March 22, 2010

19 Mar 2010

If you are having trouble reading this message please click here]

Recent TCAT activities and news items:

  1. Complete Streets Forum - Register Today!
  2. Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business - Results of New Research Study: Webinar - Mar 30
  3. Share the Road Cycling Coalition releases Green Paper
  4. APBP Women and Cycling Survey and Webinar - Mar 31

1. Complete Streets Forum - Register Today!

As announced in today's TCAT Special Events, it's the last day to register at the early bird rate for the Complete Streets Forum being held on April 23, 2010 at Fairmont Royal York in Toronto with pre-conference activities taking place on April 22, 2010 at various locations.

TCAT has been working hard to produce an excellent program with an impressive line-up of speakers for our registrants. We are extremely pleased that Barbara McCann, who coined the term "complete streets" will be leading off the day. Other recent notable additions to the program include:

  • Mark Cole from the City of Charlotte Department of Transportation whose Urban Street Design Guidelines - a model in complete streets planning and design - last year won the coveted National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in Policies and Regulations.
  • Jamie Austin, Manager of Growth Policy at Ontario's Growth Secretariat. The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe is the first recipient from outside the United States of the American Planning Association's (APA) Daniel Burnham Award, the most prestigious planning award in the United States.
  • Kaj Mook, Director, NS OV-fiets. NS OV-fiets is a bike rental service for commuters at every station of the Dutch Railways in the Netherlands. Mr. Mook will be speaking at the community event on Apr 22nd.

It promises to be a stimulating and inspiring two days. Registration is going strong with close to 100 confirmed delegates. Last year the Bike Summit sold out in advance. Avoid disappointment and register today!

For more information, view the program agenda and event flyer and feel free to distribute widely to others who may be interested.

The Complete Streets Forum is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and partners.

2. Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business - Results of New Research Study: Webinar - Mar 30

As announced in last week's TCAT Special Events, the Clean Air Partnership recently released a research report titled "Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business Year 2 Report: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto's Bloor West Village."

A webinar that profiles the findings of the study is offered to the first 40 participants free of charge, and there are still a couple of spots available.

Date: March 30th, 2010
Time: 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time

The study report and webinar registration can be found here.

Background: This study was conducted as a follow up to similar research that CAP conducted in the summer of 2008 in the Bloor Annex neighbourhood in Toronto.

Overall support for changes in street use allocation was greater in the Bloor Annex neighbourhood than Bloor West Village. However in both neighbourhoods, the majority of merchants believed that changes to accommodate an increase in pedestrian or cyclist infrastructure would increase or would not change their daily number of customers.

In both neighbourhoods, walking is the dominant mode of travel (46% of the visitors surveyed in both study areas). Bicycling is more common in the Annex, and driving is more common in Bloor West Village. In terms of preferences in street use allocation changes, bike lanes are preferred over widened sidewalks in both neighbourhoods. In Bloor West Village, the preference of change to no change is almost equal, whereas in the Bloor Annex neighbourhood, surveyed visitors preferred change by a ratio of nearly 4 to 1.

3. Share the Road Cycling Coalition releases Green Paper

On March 5th, the Share the Road Cycling Coalition released a Green Paper. Its purpose is to inform the direction of bicycle policy in Ontario and to provide a strategic plan for increasing the use of cycling.

TCAT was pleased to be included as a partner in this important document and to attend the press conference held on the opening day of the Toronto International Bicycle Show at Exhibition Place.

The cornerstone recommendation is for a creation of a fund for encouraging cycling infrastructure, policies and programs in Ontario. The $20 million “Ontario Bicycling Investment Fund” would provide funding for initiatives to promote cycling in Ontario. The amount represents the provincial component to the HST which beginning July 1st will be applied to bikes, bike parts and products, and is based on data from the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada (BTAC).

While the Green Paper is chock-full of many excellent recommendations, the inclusion of a provincial complete streets policy is especially timely: “The Ontario government should demonstrate leadership by developing a complete streets policy, and it should encourage the federal government to do the same.” (page 30)

The entire document is worth reading and sharing. It can be downloaded here. 

4. APBP Women and Cycling Survey and Webinar - Mar 31

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) is sponsoring a webinar to explore why women in the U.S. and Canada participate in bicycling at lower rates than men. ABPB is also conducting a survey of women and girls to hear about the many possible factors influencing cycling decisions.

Date: March 31st, 2010
Time: 3:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time

More information, including registration here.

Interestingly, Toronto has a more even gender split when it comes to cycling than many U.S. cities, and that gap seems to be narrowing. In the City of Toronto's 1999 cycling report, 38% of utilitarian cycling respondents were women. In the recently released 2009 City of Toronto Cycling Study, the percentage of respondents who are utilitarian cyclists has increased to 43%.

Cycling events:

Walking events:

If you know of other cycling or pedestrian related calendars to include, please let us know by e-mailing info@tcat.ca

TCAT News - Help spread the word!

TCAT is continually looking to increase its list of supporters. It helps to be able to say how many people and organizations support the work we do when we speak with City Councillors, City staff, and the media, or put out a publication. Please send this message to any groups or individuals you think would be interested in learning more about TCAT, receiving our weekly e-Bulletin, or volunteering with TCAT.

To learn more about TCAT, visit our web site at www.tcat.ca, e-mail info@tcat.ca or call 416.392.0290

To subscribe to TCAT News, click here

To join TCAT on Facebook click here and become a fan today!

Please consider making a financial contribution to support TCAT's work. To find out how to make a charitable donation, click here.

Complete Streets Forum