McCallion rejects bike lane plea

[wyliepoon]

Link to article

McCallion rejects bike lane plea
Won't consider turning existing traffic lanes over to cyclists

Matthew Coutts
National Post

Wednesday, November 29, 2006


Mississauga cyclists will ask today to take a lane on the city's major roadways from cars, but Mayor Hazel McCallion says she's not on the same path.

Jeff Wachman, a Mississauga businessman and cycling enthusiast, will take a petition to council at a 9 a.m. meeting. He said yesterday the city needs to become more bike-friendly.

''Mississauga is a car city. It's a car suburb, and there really isn't a safe place to cycle,'' he said.

But Ms. McCallion said she rarely sees people using their bikes to commute to work and doesn't like the idea.

''When the roads were established in Mississauga, they were not established on the basis of bicycle lanes. The roads were built for cars and trucks,'' she said.

The petition, supported by nearly 400 signatures and an uncounted number of e-mails sent directly to City Hall, requests that the city ''designate a one-metre-wide path ... in both directions along the full length'' of nine major routes.

Mr. Wachman says the best way to make room would be to eliminate a lane of traffic on six-lane roads.

''I don't think the city needs three-lane boulevards everywhere,'' Mr. Wachman said. ''They don't work for store owners, they don't work for pedestrians and they don't work for cyclists. With better synchronizing of lights and a two-lane system with a passing lane ... I'm sure there's a way around [traffic congestion].''

He added there are also ways to fit in bicycle lanes without losing any traffic lanes.

A city official said Mississauga is planning to look at how to incorporate cyclists into the city's plan.

''Next year is actually a pivotal year,'' said Andy Harvey, Mississauga's manager of traffic engineering and operations. ''We're going to be looking at updating our cycling strategy for the city. That really will answer some questions as to what kind of cyclists we'll be catering to.''

He said the Mississauga cycling advisory committee has already recommended a series of bike lanes attached to roads criss-crossing the city.

It's a plan very similar to Mr. Wachman's own proposal to add lanes to five east-west routes and four north-south routes.

Those routes include Lakeshore Road, Dundas Street, Burnhamthorpe Road, Eglinton Avenue and Central Parkway going east and west, and Southdown Road to Erin Mills Parkway to Glen Erin Drive, Winston Churchill Boulevard, Mavis Road and Cawthra Road going north and south.

Mr. Harvey said there hadn't been much thought in the past about the number of bike lanes in the city. ''We're starting to inventory them now. The city really has to come to grips with what the mandate is going to be for future cycling.''

Ms. McCallion said the petition to add bicycle lanes will be given its due consideration, but no traffic lanes will be lost to include cycling commuters.

''It's a pretty expensive thing to do just to find out if it works or not,'' she said.

Ms. McCallion said yesterday the city would only consider new bike lanes when a road was undergoing construction anyway.

*****

If you want to get more people to bike in Mississauga, just get more immigrants from mainland China to move there.

Here in north Scarborough bike use has skyrocketed to the point where you can't go out for a walk without some person on a bike brushing past you on the sidewalk (none of them ever bike on the street). They take them to work, to shop, to school but I don't know if they have time for recreational rides.

 

[simply Dan]

Good thing Hazel struck a hydro pole and not a cyclist the last time SHE was behind the wheel.

 

[spmarshall]

Meanwhile people (including one notable poster from Mississauga) complain about David Miller's lack of vision, after three years in office, and the lack of credible opposition. What about Hazel? She's been in office for 28 years, with no credible opposition in most of those elections, not even anything near a Pitfield.

And what's been happening there lately with transit? Wow. A busway 25 years in planning (and perpetually crappy service on Hurontario). Bike lanes? Nothing except on a few two-lane streets.

To be fair, Port Credit is urbanizing nicely and MCC is densifying. But so are many parts of Toronto right now.

 

[FutureMayor]

I sat on the Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee for serveral years and I helped create that city-wide plan. I would argue that Mississauga has been more successful at building new dedicated lanes than Toronto.

Visit the new community of Erin Meadows and you will find bike lanes on the entire stretch of Tenth Line on both sides of the road. The new Confederation Parkway extension also has bike lanes.

Mississauga's plan calls for dedicated bike ROWs. Road way- Bike Row - Sidewalk. The Burnhamthorpe Trial which currently ends in the City Centre and will soon be extended to Etobicoke is an excellent example.

Mississuaga at least has bikelanes, I doubt Brampton has ever such a thing.

Louroz

 

[FutureMayor]

Too easy.

Louroz

 

[spmarshall]

Ok. I rest my case.

 

[doady]

The amount of bike lanes in all of the GTA is pathetic, so it isn't just Mississauga or Brampton or Toronto.

And if you are going to petition for more bike lanes, why ask the city to take away lanes from cars and buses as well? Taking away lanes from regular traffic is not a popular idea, and completely unneccessary.

 

[spmarshall]

I don't feel like I need to defend my former place of residency, but actually, it does.

But I guess Brampton-bashing is easy.

 

[Darkstar416]

Ms. McCallion said the petition to add bicycle lanes will be given its due consideration, but no traffic lanes will be lost to include cycling commuters.

It's obvious Hazel hasn't come around as much as some of her defenders like to suggest.

And if you are going to petition for more bike lanes, why ask the city to take away lanes from cars and buses as well? Taking away lanes from regular traffic is not a popular idea, and completely unneccessary.

Although, depending on the circumstance, this is the only option. It's been done many times in Toronto (ie. Sherbourne, Cosburn, etc.) and hasn't adversely affected vehicular traffic to any major degree (despite what Case Ootes spews).

 

[ganjavih]

Why must every thread about Mississauga deteriorate to petty bickering?

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Regarding the National Post article, "McCallion rejects bike lane plea Won't consider turning existing traffic lanes over to cyclists" that wyliepoon shared.

At council yesterday, McCallion was pretty crabby about this article and I don't blame her.

Examining the Post article:

Jeff Wachman, a Mississauga businessman and cycling enthusiast, will take a petition to council at a 9 a.m. meeting. He said yesterday the city needs to become more bike-friendly.

''Mississauga is a car city. It's a car suburb, and there really isn't a safe place to cycle,'' he said.

Yes, that's what he presented yesterday.

The petition, supported by nearly 400 signatures and an uncounted number of e-mails sent directly to City Hall, requests that the city ''designate a one-metre-wide path ... in both directions along the full length'' of nine major routes.

There were just four emails in the massive council agenda yesterday. I checked out the addresses and discovered they came from posh roads south of Lakeshore suggesting these presenters aren't speaking on behalf of your average Mr. and Mrs. Mississauga.

And get this. Those "400 signatures"??

Wachman posted a request for signatures on at least two webpages.

Mississauga Bicycle Lanes Petition (PEDAL MAGAZINE)

provided by Jeff Wachman
October 19, 2006 - Dear cycling friends,

I have created a petition for improved cycling routes in Mississauga. We think that you should know about this initiative and are hoping that you can assist in the distribution of this petition.

If you would like to participate this is what you can do.

Please print the petition below and post it in your store or with your cycling group. Once you have obtained a sufficient number of signatures, please mail the petition to the Office of the Mayor in City Hall (address is on the petition).

Please use a cut off date of January 15, 2007 to send in your signatures.

http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_doc/gen_pdf/petition_request_to_city_of_mississauga.pdf

This same petition is also on the ONTARIO CYCLING ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE

This leaves open the question of the "pedigree" of some of those 400 signatures!

Further:

Mr. Harvey said there hadn't been much thought in the past about the number of bike lanes in the city. ''We're starting to inventory them now. The city really has to come to grips with what the mandate is going to be for future cycling.''

Nando Iannicca commented that the demographics of an aging population suggest that many (and he used himself as an example) will trade bicycles for "walking shoes". Demographic trends certainly suggest that "future cycling" will be less cycling.

Ms. McCallion said the petition to add bicycle lanes will be given its due consideration, but no traffic lanes will be lost to include cycling commuters.

''It's a pretty expensive thing to do just to find out if it works or not,'' she said.

Ms. McCallion said yesterday the city would only consider new bike lanes when a road was undergoing construction anyway.

McCallion McCallion McCallion... as if she were the only one who wasn't warm to the idea.

Anyway.

Wachman's use of two Ontario cycling websites to collect names forces me to wonder just how of his 400 signatures represent (in the words of Andy Harvey, Mississauga's manager of traffic engineering and operations) the "kind of cyclists we'll be catering to.''


Signed

 

[JoeyCuppa]

So... what... the only legitimate petition is one that isn't advertised at all?

If you wrote one up and put it in a drawer where no one knew about it... it would be legitimate? Even if the only signature is yours?

People sign petitions if they agree with them - which 400 people in Mississauga obviously did - nobody forced them to.

 

[doady]

Although, depending on the circumstance, this is the only option. It's been done many times in Toronto (ie. Sherbourne, Cosburn, etc.) and hasn't adversely affected vehicular traffic to any major degree (despite what Case Ootes spews).

I think motorists would not be affected much by the removal of lanes, it is the public transit system and its users that I am more worried about. Even a small decrease in the speed of buses can cause a lot of problems for MT and cause more people to turn to their cars.

Already in the past few years, the frequency of many bus routes in Mississauga has been decreased due to traffic congestion even though MT did not actually take any buses away. In fact, this is happening to Britannia in the next service change and in the past it has happened to Hurontario, Derry, Erin Mills, just to name a few.

So basically traffic congestion in Mississauga hurts public transit more than it does car traffic, and I think it would be better to set aside lanes for buses rather than cyclists, and I think this would be more supported by the city too. There are a lot more people in Mississauga using transit than riding their bike, and transit is much more important anyway.

Maybe cycling ethusiasts should instead ask the city to install a lot of bike racks everywhere, especially at the bus stations. MT is already considering installing bike racks on buses and I'm not sure what the status is on this (was this mentioned at all at the council meeting?).

 

[Observer Walt]

Many cities including both Toronto and Mississauga could certainly do a better job of encouraging cycling. Just for the record there is a long cycling path along the north side of Burnhamthorpe, running almost the entire width of the city. This strip of land was set aside many years ago for some sort of light transit which never materialized. There are also many miles of paved pathways through linear parks, but these aren't as good as bike lanes on streets.

Iannicca is an idiot if his comments actually were as reported above. :rolleyes

Doady's point about bike racks is well taken. Toronto has had racks or rings all over the place for years. They are finally starting to show up in just a few places in Miss.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

JoeyCuppa asked:

So... what... the only legitimate petition is one that isn't advertised at all?

Have nothing against advertising a petition. One of the most effective ways to get signatures is via the Internet. Look how effective that petition for the last Canadian War Vet was. I've run petitions through the Net myself for various causes.

I also acknowledge that if you want to reach cyclists, one of the best ways is to do like these people did and post the petition in Ontario cycling magazines. I'd do that myself.

What I *have* a problem with though is for these people to imply that they are representing/speaking for the run-of-the-mill Mississauga cyclists and exercisers battling obesity.

Had these petitions been advertised at the Mississauga News website, Rogers, on bulletin boards in grocery stores, schools, UTM, Mississauga community centres... then you reach Typical Mr. and Mrs. Mississauga Cyclist.

And then you can say with some legitimacy that you've reached out to the cyclist-citizenry.

The National Post article stated:

''Next year is actually a pivotal year,'' said Andy Harvey, Mississauga's manager of traffic engineering and operations. ''We're going to be looking at updating our cycling strategy for the city. That really will answer some questions as to what kind of cyclists we'll be catering to.''

"as to what kind of cyclists we'll be catering to.''

Time of course, will tell, but I think when traffic engineering and operations completes its survey, one: those cyclist-presenters yesterday will rank as elite athletes. And two: Demographics will likely suggest that if new trails are needed they'd Mississauga would be better served if they're for walking trails.

That's not me saying this BTW, but what councillors/staff suggested yesterday.

People sign petitions if they agree with them - which 400 people in Mississauga obviously did - nobody forced them to.

Agreed. But if most of those 400 came through cycling mags that'd be like a petition for improvements to fitness centres posted in MEN'S FITNESS and MUSCLE MAGAZINE and MUSCLE/FITNESS HERS.

Again. Nothin' wrong with that. But don't have the fitness-petitioners then suggest that they're speaking on behalf of the average Mississauga fitness member. I've seen the average Mississauga fitness member and most barely break a sweat.

The Mississauga Parks and Recreation document "Future Directions 2004" states:

The only age group that is expected to grow substantially is the 55+ age group. The 55+ age group currently accounts for 17% of the City's population and is expected to nearly triple in absolute numbers by 2031, when 39% of residents will be age 55 and over.

In the nearer term:

The aging of the population (the 55+ age group in Mississauga is expected to nearly double in size between 2001 and 2016)

And this quote has relevance for cyclist paths.

The aging of the population will require a modest re-allocation of resources from young adult populations to the older adult demographic. Although this is discussed in greater detail in Sections 4, 5, and 6, trends show that the aging population will be looking for less vigorous forms of exercise, trails, passive park opportunities and general fitness programs that emphasize active living.

Next:

3.3.2 Parks and Park Pathways

79% of Mississauga residents use City parks. Of those who use the parks, walking is the most popular reason for using them.

- When visiting park pathways, the main purpose is recreation for 79% of residents who use the pathways. Very few use them as a mode of transportation.

Under the heading, "Multi Use Trails"

Walking is the second most popular leisure activity amongst Mississauga residents (behind reading). As age increases, so too does the propensity to identify walking as a favourite leisure time activity, indicating that demand for multi-use trails will increase in response to the aging demographic profile.

Mississauga's Parks and Rec "Future Directions" recognized the potential lobbying by special interest groups:

In the area of “new topics raised†two groups were present at several meetings to make sure their interest group was heard. The first group represented the competitive swim community and believe Mississauga needs an additional pool and that it should investigate a 50 metre pool. The second group represented the badminton community and made a strong plea for a dedicated facility for badminton.

Nothin' wrong with competitors/elite lobbying for a 50 metre pool or the construction of trans-Mississauga bike paths or enhanced fitness equipment. Just so long as they don't claim to be representing the average swimmer or bike peddler --or gym rat.