Bikes Bikes Bikes Invade Ford Nation

You need to read this carefully

Bixi bike-sharing program ready to roll in Toronto

They will come in basic black like those in London, England. Starting May 3, Torontonians can expect to see 1,000 Bixi bikes cruising all over downtown.

That’s when the long-awaited bike sharing program, already available in Montreal, Washington and Minneapolis — and also launching this spring in Ottawa — rolls out here, with 1,500 docking stations and 80 bike stations.

Designed for tourists and residents, the program gives cyclists the option of 24-hour passes or annual memberships, which allow users to grab a bike and park it at the station nearest their destination. Trips under 30 minutes are free. After that, a user fee applies.

Locations for the Bixi stations are expected to be announced in April.

About 1,200 of the $95 annual memberships have already been sold.

While demonstration bikes shown in Toronto in recent months were blue, in the end the city and the program supplier, Public Bike System Company, decided to go with classic black, said Daniel Egan, Toronto’s manager of Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure.

ING Direct signed on as a major sponsor last year and other corporate sponsors will be announced in April. Last fall, the city was short about $150,000 for the $600,000 it needed in sponsorships to bring Bixi here.

For people who don’t want to cycle to work, Bixi will provide the option of hopping on a bike to go to lunch or a meeting, said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, who chairs Toronto’s public works and infrastructure committee.

Minnan-Wong also said he’s getting “positive signals” from residents and council colleagues to the idea of creating physically separated bike lanes in Toronto.

The Montreal program had 11,000 members within its first six months of operation. Last year there were 5,000 silver Bixi bikes on the streets there.

Lets read that line again

Minnan-Wong also said he’s getting “positive signals” from residents and council colleagues to the idea of creating physically separated bike lanes in Toronto.

More Bicycle Lanes? Traffic is grid locked already and you want to help 1200 bicycle riders? What about the 400,000 car driving tax payers that pay for parking and lunch and work?

Bikes Bikes Bikes Invade Ford Nation

You need to read this carefully

Bixi bike-sharing program ready to roll in Toronto

They will come in basic black like those in London, England. Starting May 3, Torontonians can expect to see 1,000 Bixi bikes cruising all over downtown.

That’s when the long-awaited bike sharing program, already available in Montreal, Washington and Minneapolis — and also launching this spring in Ottawa — rolls out here, with 1,500 docking stations and 80 bike stations.

Designed for tourists and residents, the program gives cyclists the option of 24-hour passes or annual memberships, which allow users to grab a bike and park it at the station nearest their destination. Trips under 30 minutes are free. After that, a user fee applies.

Locations for the Bixi stations are expected to be announced in April.

About 1,200 of the $95 annual memberships have already been sold.

While demonstration bikes shown in Toronto in recent months were blue, in the end the city and the program supplier, Public Bike System Company, decided to go with classic black, said Daniel Egan, Toronto’s manager of Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure.

ING Direct signed on as a major sponsor last year and other corporate sponsors will be announced in April. Last fall, the city was short about $150,000 for the $600,000 it needed in sponsorships to bring Bixi here.

For people who don’t want to cycle to work, Bixi will provide the option of hopping on a bike to go to lunch or a meeting, said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, who chairs Toronto’s public works and infrastructure committee.

Minnan-Wong also said he’s getting “positive signals” from residents and council colleagues to the idea of creating physically separated bike lanes in Toronto.

The Montreal program had 11,000 members within its first six months of operation. Last year there were 5,000 silver Bixi bikes on the streets there.

Lets read that line again

Minnan-Wong also said he’s getting “positive signals” from residents and council colleagues to the idea of creating physically separated bike lanes in Toronto.

More Bicycle Lanes? Traffic is grid locked already and you want to help 1200 bicycle riders? What about the 400,000 car driving tax payers that pay for parking and lunch and work?

Traffic congestion at Humber Bay Shore

Any commuter from the Mississauga Oakville corridor runs the gauntlet of traffic congestion that squeezes all the drivers onto the Gandiner Expressway or onto Lake Shore Blvd. With all the forethought and planning How did this happen?

When the Humber Bay Shore Bridge was rebuilt, land was acquired from Palace Pier to permit the move of the bridge south. This restricted the traffic to be a single lane only on Lake Shore Bouldvard. Did no one notice all the buildings being constructed along the Lake Shore?

Lets add to the mix the concentration of housing (condo units) at Mystic Pointe. They are affectionately named California Dreamin and ilofts but they are continuing to expand. The only access point is to Lake Shore or the Queensway via Grande Ave. South Beach condos is proposed for the strip between the QEW and Lake Shore Blvd., right on Park Lawn Road.

The Humber Bay Shore Condominium Association says 7,688 condo households in this corridor, are either in existance, under construction or proposed. All these cars are pouring out onto Marine Parade Drive and ultimately Lake Shore Blvd; Palace Pier and Palace Place residents have successfully diverted the traffic off of Palace Place Court, and turned it back to Marine Parade.

There are rumours of commercial development at the Christie's site at the corner of Parklawn Road and Lakeshore, that will bring employees, services, merchandise and product deliveries that will be bought by consumers who will arrive in their cars. It is proposed as RETAIL Commercial if rezoned when the scruptious cookie smells disappear.

What about the people who would like to visit the west lakeshore community parks and access to the water that is always talked about? Samuel Smith Park due south of Kipling and Lakeshore behind the Humber College campus, Humber Bay Park east and west due south of Parklawn Road. Where will these people park? Could there be plans for underground parking along Marine Parade Drive? Would the TRCA (Toronto Region conservation Authority) have a voice?

Access to the Marine Parade park system is lacking parking for those commuters bringing their families down for a day of fun near the water. Is there a solution?

Absolutely... The City of Toronto is STUDYING the issue. "The new Park Lawn loop is an important component of plans for a new LRT type line operating in its own right of way from south Etobicoke to Union Station. This future “Waterfront West” route, portions of which were originally approved in 1993, will help to fulfill the Official Plan vision to provide high quality, high speed transit service as part of the Transit City Plan. In the short term, the loop at Park Lawn will allow the existing streetcar short-turn at the Humber Loop to occur further west, thereby doubling the frequency of service to the Park Lawn Area"

Since 1993? This is 2008. We are mindful of gas prices, traffic congestion, driving times that are being solved with the City of Toronto fining people for idling their vehicles. When will we have the many visionary plans implemented? The City is collecting levy and permit fees for every building and suite, yet Etobicoke south is being overlooked for the sake of downtown Toronto.

Go Transit has professed an improvment of services yet the proposed Parklawn Road station has not materialised. Running trains that do not stop at stations is not progress. Go Transit continues to allow free parking on their properties for commuters who leave their cars at closer (to the city core) stations that often leave the lots brimming full, to overflow, with parkers at Mimico and Longbranch.

Many community groups are trying to bring this to the foreground of municipal politicians and planners. I would urge you to join the Citizens Concerned about the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront or the Humber Bay Shores Condominium Association community group to get involved. We all have an interest in seeing what happens to our lakefront.

We all want a world class city and I believe that Toronto west is the place to be, but we need a consolidation of efforts to bring, If I remember correctly, Crombie's Plan for the waterfront to fruition. Your comments are always invited.