For those who aren’t already aware, Toronto’s next municipal election is happening tomorrow with polls open from 10 AM to 8 PM. You can get the necessary information – including where to vote and which ID to bring – at Toronto’s election website. While I haven’t hidden my desire to re-elect Olivia Chow for Mayor and to stop Brad Bradford – especially with his calls to rip the Bloor bike lanes in Etobicoke – it’s time for a last-minute recap of which councillors to support.
On Tuesday, October 13, hundreds of cyclists protested the Bloor bike lane removals and succeeded in sending the contractors home. While removal work has since been able to continue, a large crowd of advocates rallied again last night to mark one week since that victory. Unfortunately, it also marked the first time heavy equipment was brought in.
Last week, the Ford government started work on removing the Bloor bike lanes from Clissold to Royal York. A massive protest was held on Tuesday evening which stalled work that day while smaller ones were held the rest of the week which led to three women being arrested. Given Verdi Alliance Civil and ATS Traffic were identified doing the work, I issued a call to action to name and shame them, while Cycle Toronto issued their own. However, we need to raise the stake further and start calling on the federal government to intervene.
This past week has been brutal for Toronto’s cycling community, but also encouraging to see so many come out to protest the removal of the Bloor bike lanes in Etobicoke. While I couldn’t make it out to the other protest actions this week – and Paralympian swimmer Aly Van Wyck-Smart was arrested on Thursday – Friends & Families for Safe Streets (FFSS), Bicycle Mayor of Toronto, and Femmes & Friends organized a last minute event this afternoon which would take a more positive and loving approach. Since I wanted to check out the aftermath of this week’s removal work anyway, I got to check out that event as well.
On Tuesday, the Ford government was expected to start removal of the Bloor bike lanes from Clissold to Royal York, while the firms identified with the work include Verdi Alliance Civil and ATS Traffic per a call to action I issued yesterday. I took the subway right after work on Tuesday night to witness the hundreds of cyclists who came out to protest the removals with the parking lot at Tom Riley Park being used as an organizing base.
Last night, hundreds of cyclists and other supporters gathered on Bloor Street in Etobicoke to protest the bike lane removals. While you can read about the protest here as well as on Jun's blog, I have a call to action for the cycling community.
Back in August, I checked out the Bartley Smith Greenway in Vaughan and looked into how it would fit within the larger Vaughan Super Trail initiative. However, there is one other existing trail that would form part of that Super Trail which is the William Granger Greenway (a.k.a. Humber River Trail). I used my day off yesterday to explore that trail as well as how it could connect with Toronto’s portion of the Humber River Trail.
