Today's Headlines

[joe]

I'm going to start posting the latest headlines here for your easy clicking. :) Also available on the BikingToronto News page.

[joe]

Globe: Riding out the housing market

Real-estate agents are ditching their suits and cars for helmets and bikes. The payoff? Eco-minded clients love it - plus the workout doesn't hurt

[joe]

Post: Stilettos on wheels - Cycling goes chic

"A different type of cyclist is emerging - a cyclist who is not concerned about sport or how many gears they have on their bike but who simply wants to get from A to B, and look good doing it," says 29-year-old London cycle-chicster Caz Nicklin, who started cycling in the English capital little more than a year ago and quickly became frustrated by cycling's "geeky image."

Post: A bicycle (route) built for you For the next two weekends, as coordinator of the Tour de Greenbelt, Hastings-James and a number of volunteers will be leading guided bike tours through this expanse that stretches from Niagara to Cobourg and as far north as Tobermory. There are four routes in total -- one per day each weekend -- and each ride highlights a different area of the Greenbelt.

Globe: Montreal rolls out bike-sharing plan Paris has Vélib, Barcelona has Bicing, and as of today, Montreal will start to showcase its own European-style bike-sharing program with a fetching name: Bixi.

Star: 'Raging granny' upset by bikes on sidewalks A place for everything and everything in its place. That's the philosophy of Frances Cooper, who says sidewalks are for pedestrians and bike lanes for cyclists. The twain should never meet.

[Svend]

Good feature Joe, thanks for collecting biking stories in the media for us.

[joe]

No problem Svend. Just trying to bring more attention to them. :)

[joe]

Post: How mayors got to work yesterday

Ms. McCallion set the standard for car-free day by donning a helmet and riding a simple blue bicycle marked with a licence plate reading "Mayor 1" to work. The 87-year-old Mayor said the seven-kilometre trip, from her home in Streetsville to the Mississauga Civic Centre, was "thoroughly enjoyable."

[joe]

CityNews: Airport Access And Bikes Lanes Play Huge Role In GTA Future

"The second big move is the creation of a region-wide network of bicycle lanes," outlined Rob MacIsaac of Metrolinx. "Walking, cycling, roller blading and other mobility devices" could all use the routes, he expanded.

Star: Kenk trial delayed In a brief court appearance this morning at Old City Hall, the accused bike thief was awarded a six-week adjournment so his attorney, Lon Rose, can review the thousands of documents involved in his case.

Torontoist: Sharing Bikes as a Public Good With the right number of bikes at start-up—Boyce suggested one thousand as a bare minimum, but the audience thought five thousand was a more attractive number—and a network developed to follow (and expand upon) Toronto's existing bike infrastructure, a bike sharing system could easily succeed here.

Star: Metrolinx unveils massive transportation fix Metrolinx hopes to spend $500 million on building 7,500 kilometres of on- and off-road bike lanes. It also wants a series of transportation hubs around the region to make it easy to transfer from one mode of transportation to another.

Star: $50B transit plan would improve GO, TTC There are about 100 projects in the plan. The key aspects include: An integrated cycling and walking network with more than 7,000 kilometres of dedicated cycling lanes.

Spacing: Sidewalk cycling in the burbs As an arterial street where car is king, Dundas forces suburban cyclists to make this decision: peddle on the sidewalk or compete for space with vehicles doing 70km/hr in the darkness of the overpass. I've stepped aside for many cyclists in this area. Pedestrians and cyclists share sidewalk space – I don't think too many walkers begrudge them for taking this route. It happens along other parts of Etobicoke countless times a day. I'm sure there are complaints and safety concerns about having bikes on sidewalks, but I'd wager that in a region of the city where cars are the preferred method of travel, pedestrians and cyclists are on the same side.

[joe]

York Region: We're great place to walk, cycle, award says

If you like getting around on two feet or a pair of wheels, York Region is the place to be. Our region has been named as one of Canada's best places to walk or cycle.

Sun: Bike-theft suspect gets 8-week breather The lawyer representing infamous bike dealer Igor Kenk won an eight-week break in court proceedings yesterday after saying he's yet to see any evidence from the Crown's case against his client.

CityNews: Alternatives To Viva For York Region Commuters There are lots of bike lanes and paths in York Region and it's good exercise in decent weather, but cycling down Yonge St. can be a pretty scary proposition at the best of times. It's a good way to reach the TTC and there are now bike racks on many Red Rocket bus routes.

[Andrew]

Joe, I read the same article about York in my local newspaper last night. I think they headline is a bit misleading. It should probably read "We could be a great place to walk, cycle" as the master plan is fairly new, and as far as I can tell nothing substantive has actually been done.

That said, the less traveled country roads are great to ride on. Too bad I can't use them to ride to work ;)

[joe]

Star: Sometimes biking is just the ticket - to the tune of $110

It was the morning rush and I was on the sidewalk on King St. W., a U-lock in my hand, about to secure my bike to a post in front of my office. The "hey, you" startled me. The "you just broke the law" was incomprehensible. In all the years I had been cycling on the streets of Toronto – more than 30 – I had never been stopped by a police officer

[joe]

Star: More than 100 cyclists protest arrest

One cyclist was arrested just after the start of the demonstration for obstruction and several traffic infraction tickets were issued. Staff Sgt. Brown of 52 Division says that the tickets are nothing out of the ordinary. However, cyclists feel that police presence during the rides has become increasingly aggressive.

[joe]

Post: Gayla's bike snaps pictures

Gayla Trail no longer takes the quick route when she runs an errand on her bike. The 35-year-old author and photographer goes out of her way to ride through back alleys and side streets so her bike can "see" the downtown Toronto landscape. It is all in service to the camera attached to the handlebars, which takes a photo every 60 seconds and instantly uploads them to a personalized Flickr account.

Newswire: Settlement Contributes $231,922 to local transportation i... Toronto Community Foundation is distributing $231,922 to local initiatives as part of the latest settlement in a longstanding class action lawsuit ... and have identified transportation as one of the key issuesimpacting quality of life. Over the years we've witnessed trends and concerns involving commuting times, access to public transit, gridlock and traffic congestion. We've done our research and these grants will be distributed in order to maximize impact on the quality of life in Toronto."

Eye Weekly: Kill a cyclist, pay $110 What if I told you that you could kill a man — or a woman or a child — for the low cost of $110? No jail time. No criminal record. No other fines or fees. Quite a bargain, huh? And you may not even have to pay that much, if you successfully challenge the penalty in court. The offer is not gonna get any sweeter than this. I dare you, find a better deal. Kill a person, pay $110, move on with your life.

[joe]

Spacing: Toronto Cyclists Union Survey

The Toronto Cyclists Union is taking a survey of its members and Toronto cyclists in general to get a picture of biking conditions in the city — the more representative it is of all riders, the better the results