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General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

Noticed today that there is now a fence going up around First Parliament site but it leaves a wide space at the south end just north of the existing shared bike/pedestrian path that runs from The Esplanade to Parliament. That's where the new bike-only path will go, apparently this year.

UPDATE: Becky Katz the Czarina of Cycling tells me that as soon as they get the OK from Infrastructure Ontario (who own the land) they are all set to go!
 
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allengeorge said:
Oh no! I’m so sorry :( I hate bike thieves with a passion. How did it happen?
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I headed out to at 6 am to hit the gym before before work, as per my usual routine. On the way, my rear tire was punctured by a piece of glass and deflated. Since my bike shop of choice (Sweet Pete's on Bloor near Dufferin) didn't open until 11 am, I decided I would still walk over to the gym to kill a few hours before I could get my flat fixed. I locked my bike to one of the rings directly outside the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre on Dufferin. When I came out at 11 am, it was gone.

That was my beautiful Norco e-bike with Bosch motor that I relied upon to commute to and from work (30 km). It's value when I purchased it in 2020 - $4000. You can understand that I'm quite distraught over its loss, because who has that kind of money just sitting around for an un-anticipated expense? I'm really angered by the level of disregard these thieves have over the tremendously negative impact their actions have on ordinary people such as myself.

I'm even more disgusted by humanity than I already was.
 
Towered said:
I headed out to at 6 am to hit the gym before before work, as per my usual routine. On the way, my rear tire was punctured by a piece of glass and deflated. Since my bike shop of choice (Sweet Pete's on Bloor near Dufferin) didn't open until 11 am, I decided I would still walk over to the gym to kill a few hours before I could get my flat fixed. I locked my bike to one of the rings directly outside the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre on Dufferin. When I came out at 11 am, it was gone.

That was my beautiful Norco e-bike with Bosch motor that I relied upon to commute to and from work (30 km). It's value when I purchased it in 2020 - $4000. You can understand that I'm quite distraught over its loss, because who has that kind of money just sitting around for an un-anticipated expense? I'm really angered by the level of disregard these thieves have over the tremendously negative impact their actions have on ordinary people such as myself.

I'm even more disgusted by humanity than I already was.
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I'm sorry to hear about this.

(Question, not scolding) I'm assuming you did not have it insured?

You can typically get an add on (endorsement) to your home insurance to protect your bike. Its not usually a whole lot. (depending on policy this may be limited to theft from your home only)

You can also get dedicated bike insurance.

There's a good explainer with links here:

Bike Insurance | How To Prevent Bike Theft

Does your bike need insurance? With bike theft on the rise, it is more important now than ever to understand if your policy will protect you.
www.thinkinsure.ca www.thinkinsure.ca

It also includes some solid anti-theft tips beyond the usual.
 
Northern Light said:
I'm sorry to hear about this.

(Question, not scolding) I'm assuming you did not have it insured?

You can typically get an add on (endorsement) to your home insurance to protect your bike. Its not usually a whole lot. (depending on policy this may be limited to theft from your home only)

You can also get dedicated bike insurance.

There's a good explainer with links here:

Bike Insurance | How To Prevent Bike Theft

Does your bike need insurance? With bike theft on the rise, it is more important now than ever to understand if your policy will protect you.
www.thinkinsure.ca www.thinkinsure.ca

It also includes some solid anti-theft tips beyond the usual.
Click to expand...
Not dedicated bike insurance, no, but I'm going to see if the home insurance will possibly cover it, but I'm utterly pessimistic about that.

I filed a police report online. I then got a rejection email from them that told me to call their non-emergency number to file the report over the phone for some reason. I was on hold for an hour and 40 minutes before I couldn't take it anymore and hung up. :(
 
I would have considered using Bike Share in the interim until I get a replacement bike (likely not until spring in order to spread out the expense) but there's no station near me, and taking transit to get to one defeats the purpose. I can't win...
 
So I've been told that I'm a selfish asshole for insisting on commuting as a cyclist and thus along with all other cyclists providing the city with the impetus to "destroy" our road infrastructure by adding bike lanes at the expense of car lanes "everywhere" and "wasting taxpayer's money" because "nobody will use them" while drivers have to sit and fume in gridlock for nothing (he's especially bitter about the new bike lanes on Bloor into Etobicoke).

I know I'm just preaching to the choir here on an urban oriented forum, but unfortunately this is the kind of hostile attitude that us cyclists have to face in Toronto as part of our daily reality, and I'm convinced that it's the reason why our city is a comparative laggard when it comes to building out cycling infrastructure.

All it does is harden my resolve and needlessly encourage extremist views on my part as a cyclist. I honestly DON'T CARE if I zip past 200 cars sitting in traffic with ease even if I'm the only cyclist in sight. Am I supposed to feel guilty and selfish over that?? I'm certainly not going to be made to feel that way when people are too afraid to make lifestyle changes even when new options are presented to them.

I'm not sorry - we have every right to be on the road and creating new infrastructure that protects the safety of myself and all other cyclists will ALWAYS take priority over driver's convenience. If anything, I'm frustrated by the city's slow pace to add more.
 
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I took an e-bikeshare from Donlands to Kipling last week. The new lanes are great. I hope the city fixes the awkwards spots soon (the interminable Rosedale pedestrian underpass construction, the Avenue-Spadina street rebuild, the gap between Islington and Kipling)

The entire lane by Jane was occupied as a loading zone by a lot of cars, which seems like an enforcement or design or both problem

Also, a lot of cars were disregarding the parking bay/bike lane swap in Etobicoke, but they were doing it so consistently I could just use the new parking spots as a bike lane

It was interesting seeing parts of the city I had never seen before. Some of those strip mall plazas between Old Mill and Kipling are ancient and mysterious
 
leopetr said:
Some of those strip mall plazas between Old Mill and Kipling are ancient and mysterious
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🤣 Loved that descriptor..........

If I didn't know what you were talking about; I'd be thinking Stone Henge, or the Pyramids .......
 
Towered said:
So I've been told that I'm a selfish asshole for insisting on commuting as a cyclist and thus along with all other cyclists providing the city with the impetus to "destroy" our road infrastructure by adding bike lanes at the expense of car lanes "everywhere" and "wasting taxpayer's money" because "nobody will use them" while drivers have to sit and fume in gridlock for nothing (he's especially bitter about the new bike lanes on Bloor into Etobicoke).
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Guess I'm a selfish asshole too. Oh well, I think we're in good company!
 
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