kettal
Banned
lol, and take the same picture in December so we can see all three people using it... and get a close-up of Kettal in his parka on his penny-farthing
would you like to join me? I have a spare bike you could use.
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The Star: Jarvis St. must change with evolving environs
- Thread starter khris
- Start date
would you like to join me? I have a spare bike you could use.
jmacmillan
Active Member
Let's promote an event called "winter cycling on Jarvis". We can hold a big party and close the whole street for a weekend. If you build it, they will come. Count me in! (Seriously, I cycle year 'round. I've already seen an increase in the number of cyclists on the street.) Sure fooled the Star when that one cyclist (not me) went up and down the street 50 times today. Wow! 100 first day. 1000 the next! Holy cow, Batman! Where'd they come from? Quick! Call Stats Canada. Oh wait, they're closing. Darn...
Tewder
Senior Member
On a bicycle made for two? Give me your answer do!
In fact I am in the market for a bike because I can easily ride to work and to run my errands etc. but I need to find a little cheap one first to get my wheels beneath me.
gregv
Active Member
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...ling-in-toronto-on-short-lane-to-nowhere?bn=1
Hume: Cycling in Toronto on short lane to nowhere
Christopher Hume
Toronto’s bicycle policy is no policy at all; it’s a series of half-measures that add up to little.
The latest example, the much loathed bike lanes on Jarvis St., finally came to pass this week after years of rancorous debate. The new lanes begin at Charles St. in the north and end, as abruptly as they begin, on Queen St. to the south.
In other words, the new lanes are all but useless to anyone who happens to be travelling anywhere above or below that particular stretch of Jarvis. The new lanes do connect with others that run along Wellesley, Carlton and Gerrard; the failure, of course, is that they don’t connect with either Bloor St. or the waterfront.
Yet in their way, the Jarvis lanes tell the story of a city that pretends to be committed to the bicycle as an alternative means of urban transportation, but is anything but.
Instead, city officials have responded with rhetoric about the War on the Car. If only.
Rather than build a cycling network that would enable riders to reach all parts of the city, we have a hodge-podge of rules, regulations and lanes that probably make a bad situation worse.
And please, don’t trot out the old argument that the city is just too poor to install lanes. As civic expenses go, bike lanes rank among the cheapest but would provide the biggest bang for the buck. Compared to Montreal and New York, let alone cities in Holland and Sweden, Toronto has fallen well behind.
If our fear of bikes is any indication, Toronto has become a city terrified of change. Certainly our leaders are; politicians and bureaucrats treat two-wheelers as if they represented a threat to peace, order and good government. According to them, bikes — and pedestrians — are always in the way; they slow traffic, create congestion, make drivers nervous, and take up space in roads meant for cars.
The bike lobby, now comprised of consensus builders not road warriors, is willing to settle for crumbs the city offers. It’s a start, they argue, and something we can work with.
That may be true, but in the meantime it’s getting ever harder to maintain the illusion of Toronto as a progressive world city. Indeed, despite our relative youth, we have grown paunchy, middle-aged and set in our ways. The truth of that can be seen in the line-up for the current mayoral race.
And let’s be clear, real bike lanes aren’t lines painted on asphalt, but routes separated from vehicular traffic by concrete curbs.
Just as important, they must form a network that allows cyclists convenient access to all corners of the city.
The piecemeal system now in place leaves us with the worst of both worlds.
“We should finish it or shut it,†argues veteran cyclist and lawyer Alan Heisey. “These discontinuities are dangerous. Most bike lanes now are used as lay-bys for parking. There’s no enforcement on anti-parking laws. I understand why most Torontonians don’t ride bikes. Bikes don’t belong on the streets of Toronto and everyone knows it.â€
And as Heisey also notes, “The world has changed. But Toronto still doesn’t address the needs of people who want to live a little more environmentally.â€
Those who hope the whole cycling thing will disappear should know it’s here to stay. Twenty or 30 years from now, there will be as many bikes as cars on the streets of Toronto, if not more. It’s that simple.
Even if tomorrow never comes, the future has arrived.
Hume: Cycling in Toronto on short lane to nowhere
Christopher Hume
Toronto’s bicycle policy is no policy at all; it’s a series of half-measures that add up to little.
The latest example, the much loathed bike lanes on Jarvis St., finally came to pass this week after years of rancorous debate. The new lanes begin at Charles St. in the north and end, as abruptly as they begin, on Queen St. to the south.
In other words, the new lanes are all but useless to anyone who happens to be travelling anywhere above or below that particular stretch of Jarvis. The new lanes do connect with others that run along Wellesley, Carlton and Gerrard; the failure, of course, is that they don’t connect with either Bloor St. or the waterfront.
Yet in their way, the Jarvis lanes tell the story of a city that pretends to be committed to the bicycle as an alternative means of urban transportation, but is anything but.
Instead, city officials have responded with rhetoric about the War on the Car. If only.
Rather than build a cycling network that would enable riders to reach all parts of the city, we have a hodge-podge of rules, regulations and lanes that probably make a bad situation worse.
And please, don’t trot out the old argument that the city is just too poor to install lanes. As civic expenses go, bike lanes rank among the cheapest but would provide the biggest bang for the buck. Compared to Montreal and New York, let alone cities in Holland and Sweden, Toronto has fallen well behind.
If our fear of bikes is any indication, Toronto has become a city terrified of change. Certainly our leaders are; politicians and bureaucrats treat two-wheelers as if they represented a threat to peace, order and good government. According to them, bikes — and pedestrians — are always in the way; they slow traffic, create congestion, make drivers nervous, and take up space in roads meant for cars.
The bike lobby, now comprised of consensus builders not road warriors, is willing to settle for crumbs the city offers. It’s a start, they argue, and something we can work with.
That may be true, but in the meantime it’s getting ever harder to maintain the illusion of Toronto as a progressive world city. Indeed, despite our relative youth, we have grown paunchy, middle-aged and set in our ways. The truth of that can be seen in the line-up for the current mayoral race.
And let’s be clear, real bike lanes aren’t lines painted on asphalt, but routes separated from vehicular traffic by concrete curbs.
Just as important, they must form a network that allows cyclists convenient access to all corners of the city.
The piecemeal system now in place leaves us with the worst of both worlds.
“We should finish it or shut it,†argues veteran cyclist and lawyer Alan Heisey. “These discontinuities are dangerous. Most bike lanes now are used as lay-bys for parking. There’s no enforcement on anti-parking laws. I understand why most Torontonians don’t ride bikes. Bikes don’t belong on the streets of Toronto and everyone knows it.â€
And as Heisey also notes, “The world has changed. But Toronto still doesn’t address the needs of people who want to live a little more environmentally.â€
Those who hope the whole cycling thing will disappear should know it’s here to stay. Twenty or 30 years from now, there will be as many bikes as cars on the streets of Toronto, if not more. It’s that simple.
Even if tomorrow never comes, the future has arrived.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Back to the original topic of this thread, improving the Jarvis streetscape. From Kristyn Wong-Tam's FB post today -
Public Meeting for Jarvis Cultural Corridor on April 3. Guest speakers from @heritagetoronto, Cultural Affairs & more. http://t.co/r0MunOdX
I know she really wants to revive a version of Kyle Rae's original vision (Queen to Bloor St.) so maybe we just might get some much needed improvements along this historic street in the next few years.
Public Meeting for Jarvis Cultural Corridor on April 3. Guest speakers from @heritagetoronto, Cultural Affairs & more. http://t.co/r0MunOdX
I know she really wants to revive a version of Kyle Rae's original vision (Queen to Bloor St.) so maybe we just might get some much needed improvements along this historic street in the next few years.
kkgg7
Banned
I like her. She seems to really care about the city and where it is heading. Jarvis street has a lot of potential to become a more popular destination for both local and tourists. Right now, it serves more like a semi-highway to cars to travel from the north to the core.
The same thing can be done to University Ave, possibly our prettiest yet most boring street in downtown. Add some life for Christ's sake.
zedman
New Member
I live at the X Condo and I have had a few issues with the homeless in the area. After a while though I started offering them food (bread, soup, OJ, etc) when I left the local Longo's. Never gave them money. Being in the heart of the city connected to two subway lines and being so close to Yorkville it is worth it. This area is also so walkable compared to the Waterfront developments. Of course there may not be as many homeless down there. Maybe under the Gardiner?
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
That's really kind of you zedman. I live down Jarvis St from you, have lived in the area for several decades and only had a few problems in all that time. Homelessness is a tragic problem throughout downtown Toronto and surrounding areas but they are very rarely ever a problem. On occasion one might come across someone who is a little aggressive perhaps due to mental illness, alcohol problems and such. The most aggressive homeless person I have come across in years was, strangely enough, coming out of the subway on the N/W corner of Sheppard & Yonge on my way to my lawyers about 3 or 4 years ago, he was big trouble - but that's incredibly rare.
zedman
New Member
Cheers! A small kindness goes a long way!