. “Public safety is not political”.
GM: “The mayor is pushing this without proper dialogue”. “The majority of Torontonians do not want these bike lanes”.
Albert Koehl:
“Safety has to be a priority, not something to be balanced against parking or business”
GM: “will you provide me with your video”. AK; you are welcome to it. JR: I felt there are gaps in the report. I asked for a supplemental report.
Robert Zaichkowski:
“You can’t claim to support Vision Zero if you take out the Bloor bike lanes”
GM: “Are you happy that we are going to convert Bloor St into a much more run down atmosphere?”
2:45 pm: Councillor Perruzza arrives
GM: “ I don’t believe the numbers in this report, not for a second”
John Leeson:
“instead of my deputation, I would like to use the next minute to remember the cyclist who was killed this morning.”
Gideon Formann: David Suzuki Foundation:
Angus Red Forum poll: Across the city, almost 70% of Torontonians want the Bloor bike lanes to stay. “The bike lanes on BLoor are a unifying force for our city”
SH: is trying to get an answer about numerical thresholds of various measures to rule that the bike lanes are a success.
Jennifer Klein: Mirvish Village BIA supports the bike lanes “We need to have a street design that accommodates the maximum number of users, cars, pedestrians and cyclists, not just as a thouroughfare for cars.”
JC: how many businesses in the BIA “Over 300”
Robert Shenton
43% of ON budget, and of that 46% on seniors on healthcare. Cycling improves health. “People like me are also the most vulnerable cyclists on the road. You build the safe infrastructure, and we’ll do our bit by staying healthy by biking.”
Brian Burchell Bloor Annex BIA:
“We approached the pilot cautiously.” The Annex BIA voted overwhelmingly to affirm the TCAT report. “We shaped the questions, and are confident of the study’s integrity’.
JC: why did the BIA endorse the pilot. “Because we believe in the results of the TCAT result, which we commissioned”.
“One challenge we have yet to overcome is the safety issue of cars turning right from Bloor. The bike lanes make difficult sight lines.”
JR: many businesses have said that the lanes have had negative impact.
BB: wanted to take the emotion out of the study. On consultation We did an email blast to all businesses that we had email addresses: 30 day comment period. Seven responses.
JR: would it have been better to have independent bodies to conduct the study.
BB: we did some checks and balances to make sure the study was not biased.
GM: we are headed towards passing this thing and then going back to fix those issues. You don’t pass something and then try to fix it.
SH: what do you say to the east and west of you? Would you advocate to the other BIA’s to do this. What if delays are compounded by extension?
BB: our business is to take care of our businesses in our area. We are not concerned about drive thru traffic.
Palmerston Residents Association (PARA):
Makes the point of anticipating massive densification in the area. This will radically change the use of Bloor St. “We simply have to accept that with the intensification mandated by the city, the only way that we can continue to survive is to encourage more cyclist and pedestrian traffic.”
GM: I keep hearing lots of opposition from phone calls.
GM: why didn’t we do the study in the winter?
Ila Bossons: former head of PWIC: 80 years old.
Bloor St moves quite well by car. “Anyone who commutes long distances along Bloor by car is an utter total fool.” “What you are doing here is something that has been done for 50 years in my home country of Germany”.
GM: “ I am the only person on this committee who has had the privilege of working with you, and I decline to get in a debate with you”
Alan Wayne Scott (who gave a deputation despite great difficulty speaking due to cancer surgery.
‘what you should be discussing is how far we should be extending the bike lanes”. Rips up the certification of congratulations from Mel Lastman”. “It’s not worth the paper it is written on. Do your work!”
ABBA: Barry Alper, Michel Sauve, Miranda Black, (but seven people registered)
“We are cyclists, and supporters of bike lanes”
“Safety of cyclists is paramount”
HOWEVER:
Insufficient time and resources devoted.
We suggest:
- Different voices must be heard
- Re design bike lanes
- What can be done to improve them?
- Please, let’s learn from other cities and neighbourhoods.
- “The middle path”
- Data
- Business are down
- Survey did not ask the right questions
- BIA commissioned study from TCAT
- We did our own survey
- 70% of businesses
- Loss of jobs outnumber new hires by 6 to 1
- Moneris is only one of four credit card processors
- Did the city ask about cash deposits?
- Safety
- Dooring is now possible from the passenger side
- No one asked about comparative safety with other bike lanes like Harbord
- Issues of lack of curbside access
- Traffic flow
- what are the hours of peak travel
- Why no winter numbers?
- Traffic flow by the hour data
- Design
- Montreal has summer and winter lanes
- Bike lane design copied from Richmond or Adelaide.
- Is business down enough to remove the bike lanes? No but we should do things to mitigate business losses
We would told this was a pilot. Finding a solution that reduces tension, increases understanding and moves us forward.
- Hammering on accessibility and lack of curbside access.
- Summer
- On peak: remove all parking, HOV lanes for bikes
- Off peak: restore all curbside access
- Winter: remove bike lanes.
Provided staff with these plans yesterday.
Petition submitted to BIA to get an independent study. They were not allowed to do so.
GM: just fishing for information to counter the bike lanes.
AP: is it true that you can say business is not necessarily down because of the bike lanes?
AP: I hear your design ideas, but I suspect from the safety persecutive, it would be better to keep the infrastructure the same all the time.
Stephen Holiday (SH): How can we gather the data independently. Also people’s feelings important?
Jaye Robinson (JR): critical of some aspects of the survey. Also several of the bodies that did the study spoke out in favour of the bike lanes before the studies were launched.
Heather Kelly: Bloor Street Culture Corridor:
continued support for bike lanes.
- Some incremental changes might be required, but the bike lanes need to be made permanent
- supporters include attendees and employees, feeling safer.
Jared Kolb is the last speaker. Here he is facing the committee.
Now time for councillors to question staff:
GM: arguing about the request for raw video data with JHG
JHG: it was against the terms of FIPPA to release raw video. 1000’s of hours of video
GM: can I get a scrubbed version of the video if you are directed to do so by city council.
If so directed, we can get an estimate of cost and time to do so.
JHG: improvements can include green paint, and more fulsome improvements can be done at a time when further capital improvements along the corridor are made.
Speeches:
Joe Cressy: Bike lanes on Bloor are here to stay, so let’s make it so.
Janet Davis: also speaking strongly in favour. “The degree of distrust of staff was verging on harassment”. Also disappointed that there isn’t an immediate corridor study for Danforth is in the cards.
Chin Lee:
Moves staff recommendation. (Anticipates amendments)
“We have to do the right thing, and the right thing is to make it permanent.” His own children are asking for a safe way to bike all the way downtown safely.
Steven Holyday:
Motion to remove bike lanes, second motion to consult with ABBA and to do more polling of merchants.
From the very beginning of the process “Nobody wanted to admit what success looks like”
GM: two motions:
- One to conduct a poll
- Request for video footage to be distributed to every councillor
What is the motive for the Mayor to be pushing this through as fast as possible? “ I don’t have to believe staff.”
He loudly states (as he did several times during the session) that he looks forward to being part of the next administration so that he can strip out the bike lane and generally fix the mess that is downtown.
Anthony Peruzza:
Will support recommendation. Talked about driving along Bloor, and to see that it hasn’t fallen apart.
Crstin Carmichael Greb:
Received numerous emails in support of bike lanes. “I wholeheartedly support the bike lanes on Bloor.”
Jaye Robinson:
“I just don’t thing we have this right at this stage”
Some confusion about the wording of her six motions.
Several motions
- Work with local businesses to mitigate concerns
- Several different design improvements split in two motions
- Collect year round data along Bloor. Permanent data collection
- Mitigate bike/pedestrian conflicts
- City council should support and promote local businesses along Bloor St.
Will support motion with these amendments.
So we have three yes votes, and it remains to be seen what happens with amendments.
SH motion to remove bike lanes:
2 for, 4 against: FAILS
SH motion to consult with ABBA
3 for, 3 against. FAILS
GM: request for video footage.
2 for, 4 against. FAILS
JR #4 (year round bike count)
5 for, 1 against
JR for other parts of motion
Unanimous
Motion as amended
4 for 2 against
In the end, the bike lanes are approved by this 6-4 vote, with some amendments from JR mainly having to do with suggestions for additional safety. One part of the motion has to do with year round monitoring of bike counts, but this shows a misunderstanding of the nature of the equipment the city used to take the video record, which is not suitable for winter use.
Meeting adjourned just before 8 pm.
If you are glutton for punishment, you can watch the whole afternoon here:
I left the meeting with mixed feelings: relief that the motion passed, but sadness that another cyclist was killed this morning, with the news received by tweet while we were all in the committee room.
If you want to do something:
- attend the vigil for victims of road violence in front of City Hall at the Peace Garden, this coming Tuesday, Oct 24 at 6 pm.
- there will be a ghost bike ride next Wednesday 6:30 departure, Bloor and Spadina
Updates:
- Rob Zaichkowski’s account of the same meeting.
- Toronto Star: Bloor bike lanes one step closer to becoming permanent
- Global news: Toronto’s Bloor bike lanes just took one more step toward permanency
- CBC News: Public works committee votes in favour of making Bloor Street bike lanes permanent
Thanks for this!
Excellent report, but who from that list are potential speakers against? I see many who are supporters.
Mainly seven people that formed part of ABBA, of which four were present, and three spoke. Mainly Barry Alper. Their presentation starts at about 3:28 in the linked video. They strongly object to the manner in which the economic data were collected. They say that they want the bike lanes, but the alterations that they are requesting are unrealistic.
So BMV is opposed to the lanes. I like that store and now I am going to have to stop shopping there.
That would be your choice. However, I personally don’t believe in boycotts. Let’s hope the bike lanes are made permanent, and all businesses along Bloor see a benefit in the long run.
Wow, I’d much rather be cycling than sitting through this…thank you for your efforts.
I favor barrier separated bike lanes on busy roads, and bicycle highways (in the near future). Please see Happy Bicycle Highways, wordpress if you’ve the time. 🙂