Thread by @LdnOntBikeCafe

Alright, finally have some time to wrap up what went down at Cycling Advisory Committee this month (Wednesday Sept 18 meeting). It was a "fun-filled" evening as you may have seen in the news over the past couple day... here we go 👇🚲

First item on agenda was a staff report from Transportation and Parks showing planned developments over the next four years. It largely follows London ON Bikes plan (available here london.ca/residents/Envi…), and contained no surprises. 2/n

We also received an update that the Cycling Master Plan is up for review and update this fall. We struck a working group to review the CMP which will report back next month. 3/n

The next item for discussion was planned Adelaide Street Road Widening from Fanshawe Pk Rd to Sunningdale Rd. I have so much to say about this, but said little in the meeting because it's mostly pointless to discuss with people who believe their jobs depend on road widening 4/n

In 2019, there is no justification for expanding any road for motor vehicle traffic. We're in a climate emergency, and any kind of "business as usual" approaches do not apply. Expanding roads + induced demand = incr. GHG. All widening must stop. wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-t… 5/n

The question "why is the road being widened" was asked by @ct_degroot, to which staff offered "because it is needed for increased development in the area". That's fully unsatisfactory, and just means "we'll keep sprawling until forever as long as I keep my job". 6/n

@ct_degroot The @CityofLdnOnt has $45M in unallocated road widening (read: slush fund) budgeted from 2020-2025. Exactly zero of that fund should *actually* be spent on road widening in a climate emergency. 100% of that money should be re-purposed to Active Transport and Transit. 7/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt Sorry I should clarify (darn you edit button) it's $45M PER YEAR, so $225M in total dedicated to road widening projects at discretion of staff. That's not just waste, that's an obscenity on today's planet. 8/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt Beyond @ct_degroot's great question, there was some discussion. Mediocre boulevard pathway style bike lanes with multiple driveway crossing are planned (like what currently exists on Adelaide from Kipps to just north of Fanshawe Pk Rd). 9/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt It's hard to get excited about new bike lanes on a road widening project. Here, we're going to spend $5M on widening one block of this one road, more than we've spent on safe bike infrastructure in the city in the last 5 years combined. 10/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt We followed the discussion on road widening into planning new buildings, and the need for bike parking. The funky automated car parking in the "super green" West5 area came up, of course, no dedicated bike storage anywhere on site. 11/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt After some discussion, it was clear that we needed some more general information on bike parking & zoning before we could make informed decisions, so I requested that staff provide a summary of bike parking requirements for various types of buildings so we can comment. 12/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt The end of the meeting got a little tense at times. We started discussing technology to measure 1m passes (radar, cameras, cool tech that should be used by planners to test their designs, and by police to enforce). Then Sgt. Harding (our @lpsmediaoffice liaison) arrived... 13/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice After Sgt. answered that @lpsmediaoffice has not started to investigate enforcement of the 1m passing law, the chair of our committee asked Sgt. to comment on "The Blitz" cbc.ca/news/canada/lo… 14/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice I don't envy having to defend @lpsmediaoffice on this, but Sgt. Harding did a good job explaining some of the background. The Blitz was actually *requested* by the Transportation Department through the London Road Safety Strategy document, not @lpsmediaoffice instigated. 15/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice After his brief explanation, Harding fielded questions and comments from committee members, which were unanimously opposed and somewhat incredulous that this was even a program. Thanks @GerryDewanCTV for covering (except Vision Zero doesn't mean 3E's!) 16/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice @GerryDewanCTV I am quoted as being dismayed over the approach (that's true), but what was missing from my quote is the discussion about vulnerability - how an 8 year old child on a 20 lb bicycle doesn't have the same responsibilities as a 40 year old man driving a 2000 lb truck. 17/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice @GerryDewanCTV Virtually every cmte member spoke. Equity. Safety. Infrastructure Investment. Distracted driving. Race and privilege. How blitz is deterring people riding. There was hardly a topic left uncovered. Which is good, b/c a blitz targeting the most vulnerable is a *terrible* idea. 18/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice @GerryDewanCTV There were several members of the public present. @CharlesDeschen1 spoke to the need for safe street design, and the real problem, which is motorists driving heavy cars too fast and ignoring road rules. Thanks to all who attended, it was meaningful to have so much support. 19/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice @GerryDewanCTV @CharlesDeschen1 After all of the @lpsmediaoffice 'excitement', we were running short on time, so we deferred the rest of the agenda until next meeting, and adjourned. We have a *ton* of work to do before October (especially those of us on the working group reviewing the Cycling Master Plan) 20/n

@ct_degroot @CityofLdnOnt @lpsmediaoffice @GerryDewanCTV @CharlesDeschen1 This is the end of my update for this month. Next meeting is Wednesday October 16th at 4PM - hope you can make it! Until then, see you on the streets. 🚴‍♀️❤️#LdnOntBike #LdnOnt