Ride along with through the streets of Toronto as the creator of the You Tube channel “Toronto Drivers Exposed” points out various dangerous situations that drivers encounter regularly on the streets of Toronto.
Category Archives: All
Slow it Down!
We all know that “Speed Kills”. Excessive speed is a factor in as many as 40% of all road accidents. It’s time to do something about it, here in Toronto!
On Monday, June 22nd, the Toronto and East York Community Council will consider reducing the speed limit from 40 km/h to 30 km/h on local roads in the Toronto and East York District.
Have your say! Email your councillor or just call 311 and ask to be connected to your councillor’s office. Or come join other street safety advocates at the Monday evening meeting. If you’d like to make a deputation on this topic, email teycc@toronto.ca and ask to speak at the meeting.
Help make Toronto safer!
Complete Streets for Toronto!
The City of Toronto is developing Complete Streets Guidelines that will provide a holistic approach to how streets in Toronto are designed.
A complete street is a street that is designed to consider the needs of all users, such as those who walk, bicycle, drive, or take transit, as well as consider people of varying ages and levels of ability. Complete streets are also designed to consider uses such as the movement of goods, emergency services, sidewalk cafés, street furniture and trees.
The goal is to help ensure that streets are safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities, as well as to give people a range of transportation choices, create healthy and livable neighbourhoods, create vibrant and attractive public spaces, support economic prosperity and improve environmental sustainability.
Members of the public are invited to join the conversation and provide staff with their thoughts and input into the development of the guidelines at any of the following events:
Public Open House on June 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor St.
“Moving Conversations,” where staff will walk and talk with the public and experience streets in different neighbourhoods:
– Moving Conversation #1: June 20 at 10 a.m., with the starting point Yonge Street in front of Mel Lastman Square (5100 Yonge St.).
– Moving Conversation #2: June 20 at 10 a.m., with the starting point the plaza at the southwest corner of Dundas Street West and Islington Avenue (4743 Dundas St. W.).
The visual information panels from the open house event will be displayed at three of the City’s civic centres and at Metro Hall in June and July.
Schedule:
- North York Civic Centre (June 22 to 25)
- Etobicoke Civic Centre (June 29 to July 3)
- Scarborough Civic Centre (July 6 to 10)
- Metro Hall (July 13 to 17)
For those unable to attend in person, materials can be reviewed on the City’s website at http://www.toronto.ca/completestreets. An online survey is available to collect input, comments and feedback on the concept of complete streets. The survey will be available from June 18 through July 2.
This first round of public engagement will focus on the purpose of the project and the guiding principles. A second round will be held in the fall of 2015, focusing more on the content of the Complete Streets Guidelines.
Vision Zero for Canada?
The Swedish have done it and New York City is well on its way. Is it time for a Vision Zero campaign for Canada?
Please don’t squash cyclists
In this feature article in Maclean’s Magazine, Brian Bethune explores road-safety researcher Neil Arason’s roadmap for eliminating traffic fatalities in Canada. Explore how intersection redesign, changes in traffic laws and better cars are all needed to save lives on the road.
Road Rage & Motor Vehicle Liability
As noted in a blog post by Samantha Boyce of BC law firm Alexander, Holburn, Baudin & Lang, the BC Supreme Court has found a driver liable for negligence leading to harm, even though the car made no physical contact with the cyclist, because the driver essentially used his car as a weapon of intimidation. Could this happen in Ontario?
Why Cyclists Take the Lane
Description: John Spragge’s video shows what it’s like from the cyclist’s perspective when a vehicle passes too close for comfort (and yes, that’s a City of Toronto van in the first example!). Useful account for drivers as to why cyclists take the lane.
12 things motorists should know
From the National Post, “Ontario’s distracted driving penalties are now some of the toughest in the world, but the bill also cracks down on how drivers interact with cyclists. It also allows cities to build more types of bike lanes and it imposes tough fines on cyclists who refuse to light up their rides.”
Why is that bike in the middle of the road?
Thanks to One Gear, Two Legs and Fourteen Islands blog, check out this lighthearted cartoon that points out why sometimes cyclists need to take a lane. 
Laws about E-bikes in Toronto
The actual laws pertaining to e-Bikes in the Province of Ontario and in the various municipalities can often be confusing and not well understood by motorists, e-bike riders, conventional cyclists, or at times even the police! Here is an attempt to clarify this at least a little bit.
At the provincial level:
E-bikes in Ontario must have:
- steering handlebars
- working pedals
- an electric motor not exceeding 500 Watts
- a maximum speed of 32 km/h
- a maximum weight of 120 kg
- a permanent label from the manufacturer in both English and French stating that the e-bike conforms to the federal definition of a power-assisted bicycle
It is illegal to modify an e-bike’s motor to make it more powerful or to increase the speed of the e-bike.
You don’t need a driver’s licence, vehicle permit or licence plate to ride an e-bike, but you do need to:
- be 16 or older
- wear an approved bicycle or motorcycle helmet
- keep your e-bike in good working order
You also need to follow the same rules of the road as regular cyclists.
You can ride your e-bike on most roads and highways where conventional bikes are permitted, with some exceptions.
You can’t ride your e-bike:
- on certain provincial controlled access highways, such as the 400 series, the Queen Elizabeth Way, the Queensway in Ottawa or the Kitchener-Waterloo Expressway
- on municipal roads, including sidewalks, where bicycles are banned under municipal by-laws
- on municipal roads, sidewalks, bike paths, bike trails or bike lanes where e-bikes are prohibited
It is this last item that can be the most confusing because, while the Province of Ontario, under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, permits electric bicycles (e-bikes) to travel on public roads and highways in the Province, bicycle lanes, bicycle tracks and park paths within Toronto are governed by City of Toronto bylaws, not the Highway Traffic Act. Similarly other municipalities may have their own bylaws governing e-bikes which could be completely different.
Regarding Toronto:
In February 2014 Toronto City Council enacted changes to city by-laws regarding treatment of power-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) within their areas of control.
The changes described what they classified as two major types of e-bikes in use and defined where each type can be operated within the City. The two types defined were “pedelec” and “e-scooter”.
pedelec e-scooter
Pedelec was defined as a power-assisted bicycle which weighs less than 40 kg and requires some degree of pedalling for propulsion and cannot be solely propelled by motor power. Pedelecs are now included in the overall category of “BICYCLE” and can be operated anywhere a conventional bicycle can be ridden. This includes conventional (painted) bicycle lanes, cycle tracks, and multi-use paths.
E-scooter includes any power assisted bike that meets the federal/provincial definition of an e-bike, but does not meet the criteria above as a “pedelec”. E-scooters are now permitted in conventional painted bicycle lanes, but not in cycle tracks nor in multi-use paths.
Conventional Bicycle Lanes – Council asked that by the end of two years (Feb 2016) it receive a report outlining any observed safety concerns experienced due to e-scooters sharing bike lanes.
Cycle tracks – In the supporting documentation, the rationale for not permitting “e-scooters” was that because of the “separated” nature of cycle tracks, it would be unsafe for an e-scooter to pass a cyclist within the cycle track, and it would be unsafe in some cases for the e-scooter to exit the cycle track into vehicle traffic to pass.
Multi-use paths – Because, along with bicycles, these are shared by pedestrians and rollerbladers, it would be dangerous for the heavier e-scooters to be included in the mix.
Now the City of Toronto via the various entries on their web sites has not made it at all easy for one to understand these laws. In some cases, what is posted is either ambiguous or incorrect. Efforts are being made to correct these, but nothing happens very quickly. Here are some of the City’s web site entries:
http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/29/101000047129.html
http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/79/101000051179.html
The first two are more or less correct while the last two are either incorrect or ambiguous.
Summary
So, the bottom line is that in Toronto, a “pedelec” can be ridden anywhere a non-motorized bicycle can be ridden, and a “scooter-style e-bike” cannot be ridden on multi-use paths or cycle tracks, but can be ridden in conventional painted bike lanes.
Having gone through this entire legal maze, we should all understand that there is no substitute for common courtesy and etiquette when riding an e-bike or any form of transportation for that matter. Try to treat all users of the infrastructure with consideration and you should expect to receive the same.
This is a guest post by Fred Dilkes, organizer and founding member of the Toronto Electric Riders Association (TERA). Fred lives in downtown Toronto and rides both e-bikes (2 types) and a conventional bicycle (and is also a member of CycleTO). Stay tuned as TERA will be a regular contributor to the Street Safety Initiative.
Spring cycling refresher course
Intersection confusion can often add to the frustration on our Toronto streets. Who has right of way? CityNews reporter Pam Seatle reminds spring cyclists about the rules of the road and provides helpful advice to drivers, cyclists and e-bikers on how to be safe and courteous to your fellow road users. Check it out at 680News.com to test your knowledge.
Street Safety Initiative 