Comments (0)

By Ward 29 Bikes, March 3, 2010

What we’ve done so far

Ward 29 Bikes had a busy and successful 2009. Our volunteers engaged with the local community by holding two public meetings, participating in numerous community events, helping with the work of other groups, and raising the profile of cycling in our neighbourhood and across the city. Here is a summary of some of the activities that we undertook in our first full year of advocacy:

Continue reading 'Ward 29 Bikes 2009 Year (and a bit!) in review'»

Comments (0)

By Ward 29 Bikes, August 4, 2009

Things always seem to move more slowly in the summer, but we finally have the survey results from our June meeting (PDF) online. Of the attendees who filled out our survey, 69% shop by bike and 41% cycle year-round.The biggest barriers to cycling identified by our survey are bike lanes/safe routes (83%) and secure parking (68%). Read the complete results in the PDF linked above.

We’re currently using the survey results and other information we gathered at (and since) our June meeting to plan our activities for the next few months. Stay tuned!

Comments (0)

By Ward 29 Bikes, June 18, 2009

Our community meeting yesterday was a big success. Fifty people packed the room on a rainy night to listen and learn from one another. Representatives from The Danforth BIA were present and we hope to work with them in the future. We’ll be publishing a meeting report after we’ve distilled all of the information that we received last night. We’ll also be adding more pictures soon.

A big thanks to all of our speakers—Dan Egan and Christina Bouchard from the City of Toronto, Yvonne Bambrick from the TCU, Brian Betsworth of Cycle 26, and Donald Wiedman of Bikes+Transit—and everyone who worked behind the scenes to pull the meeting together. But most of all, a special thanks to you for coming out on such a dreary night and showing that cyclists in our neighbourhood are hungry for action.

If you’d like to own a swanky t-shirt just like the ones that the members of Ward 29 Bikes were modelling at the meeting, you can buy shirts and tote bags at our shop.

Comments (0)

By Ward 29 Bikes, May 1, 2009

Cycle26 member Brian Betsworth (left) with Ward 29 Bikes members Tom Flaherty (middle) and Luke Siragusa (right).

Ward 29 Bikes ran a cycling information area at Diefenbaker Public School on Thursday, as part of the school’s Minds and Bodies in Motion after-school evening dedicated to active lifestyles. Member Tom Flaherty organized our table and coordinated the volunteers. Our team included Brian Betsworth (a member of Cycle26), Luke Siragusa, and Val Dodge. Constable Roger Mayers, a bicycle police officer with 54 Division, was also on hand to talk about safety and impress students (and parents, and us too) with his fully-equipped police bike.

We spoke with 70 students and their teachers and parents about all things cycling, answered safety questions, demonstrated a variety of cycling gear, and pointed out local trails, bike lanes, and parks that offer safe and fun riding for all ages.

The rainy weather interfered with our plans to hold a full-scale bicycle rodeo outside, but we plan to make up for it later this spring. Everyone had a great time and we hope to bring our show to more area schools in the future.

Special thanks go to to David Robinson, the Sustainability Coordinator at Mountain Equipment Co-op for providing bicycle bells as giveaways for the kids; Constable Joanne Theriault of 54 Division for coordination assistance; Christina Bouchard and Barb Wentworth of the City of Toronto for providing a big box of cycling handouts, maps, and posters; the staff and students at Diefenbaker for inviting us; and Brian Betsworth, Constable Mayers, and Auxiliary Constable Carrie Lloyd for helping at the event. And a big thanks to Tom for arranging it all!

If you represent a school in Toronto-Danforth Ward 29 and would like us to attend one of your events, please contact us. If you’re a cycling advocacy group that would like to be able to run similar events in your neighbourhood, ask us for more information.

Check below the fold for some additional pictures.
Continue reading 'Ward 29 Bikes at Diefenbaker Public School'»