The province key to municipal cycling infrastructure?
I came across an interesting commentary from the Globe & Mail website courtesy of Spacing Toronto’s Blog.
In the commentary piece, Albert Koehl, wrties that the province of Ontario should step in to help ensure that proper bicycle infrastructure gets put into place for the municipalities, particularly Toronto, which has experience a patchwork of bike lanes being put in.
More bike lanes have been installed as of late, but there’s still not clear and easy way for cyclists to join these lanes.
Even a focused effort over the past few years to paint more bike lanes has achieved limited success. The problem is that the fight for bike lanes still happens virtually on a block-by-block basis, while the issues being addressed are communal, even global. The answer is for the province to step in to adjust the rules.
Ontario planning law already puts a healthy emphasis on cycling, walking and transit. Both the Toronto region’s growth plan and the Provincial Policy Statement, which is currently under review, require cities to consider the safety of cyclists. The growth plan directs cities to ensure that bicycle and pedestrian networks are integrated into transportation planning “to provide safe, comfortable travel for pedestrians and bicyclists.”
Unfortunately, the law has just enough ambiguity to allow a “business as usual” approach. By imposing minimum standards on cities – such as the requirement to install bike lanes on roads with specified cycling levels or when road redevelopments take place – the province will move the municipal debate about bike lanes from “if” to “how.”
A change at the provincial level wouldn’t just help beleaguered cyclists but also benefit stressed city politicians.
To read the rest of the article, please click on the link below.
It’s an interesting idea to have the province step in to ensure that cycling infrastructure in municipalities is in place where it makes sense to have it.
While some would argue that a bike lane isn’t the be-all-end-all of cyclist safety, one can say that it’s a step in the right direction towards ensuring cyclist safety. Enforcement of traffic laws for both cyclists and motorists would help, but it’s probably best that we move in baby steps.
