I am Cautiously Optimistic– Delegation to Brampton Council Against Another Bike Lane Removal

TL;DR 

TL;DR stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read”. It is internet slang used to introduce a quick, digestible summary of a much longer message, article, or document. So if you don’t have time to read this whole post, please read the first few paragraphs and send an email.

Readers you did an amazing job sending emails before today’s meeting. There were 29 published in the agenda. You can read them here by scrolling down to section 14.2, clicking on the title, then clicking on the letters that pop up on the right side by clicking them one by one.

Last week I wrote about finally losing patience with Brampton Council hypocrisy over implementing council approved plans and I delegated a rant which I wrote about here. On Sunday night I was angered and dismayed to discover that Wards 3&4 councillors had put forward a motion for the May 27 Council meeting to remove the bike lanes on Charolais Boulevard, a 3km long east-west collector road that was overbuilt, and connects Shoppers World, a school, parks, plazas and the Etobicoke Creek Trail. So once again I spent days creating and delivering a delegation.

Shoppers World is designated as an MTSA. This stands for Major Transit Station Area. “It is a provincial planning designation that defines zones within an approximately 500 to 800-metre radius (roughly a 10-minute walk) of higher-order transit stations, such as subway, GO rail, Light Rail Transit (LRT), and Bus Rapid Transit stops.” The intension is to focus higher-density residential and employment growth around transit to encourage public transit usage and reduce car dependency. Removing bike lanes from around an MTSA undermines its implementation and potential for success.

Three of us delegated, councillors spoke. During the delegations and the first few speeches from councillors, councillors spoke among themselves and to staff. Many councillors were on the board waiting to speak, when the mayor who was chairing the meeting, shared that he thought a compromise had been reached and suggested the board could be cleared if it was accepted.

A compromise was reached. We will lose the bike lanes by the end of August, but Council voted unanimously on two friendly amendments to the original motion.

1. That the Mayor be requested to write to the Minister of Transportation to request funding for conversion of the lanes

2. That staff be directed to report back as expeditiously as possible on a budget amendment to accommodate active transportation, specifically the conversion to the boulevard of the two missing links on Howden Boulevard and Charolais Boulevard.

It felt somewhat like a loss, but has the potential to be better for cyclists once implemented so I am cautiously optimistic. Staff is to report back on June 24 with costs, a delivery plan, and an assessment of what this means for our Brampton Mobility Plan targets so we don’t have long to wait to see how this unfolds. We will need to keep the pressure on so that they follow through and do so quickly to minimize the time during we have no cycling infrastructure on Howden and Charolais.

My call to action today is that you write the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, requesting that he provide the requested funding. Copy all of the Brampton councillors, and the clerk, and ask that your correspondence be added to the agenda for June 24. You can copy the emails in the following paragraph into your email client. State that your concerns can be addressed by funding quick implementation of cycle tracks in the boulevards of Charolais and Howden Boulevards, or something to that effect.

prabmeet.sarkaria@pc.ola.org city.clerksoffice@brampton.ca, rowena.santos@brampton.ca, paul.vicente@brampton.ca, martin.medeiros@brampton.ca, dennis.keenan@brampton.ca, michael.palleschi@brampton.ca, navjitkaur.brar@brampton.ca, pat.fortini@brampton.ca, rod.power@brampton.ca, mayorbrown@brampton.ca, harkirat.singh@brampton.ca, Gurpartap.toor@brampton.ca, info@BikeBrampton.ca

Here are some key points you can use in your letter

• These areas had automatic speed enforcement cameras. Changing the street back to a four lane cross-section makes it more dangerous for cyclists, necessitating off-road cycling infrastructure.
• Brampton council was unanimous in their decision
• Cycle tracks in the boulevard on these streets would address your concerns
• This is the type of infrastructure will complement the Shoppers World MTSA and encourage multimodal trips
• This solution will address driver and cyclist concerns for these corridors
• This will be a higher quality safer cycling infrastructure than the painted line on the road that we currently have which will encourage more “all ages and abilities” cyclists.

End of TL;DR

Here is a link to watch my delegation. You will need to use the bar to advance to 1:38:00. There are two delegates after me that are worth your time to hear – Silvia Roberts and Justin Kang. Our delegations complimented each other very well. When the YouTube video becomes available I’ll embed it starting at the correct spot.

Here are my slides, video of 11 year old Finn, and speakers notes.

Good morning Mayor Brown and Council

Building bike lanes is about bringing balance to the transportation system. There is a “small perceived inconvenience for motorists” on the one side and “streets for people and road safety” on the other. Bike lanes help minimize risk both for drivers and cyclists. People defending the status quo tend to be noisier than those who want to see change. In the agenda there are 24 letters from people who support cycling infrastructure, submitted in the last two days. More letters missed the agenda deadline. Many of these residents asked this Council to implement the Mobility Plan.This is not about cars versus bikes. It is about creating a livable city.

I am a resident who chooses a bike for transportation. I want convenience, comfort and safety. My route to City Hall takes me on low-volume streets, and streets with bike lanes, and avoids the arterials, riding through wards 10, 9, 7, 1 and 3. Cycling trips do not stop at ward boundaries.This is not a local issue. Eventually all the bike lanes will form a citywide network. Removing pieces for parking or more car lanes prevents that from happening.

I am asking that the network be maintained and expanded for residents like Finn.

Last Wednesday I read Victoria’s request that councillors make decisions to protect vulnerable road users.

This is Victoria. On her way home from school last Wednesday she was hit by a car. She was hit by a car while riding her bike on the day she asked this Council to make Brampton a safer place for cyclists like herself. The driver fled the scene.

This is a message for Council from Victoria’s father.

“Streets are for people”, not just for cars. If you only build for cars all you get is cars. Providing safe space for cyclists in this city can literally be a matter of life and death.

Thank you to Tom Flood and The Biking Lawyer for permitting me to use this image.

Councillor Rowena Santos wrote a positive piece on the outcome this morning. She writes, “A budget amendment will fund protected, boulevard-level cycling infrastructure on both Charolais and Howden, replacing painted lines with separated, dedicated paths that are demonstrably safer for cyclists, e-scooter users, and people using mobility devices.” This makes it sound like a done deal, but after years of begging for twigs*, I’m going to hold my celebration for when I can actually ride on the new infrastructure.

* “Instead of celebrating piecemeal infrastructure, local advocates are tired of what the Toronto community famously calls ‘begging for twigs’ – a phrase coined by cycling advocate @wardFORpeople to describe pleading for painted lines when we need concrete barriers. Organizations like Cycle Toronto are pushing past these crumbs to demand comprehensive, protected networks.”