On October 5, TCAT co-hosted a series of three panels on the state of cycling practices and policies in the GTHA, along with the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, and McMaster University. These panels explored where cycling is at in the GTHA, where we are going, and what we need to do to get there. We are pleased to share the recording of each panel:<\/p>\n
Cycling in the Shadow of\u00a0 Car: infrastructure, road safety & urban redevelopment beyond downtown<\/a> – In recent years, cycling policies have come of age in the GTHA. Once a fringe policy initiative limited to pre-amalgamation \u2018Old Toronto\u2019, ambitious plans and policy objectives pertaining to cycling, including Vision Zero, Net Zero, and cycling network targets are now commonplace across the region. However, the realities of cycling practice and infrastructural conditions in large swathes of the GTHA remain sobering. The gap between policies and implementation seems to be wider than ever, with results on objectives ranging from network provision to road safety often lagging far behind targets. Across the GTHA, but particularly in inner and outer suburban areas, the obdurate car-centric infrastructure and urban form pose a significant barrier to both daily mobility by bike as well as to policy initiatives to achieve vision zero and net zero targets. As cycling networks expand beyond urban cores, and the limited spatial distribution of good conditions for cycling is questioned from an equity standpoint, the particular challenges and opportunities of the inner and outer suburbs have become highly salient to the success of cycling policies and sustainability transitions. This session examined:<\/p>\n – To what extent are differential approaches to cycling promotion and infrastructure provision used, and warranted, to respond to the particular context(s) of the urban core, inner and outer suburb, and urban fringe? Which cases of good practice can be identified in particular contexts across the GTHA?
\n– To what extent does the improvement of conditions for cycling involve the reconfiguration of automobility? Has the need for \u2018push\u2019 measures been overshadowed by a focus on improvements that do not impinge on motor traffic?
\n– How do processes of (re)development and intensification relate to the promotion of cycling, and how can risks of gentrification in inner suburbs be mitigated?<\/p>\n