D'oh! Thanks folks!

vatche said:
So it sounds like its not as bad as the newspaper makes it out to be.
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I posted several photos a few pages back, you be the judge. They've looked really bad for nearly 3 years now but I'm glad they are finally being replaced.
 
From last night. In ten or twenty years this stretch of bloor could be magnificent with these trees matured. I really hope they survive and get the care they need.

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The tulips looked great this year, especially when lit up in the evening by the tree lighting. They compliment the contemporary aesthetic of the public realm design in their simple yet distinctive form and vibrant colour.
 
Great photo yonderbean, I love how the in-ground lighting illuminates upward onto the bottom of the trees. In a few years a new lighting scheme will have to be worked out along this stretch as these trees grow a bit more. As is, they block out a surprising amount lot of light from the street lights making the sidewalk unusually dark once the shops are closed, which will only get darker when the trees are bigger and more spread out. But it's still wonderful to walk along here at night.
 
Perhaps this is contributing to the death of some trees...

This was taken a few moments ago, on a tree that had just been replaced! I hope it gets cut down, and i wish some folks would take responsibility instead of blaming everyone else.
 

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Looks like a cyclist got upset that there weren't any nearby places to lock their bicycle and accordingly decided to just take over a part of the public realm not suited to bicycles, as is their common practice.

edited to add: I can't count the number of times this spring that my girlfriend or I have almost gotten hit by cyclists riding on the sidewalk. Every single time I have to restrain myself from "accidentally" shoving them off their bikes as they go by. Owning a bicycle does not mean that the laws don't apply to you.
 
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You're quite possibly right. It is too bad, as there are usually a few nearby bike racks that are unoccupied, and a whole whack of them on balmuto (a block away) that are never used. Cars have to drive around for spaces, shouldn't everyone else?
 
The guy locking the bike to the tree was quite clearly an idiot, but no people in bikes should be provided with a lot more infrastructure than they are currently given. There should be bike posts in every block and grade separated bike-lanes in every street.
 
RC8 said:
The guy locking the bike to the tree was quite clearly an idiot, but no people in bikes should be provided with a lot more infrastructure than they are currently given. There should be bike posts in every block and grade separated bike-lanes in every street.
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I'm a pro-cycling pinko but I really don't think it's reasonable to have separated bike lanes on every street, it's just not doable. Perhaps every 2nd or 3rd street/avenue, where appropriate, and that would be a massive improvement over what we have now, which is basically nothing considering the amount of cyclists in this city. As for bike lock-ups they need to be at least doubled in popular areas where people need to lockup their bikes. The problem is as each year goes on there are less and less of them instead of more of them. They become damaged, the City does a nice clean cut along the concrete and then conveniently forgets that they were ever there. To be fair, more bike lockups slowly continue to be added on Bloor Street between Church and Avenue Road - and they're nice looking, but there still clearly aren't enough of them.
 
don't disagree for the need for more bike lock ups but still doesn't excuse bikers from locking there bikes against trees - they should know better.
 
There should be more bike locks, i agree. But there should also be more people that slash the tires of bikes locked to trees. Also hate when they take up a full lane of traffic, hit a red light, dismount and proceed to walk their bike across the red light....those cyclists should be charged with running a red light instead of jaywalking. All in the name of being "carbon neutral".
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
I'm a pro-cycling pinko but I really don't think it's reasonable to have separated bike lanes on every street, it's just not doable. Perhaps every 2nd or 3rd street/avenue, where appropriate, and that would be a massive improvement over what we have now, which is basically nothing considering the amount of cyclists in this city. As for bike lock-ups they need to be at least doubled in popular areas where people need to lockup their bikes. The problem is as each year goes on there are less and less of them instead of more of them. They become damaged, the City does a nice clean cut along the concrete and then conveniently forgets that they were ever there. To be fair, more bike lockups slowly continue to be added on Bloor Street between Church and Avenue Road - and they're nice looking, but there still clearly aren't enough of them.
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Every major street requires them (grade separated bike lanes), at least.

In most European and South American cities most inner city roads have only 2 lanes for cars and yet congestion is less than in Toronto thanks to a) a better/more thorough public transit system and b) people living closer to their work.

By adding bike lanes and facilities everywhere the city won't suffer economically - on the contrary, land values will skyrocket as it becomes an even more desirable place to live (with less pollution, less congestion, and less steel monsters running people over).
 
You nailed the main problem right on the nose, we need a much better transportation network both within the city and regionally. Until then there will be no change in our car culture and they will continue to dominate the roads leaving little room for nothing much more than a few token separated bike lanes.
By the way, don't forget "Bells on Bloor" - a ride supporting bike lanes on Bloor: High Park, 1:30pm, June 2nd - http://dandyhorsemagazine.com/blog/2012/05/16/bells-on-bloor-bike-month-event/
 
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