b) It is the first light east of Yonge St. (1km).

c) No daytime parking is allowed on the street, there is some night parking allowed.

d) The local businesses, all just north of Sheppard, have parking lots.

e) Willowdale Ave. from Sheppard to Finch Ave. is two lanes wide.

f) We measured the lanes to be 5.4 metres.

g) From Finch to Steeles Ave. the street is four lanes. The total width is unchanged.

h) The kill strip is empty of obstructions; therefore, handle bars can hang over the curb.

b) Extra wide lanes seem to confuse car drivers as to how close to the curb or centre line they should drive. As a result you see all variations.

c) The car traffic seems to be local traffic (people using the street to get to their side street).

d) It is not used as a through street. As you head north the traffic thins out. I was virtually alone at Steeles Ave.

e) Traffic gets very thin as you cross Finch Ave., where seemingly paradoxically the street becomes four lanes.

f) The Willowdale bus every half hour south of Finch Ave. Monday to Friday.

g) North of Finch Ave. the Steeles East bus also uses that street.

h) The buses straddle the dashed line between the two lanes.

i) The only need for two lanes that we can see is during rush hour when the people are lined up to get into the Finch Station parking lot.

1. Cyclist/Pedestrian Characteristics

a) It gets enough car traffic to discourage less experienced cyclist.

b) Cyclist will ride the sidewalks.

c) I saw some cyclist from the school in the area.

d) This street as it now exists, is much more pleasant and safe than riding Yonge St. or Bayview Ave.

e) When school gets out, there are many pedestrians, otherwise not that busy.

1. Support For Bike Lane

a) A bike lane has the support of the Willowdale Ratepayers Association.

b) Local Councillor John Filon would support the project, as would Joan King.

i) Joan King had said she thinks the street is wide enough for a bike lane.

ii) She also made the statement; "Every time I see traffic calming, I think of bike lanes.

c) Promoting a bike lane as aiding in traffic calming would probably get the other area residents onside.

d) TTC claim they need 3.2 metres while they could probably make do with 3.0, and are currently making do with less than that on this street.

e) If there is a problem installing a lane in both directions, possibly a service street, such as Doris Ave could be used to handle north or southbound traffic (we feel that it is unlikely this would be neccesary).

1. Structural Characteristics of Wilmington Ave.

a) Street goes from Sheppard Ave. to Finch Ave.

b) It is half way between Bathurst St. and Allen Rd.

c) We measured the lanes to be 6 metres wide.

d) As you cross Sheppard Ave. you hit another bike friendly street, Faywood Ave., which goes south to Wilson Ave.

i) Faywood Ave.should be signed as bike friendly.

ii) South end of Faywood Ave. is a block east of Wilson subway station.

iii) Bainbridge Ave. runs off Faywood Ave., to Bathurst Street. There you cross a lighted intersection and take the roadway into Earl Bales Park.

e) The south end of Wilmington Ave.

i) Is approx. half a km. from the Downsview subway station.

ii) Is approx. half a km. from the Earl Bales Park cycling/pedestrian entrance.

f) The north end links up with G. Ross Lord Park. and the Hydro/Rail corridor.

g) There are three school on the street; two elementary, and one high school.

1. Characteristics of Motorized Vehicular Traffic

a) Street is used as a through street. as well as a local street.

b) Not as much traffic on this street as on Willowdale Ave.

c) Car speeds vary, my guess is older drivers tend to go slower.

d) People drive everywhere in the lane, from half a metre from curb, to half a metre from centre line.

e) As a result of the above, faster car drivers seem to feel they have a "right" to pass slower cars.

f) Potential parking problem:

i) In front of the Synagogue just south of Overbrook during major Jewish Holidays.

ii) Dropping off and picking up students at the Jewish High School at Overbrook has been a problem. Dropping off is more serious, as minivans are waiting around for students.

a) As a part of the massive rebuilding going on at the school they are putting in a drop off area.

b) I was also told by someone on the construction site, that the parents had been informed years ago, that they are not allowed to park in front of the school. (Therefore, noone can claim we are taking away their parking spots).

g) Faywood bus runs every fifteen minutes during the morning and afternoon. Every ten minutes during rush hour. From ten pm to one pm the bus runs every half an hour.

b) Many cyclist use it as a through street (it is a popular street for people who work or study at York University).

c) Cyclist's ages range from children to seniors.

d) There is many sidewalk riding from school kids to seniors from the"old country".

e) There is many riding on the wrong side of the road, from kids to seniors.

f) People tell me they are suppose to ride on the left so they can see car traffic coming at them and get out of the way. They obviously see themselves as pedestrians not vehicles.

g) Many pedestrians use the sidewalk to walk to the local plaza at the mid point of Wilmington Ave.

h) There is a fair sized Senior population in the area, as well as families with small children.

b) Councillor Feldman would be very supportive of a bike lane, if it could be shown to aid in traffic calming. (Unfortunately the former North York Transportation Dept. could not be convinced that this bike lane would have such an impact).

c) I suspect the sidewalk users are all unhappy with the high speeds travelled by many cyclist on the sidewalk and would be happy to encourage road use.

1. We feel that it is important to install an official bike lane, so that you can:

a) Stencil directional arrows, and or include signage telling cyclist which direction to cycle in.

b) It would be great if signage could quote the highway traffic act, similar to the green signs at park entrances.

c) Both bike lanes could use an educational campaign. I would suggest either, a mailer to area residence, or getting a local councillor to explain how they work in their newsletter.

d) This campaign would of course be for cyclist, car drivers, and pedestrians. BIKE LANES ARE TOTALLY FOREIGN TO MANY IF NOT MOST SUBURBANITES!!

Clay McFayden,

Co-chair North York Cycling & Pedestrian Committee

Co-chair Network and Facilities Sub-committee