[ssiguy2]

Bloor looks great, they really did do a top job.

 

[vatche]

If it is indeed so difficult to grow trees In the center of a city then how come Paris is full of tree lined streets and boulevards. They have pollution, they have a lot of construction....I don't get it

 

[Tuscani01]

If it is indeed so difficult to grow trees In the center of a city then how come Paris is full of tree lined streets and boulevards. They have pollution, they have a lot of construction....I don't get it

I assume the climate has a lot to do with it. Paris barely ever has days that go under 0 degrees in the winter. That means no need for salt on the roads and sidewalks or harsh conditions for trees to survive.

 

[vatche]

Cause trees totally change the look of a city. It's incredible.

 

[junctionist]

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".

Sometimes a cyclist must take the lane in conditions which don't inspire confidence that cars will pass safely. St. Clair Avenue West in most places is now the paradigm of such conditions. If you ride at a distance from the curb to avoid manhole covers, which is normal not to wreck your bike, there is no room to share that lane with passing cars.

In terms of the issue of locking bikes to trees, I agree it shouldn't be done because it may damage the tree or encourage thieves to chop the tree for the bike, but if you've cycled a half hour or more to a meeting or other sort of obligation and there's no other option for where to leave it, what are you going to do? Go home? As for people walking with a bike against a red light at an intersection, that isn't any more serious than jaywalking. It's an exponent of the versatility of the bicycle, a vehicle that may be walked on the sidewalk through a street festival or when the roadway is closed because of an accident. Going against a red light is open to criticism, but jaywalking is jaywalking.

 

[Ramako]

In terms of the issue of locking bikes to trees, I agree it shouldn't be done because it may damage the tree or encourage thieves to chop the tree for the bike, but if you've cycled a half hour or more to a meeting or other sort of obligation and there's no other option for where to leave it, what are you going to do? Go home?

Drivers have to do the same thing. When there's no parking, they either circle until a spot becomes available or park further away and walk. They don't get to say "screw it" and park on the sidewalk or in park.

 

[Filip]

If you ever see a bike locked against a tree on the revitalized Bloor again, please contact the BIA. They will be more than happy to get someone to remove the bike and send it to a dump.

And to the neanderthal who looked is bike UP a tree, I hope your bike gets stolen soon.

 

[Conrad Black]

The street is looking great.

 

[someMidTowner]

In terms of the issue of locking bikes to trees, I agree it shouldn't be done because it may damage the tree or encourage thieves to chop the tree for the bike, but if you've cycled a half hour or more to a meeting or other sort of obligation and there's no other option for where to leave it, what are you going to do? Go home?

if the meeting is so important, there are 4 options: A) make sure in advance the location has adequate bicycle locks OTHERWISE: B) Subway C) Walk D) drive/taxi
I don't care if you are late to hand obama the missile codes, theres no justifying locking your bike to a tree

As for people walking with a bike against a red light at an intersection, that isn't any more serious than jaywalking. It's an exponent of the versatility of the bicycle, a vehicle that may be walked on the sidewalk through a street festival or when the roadway is closed because of an accident. Going against a red light is open to criticism, but jaywalking is jaywalking.

You are either a vehicle or a pedestrian. If you want the same rights as a driver then you should follow the same rules a driver is forced to follow. You cant carry your motorcycle across a red light but you can do so with a bike?
You shouldnt be provided with special rights just because you dont pollute as much...

 

[Thanos]

if the meeting is so important, there are 4 options: A) make sure in advance the location has adequate bicycle locks OTHERWISE: B) Subway C) Walk D) drive/taxi
I don't care if you are late to hand obama the missile codes, theres no justifying locking your bike to a tree

There's another option...leaving 15 minutes earlier. That will leave you enough time to find a spot to lock your bike and walk to your destination.

 

[vatche]

Any recent pictures of the street??? Anybody??

 

[yonderbean]

Any recent pictures of the street??? Anybody??

 

[hawc]

People with bikes should be provided with a lot more infrastructure than they are currently given. There should be bike posts on every block.

Downtown there are so many crappy old bikes that are just left locked up forever against bike posts and trees. They're rusted out, wheels missing, bent frames, just stay there forever. They city should do a better job of getting rid of these pieces of garbage that are taking up valuable bike parking spots for people who have bikes they ride every day. You wouldn't be able to leave an abandoned car downtown for months on the side of the road. It really clutters up the street scape and just looks crappy.

 

[junctionist]

if the meeting is so important, there are 4 options: A) make sure in advance the location has adequate bicycle locks OTHERWISE: B) Subway C) Walk D) drive/taxi
I don't care if you are late to hand obama the missile codes, theres no justifying locking your bike to a tree

I agree with the basic sentiment that damaging trees is not acceptable, but if you're used to downtown's often generous bicycle parking with major streets lined with post-and-ring parking and financial district plazas with bike racks, you might not think in advance that you'd have a problem on Bloor Street. But you may have a problem because of the situation resulting from the BIA's makeover. They should recognize what's happening and act positively instead of merely putting up signs about their punitive measures.

After all, is it not great that people are cycling? They're not polluting the air, requiring big government subsidies, taking up much road space in most cases, or using the space it takes to park a car. That's a solid group of benefits to nurture. It's not contentious that people shouldn't lock bikes up to trees, but the missing aspect of the discussion is whether more accommodation is reasonable and necessary, to which I would argue that it is. People who lock up bikes to ornamental trees aren't necessarily anti-social jerks whose vehicles ought to be sent to a landfill to teach them a lesson. Diverse situations arise inadvertently in cities; it's neglectful not to anticipate them when planning spaces or respond autocratically with an arbitrary vision.

You are either a vehicle or a pedestrian. If you want the same rights as a driver then you should follow the same rules a driver is forced to follow. You cant carry your motorcycle across a red light but you can do so with a bike?
You shouldnt be provided with special rights just because you dont pollute as much...

One can't deny the basic characteristics of a bicycle, one of which is how seamlessly you can change between vehicular and pedestrian spaces both in physical and legal terms. To a cyclist, the hard lines of division between pedestrian and vehicular spaces are blurred not by some philosophy, but by the nature of the bicycle itself. You can travel fairly quickly on roads as a vehicle, and you walk it through narrow spaces for pedestrians without compromising anyone's safety. So while you can be either a vehicle on the road or a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the change between the two is not only an obvious possibility, but one that is instant and ordinary. As for special privileges for those who don't pollute as much or in the case of bicycles not at all, bring them on if you cleaner air and less congestion. That's not to say the right to cross the street at red lights, but scrambles, contraflow bike lanes, tax breaks for TTC riders, HOV lanes, and the like. Reward the better ways, and don't make people feel guilty or overprivileged for not suffocating in the heat and pollution of a street or highway congested with cars.

 

[yonderbean]

^ +1