> August 26, 1999
>> Roger Macklin 392-2526
> Supervisor Edward Gardens
> 755 Lawrence Ave. East
> Toronto, ON
> M3C 1P2
>> Dear Mr. Macklin,
>> I am writing about the decision of the commissioner to prohibit bike riding up and down the access trail between
Edwards Gardens parking lot and the Don Valley Cycle Trail. I am a frequent user of Toronto' recreational trails and was
very disappointed that this decision has been taken, even if temporarily.
>> I understand that the decision was made in response to a nasty collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian last year and
to a few complaints by pedestrians about some close calls with bikes. My position is that the banning of all bikes because
of one accident is an unfair penalty to the thousands of cyclists using the trail safely.
>> As a percentage of the tens of thousands of trail users over a summer, one accident (in two years) is infinitesimal.
Virtually all cyclists are using the trail without incident. If a road has a section perceived as dangerous, we don't have the
drivers get out and walk, though we may warn them by signs: "Steep Hill" or "Twisting Road" or "Watch for Pedestrians".
Bikes riders though are just ordered off their transport. There tends to be an instinctive assumption, a kind of unconscious
prejudice, that cyclists are wild and dangerous, but that is unjustified. With proper warning, some riders might dismount,
but that should be their choice.
>> If a motor vehicle driver causes damage through negligence, he may be sued civilly or criminally depending on the
circumstances. It is hard to justify though making all drivers suffer for his negligence. While agree that the party
responsuble for the accident at Edwards Gardens should bear the consequences, I strongly protest that I am made to pay by
losing a regular cycling route that I have used safely for years.
>> When we spoke, you mentioned that one solution you were proposing was to use Leslie for the last 500 metres south of
Lawrence (on the map it looks like about 1 km). I strongly object to such a solution. Leslie is a six lane road designed for
motor vehicles. I try never to ride on such streets. The exposure of cyclists to fast moving cars is more dangerous with
more dire consequences than pedestrians being exposed to cyclists. It goes completely counter to the idea of the trail, which
permits cyclists the rare joy of being away from the threat of vehicles. Also, by exiting at the parking lot, cyclists can, from
Banbury or Blain, make their way, via Talwood, or the trail just south of it, and Scarsdale all the way to York Mills without
ever being on a busy street. Then with the exception of crossing the tracks on York Mills, the cyclist can continue safely
north, mainly on park trails all the way to Steeles. Please don't add a kilometre of dangerous street riding to this wonderful,
safe north-south route from the Lake to Steeles.
>> In short, we live in a society which in the US alone tolerates c45,000 deaths annually on its roads, without closing them.
We have fatal accidents regularly on the Windsor-London-Toronto corridor, and daily accidents on the 401 and other
Toronto roads, but it is not deemed necessary to close them. There is one accident involving a cyclist though and that
section is closed to cycling traffic. This is an unwitting form of bias against cyclists and an unfair penalty to the vast
majority of us who are careful riders.
> I urge you to reconsider the commissioner's decision and to reinstate the section for riding, and not truncate the
otherwise uninterrupted trail from the Lakeshore to Edwards Gardens.
>> I wish to clarify that, though I am the co-chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee as I mentioned, this letter expresses
my view as a citizen only. The matter has not been taken up by the TCC which meets next at City Hall in late September. I
wish to thank you for the time you spent with me on the telephone and I sincerely hope that an acceptable solution can be
found.
>>> Yours very truly,
>>> STEPHEN FISHER [Image]
CC:Nina Koskenoja <nsavalon@idirect.com>, Marleen Van...
