The PenOpticon

Woke up on National Clean Air Day, took a deep breath and gagged on the humid grey sludge that passes for air in these parts. I briefly considered keying every Hummer I could find, but wussed out and hopped on the VIVA to get to work as per usual.  I guess I shoulda cycled. When the weather is warm, I try to get on the bike and huff the 17Km to work, but on days like June 6th, every breath felt like sucking a lung through a meat grinder. Besides, the bike was already at work, left there from the previous day's commute. So VIVA it was — a prompt and uneventful trip.

In any case, I did get on the bike around noon and cycled over to "Getting Vaughan Moving", an event/photo-op showcasing VIVA buses, carpooling, car sharing, electric scooters, Segways and every other mode of land transport that does not involve single occupant 4-wheeled vehicles.  I was hoping to get some interesting pictures of people on Segways, balancing on scooters, etc, but there were so many cameras clicking, I spent more time drooling over fancy DSLRs instead of taking many of my own.

It's good that the region is finally getting serious about smart commuting, but the fact that the event was held in a parking lot, and the fact that very little of the official speechifying could actually be heard (due to the din of an adjacent freeway), makes me question the motives of the whole thing. After all, the reason we have a transportation problem is because the will of the federal government, the province with the complicity of many local politicians has lead to a cancerous rate of growth and development in York Region. While the politicians preach "intensification", the GTA continues to sprawl and scrape its way toward Lake Simcoe and beyond.

In reality, we do not have a transportation problem or an energy crisis. What we now have is a population that is out of step with the full spectrum of resources needed to keep it healthy and productive. As we race to replace our best farmland with Walmarts and subdivisions, we depend more and more on Chile, China and other countries for the food we eat. We depend on a supply chain that grows longer, more complex, more expensive and more precarious with each passing year. Could we do things differently?

I like to think so. We work to control growth and conserve valuable resources (including water and farmland), we can effectively engineer abundance. We could learn to live well within our means — but only if we take the trouble to fully understand what we mean by "our means".

In the meantime, we're told to accept run-away growth and intensification (1.6 million people in York Region by 2031). The politicians smile and say never you mind the numbers. Just get in the Smartcar, take a spin on the Segway. Mill about on the steaming blacktop and chow down on the free greasy burgers. 

Shall we all just smile and get with the program? 

Donna Cansfield,  Ontario Minister of Transportation boasts about how much money Ontario contributes to the region:

Vaughan Smartcar Photo-Op-Mobile:

Suit on a Segway

Getting Vaughan Moving (can I move somewhere else?)

"Now mind you, people make mistakes" is what Fredericton Judge, Graydon Nicholas, told a packed courtroom after sentencing Peter Leon Howe to two years "house arrest" yesterday. Howe's crime? Last July, he killed a 22-year-old cyclist and left him dying at the side of the road.  Howe had consumed a case of beer and half a bottle of whisky at a party. He was smashed out of his mind when he refused an offer to stay over with a relative, got in his car, and ran down Robbie MacRitchie, 23. What a sad, unnecessary tragedy.  A drunken, irresponsible idiot, gets to walk away after snuffing out the life of a young man who was minding his own business — and being kind to the planet — by cycling. So what if it was Howe's first offense!  Anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car after consuming that much alcohol must have been practicing and honing his "skill" for a number of years.  This may be the first time Howe has killed someone, but it seems likely — and lucky — that he simply "missed" on earlier drunken outings. Of course, that's pure speculation on my part.  Maybe Howe never had a drink in his life and just decided to test his limits last summer. Regardless, "house arrest" is a ridiculous sentence.  But what should we do this people like this?  I'm just writing from rage over such a stupid crime and sadness for the MacRitchie family. As for me, my body aches from a couple of days cycling to work. I was going to bus it today, but I'm going to pedal anyhow. See if I can spin some rage into a little joy. And remembrance.

A week ago or so I was bemoaning the loss of a bike lane - an 18-inch strip of pavement that made commuting by bike feel a little safer. Well, it seems I’ve been asleep at the switch. In truth, I’m not allowed anywhere near the switch, but I must have been sleeping ’cause I missed the fact that a number of GTA regions are currently conducting “Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan” studies. As part of this process, the Town of Markham has added 100 Km of urban bike/pedestrian trails over the past year and has plans to connect most schools, libraries and community centres. More power to them. This contrasts with the City of Toronto’s grand plan to add 1000 Km of new bike lanes and trails. With a budget of over 2.5 million dollars, the city managed to add one — yes “1″ — kilometre of new bike path over the past year. Perhaps Toronto City officials are spending too much on the three “C”s: Conferences, Computers and Catering?

In spite of my previous gripes, things may soon get better for cyclists north of Toronto. York Region, is apparently coming to the conclusion that it is not healthy to cede absolute control of the landscape to roads and automobiles. Development in this region has proceeded so quickly that there are areas where walking (never mind cycling) is all but impossible. The Region has now taken a baby step to fix this problem by unveiling its own Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan Study. This was introduced to the public at the end of May, but it is still early days, so it is possible to get involved. If you happen to live here or have cycled the Region’s glacier-made, rolling countryside, then you can provide direct feedback through an online survey.

It’s too easy to be cynical about efforts such as these — especially when you live in a region where the developer has reigned supreme for so many decades. But an expanded network of bike lanes and bike/pedestrian paths is just too important for this region to allow for cynicism. In any case, there are a few reasons to remain optimistic. Cyclists are known to be unusually stubborn and persistent and they rarely give up. Consider the number of Canadians and Americans who cycle coast to coast each year. Or consider the recent attempt to break the world cycling speed record in Casa Grande, Arizona. The recumbent bicycle is the preferred human-powered vehicle for these races in which top spinners sustain average speeds of over 80 Km/hour. The world record-holder, Sam Whittingham, is Canadian from British Columbia and the proprietor of Naked Bicycles, “a custom bicycle and accessory fabrication company based on Quadra Island, B.C.” Are you lobbying for an expanded network of bike lanes, Sam?

We’ve had too many bicycle deaths this year in the GTA. On Tuesday evening, Sgt Gregory Stobbart, a 45-year-old police officer was killed while cycling north along Tremaine Rd in Milton. He was struck by the side-mirror of a dump truck, knocked into a ditch and later pronounced dead at Hamilton General Hospital. Our hearts go out to the Stobbart family.

We talk about “smart commuting” and even set up pretty websites for the purpose, but cycling is essentially an afterthought — or a photo op — when politicians look at ways to ease urban congestion and smog. Society-at-large has almost zero interest in sharing roads with bicycles. Two years ago the city of Toronto trumpeted plans for a dramatic expansion of cycling routes in the city. Last year the city actually added just one kilometer to the system. My own route takes me south on what was a two-lane+bike lane, tree-lined section of Dufferin Street. To make way for gigantic housing developments, they have widened the road to five car lanes (turn lane in the center) and removed the dedicated bike lane that had been in place for the past dozen years or so. Progress, eh?

The Star’s reportage of the latest cycling death is tinged with grim irony: “The 30-year-old Grimsby man who was driving the truck was not injured.”

Really?