I know the comment about interesting and relevant people was meant in a light hearted fashion, but come on guys, no need to be player haters. At least we know the Bloor BIA doesn't have a monopoly on catering to elitists.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
But not a bike lane in sight.
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Hurray!!! It seems I'm not the only one supremely ticked at the lack planning bike lanes related to the Bloor Street Revitalization Project.
From today's Toronto Star -

Bike advocates riled by lack of lanes in Bloor St. redesign

Cyclists plan to file complaint with province over assessment rules for Yorkville-area plan
Jul 23, 2008 04:30 AM

Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter

Plans to widen sidewalks, plant trees and eliminate street parking usually have Toronto cyclists ringing their bells in support.

But in the case of the makeover that will make Toronto's toniest shopping district more attractive and pedestrian-friendly, frustrated bike advocates say they've been left out of the equation.

The lack of bike lanes in the redesign of Bloor St. from Church St. to Avenue Rd. flies in the face of provincial planning policies that compel cities to consider the safety of cyclists and ways of reducing traffic congestion and pollution, says environmental lawyer Albert Koehl.

"It seems to us in 2008 that putting in a bike lane isn't something we (should be) begging for, it's something you put in as a matter of course. You'd put in a bike lane like you'd put in street lights," he said.

Koehl, along with Kristen Courtney, who belongs to the Bells on Bloor group, and Angela Bischoff of the Take the Tooker cycling group, plan to file a formal complaint today asking the province to investigate whether the city followed environmental assessment rules when planning the Bloor Street Transformation Project.

The cyclists say the city filed the project under the wrong assessment category, failing to hold broad public consultations or consider design alternatives that would make more room for cyclists in the redesigned street.

"It is the premier shopping district in Canada but it's also the premier cycling route in Toronto in terms of numbers," Koehl said of Bloor. "It also has one of the highest cycling injury rates in the city."

About 14 per cent of Bloor traffic is bikes, and cyclists should have access to that public space even if there are bike lanes on streets to the north and south, they contend.

City studies show removing 54 on-street parking spaces will increase the number of cars travelling along the busy Mink Mile, according to Koehl.

The Bloor project has been in the planning stages since 2001. The city, which began construction earlier this month, is putting up $20 million to finance the improvements, which will then be repaid by the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area.

City officials say the project doesn't preclude bike lanes being installed along that stretch later.

"We've been asked to look at cycling facilities on Bloor-Danforth from Victoria Park to Royal York. That's what we want to do and that's why we didn't want to do anything on this stretch of Bloor St. in isolation," said John Mende, director of transportation infrastructure management.

Meantime, the curb lane has been widened from about 3.5 metres to about 4 metres, which will improve cycling conditions for now, he said.

Because the plan maintains the current four lanes of traffic, Mende said, he's confident the city is complying with the correct A+ environmental assessment category, which does not require public consultation. A conviction under the environmental assessment act carries a $10,000 fine for a first offence.

Koehl says cyclists are not comforted by the upcoming bike feasibility study along Bloor-Danforth, either. It will study the possibility of a bikeway rather than bike lanes – signs posted along the road rather than lines painted on it, he said.

"When they did the Spadina reconstruction they said we'd get bike lanes," said Koehl. "They painted a line 15 centimetres from the curb."
 
I'd prefer bike lanes/routes on less busy streets, to be honest. However, raising such a thought with bike activists is a little dangerous. You get the feeling that such a desire is perceived as a prejudice against cycling and cyclists.
 
"When they did the Spadina reconstruction they said we'd get bike lanes"

Yeah those "lanes" on Spadina are a joke. It could use one less lane of traffic, wider sidewalks, and an actual bike lane. It's not like cars can go very fast through Chinatown anyways, why two lanes.

Back on to Bloor Street, I read in an earlier post someone said that they prefered routes to the North and the South, well, the fact is even though you prefer those routes, this is one of the busiest routes in Toronto, and it deserves nothing less than a bike lane.
 
This is all part of the lunacy that Toronto has become.

Dig up Bloor St. and plant a forest, for all I care. Traffic is chaos through there now. I haven't driven on that stretch of roadway in 5 years. It's impossible. With the construction for 1 Bloor, Yonge is now also ground to a halt. All hope was lost when the pink marble building on the corner of Church and Bloor was built right to the curb. All those buildings are new: why the hell did they not make this stretch of Bloor into another University Avenue?

Anyway, since ragging about the past does no good now, this is why I argue the Gardiner has to be maintained, not destroyed. There is NO east-west corridor in this city. Period. St. Clair was the last hope, and we know what has happened to that one.

I drive an extra 12 km a day out of my way (Wellesley down to the Gardiner and then up Islington) to AVOID Bloor St., because it is still faster than the 1 lane of thru-road and parked UPS trucks.

So, by all means, mess up Bloor St. It can't get any worse. Let's put in a cow path while we're at it.
 
bar1967 said:
Take the subway
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It still takes twice as long. It's noisy. It's bone jarring. Too many pod people. (iPod, get it?) There are too many delays. I don't want to watch some cow eat her breakfast beside me, like happened when I did take the subway about 3 weeks ago (I had a flat tire.) I actually shower, which is more than can be said for many people on the subway that I witnessed.

Sorry, in the 20 years since I frequented the subways, they haven't gotten better. They are worse.

Mind you, the Islington to Sherbourne crowd are quite a bit less scary than the Sherbourne to Kennedy crowd!
 
Dichotomy said:
It still takes twice as long. It's noisy. It's bone jarring. Too many pod people. (iPod, get it?) There are too many delays. I don't want to watch some cow eat her breakfast beside me, like happened when I did take the subway about 3 weeks ago (I had a flat tire.) I actually shower, which is more than can be said for many people on the subway that I witnessed.

Sorry, in the 20 years since I frequented the subways, they haven't gotten better. They are worse.

Mind you, the Islington to Sherbourne crowd are quite a bit less scary than the Sherbourne to Kennedy crowd!
Click to expand...

That was the first time you've seen someone eat in public? :confused:

Anyways, you do bring up a good point, the TTC does need improving. I don't think it's as discusting as you make it out to be, (I get this vive that you don't have too much experiance on the subway) but the province and the feds need to step up to the plate. The state helps out more in the US, why did we miss the boat?
 
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