TORONTO CYCLING COMMITTEE
COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
Date of meetingTuesday, August 31, 1999
Time7:00 pm
LocationCommittee Room 3, City Hall, 100 Queen St. W., Toronto
ATTENDEES
Ms. Gillian Flower, Chair
Mr. Israel Chackowicz
Mr. Stephen Fisher
Ms. Eila Frantila
Mr. Crawford Murphy
Dr. Linda Perkin, Minutes
Ms. Marleen Van Laethem
Mr. Hamish Wilson
Regrets: Ms. Nina Koskenoja
Mr. Phil Pilch
1. Gillian welcomed everyone to this first meeting of the Communications Subcommittee.
2. Discussion of direction for the Subcommittee
1. Marleen provided a brief history of past "communications" activities of the TCC.
- Cyclometer: a 4 page newsletter put out irregularly by the TCC with articles of interest to cyclists. Publication
was suspended during amalgamation. The last edition was May, 1998, edited by Marleen.
- BUGle (Bike User Group), was last published in Winter, 96. This was not a TCC initiative, but could be used as
an example for future communications.
- Web site: Now part of the City of Toronto web site. TCC did have its own site at one time (now discontinued).
- Others: Some groups have handled their own media - for example the ambassadors do their own media
promotions.
2. The Committee discussed ways of reaching the Toronto cycling community:
- TCC publications mailed directly to subscribers
- Enclosures in TBN and other bike club mailings
- TCC articles in other bike publications e.g.: CCA, OCA, Pedal, Community Bike Network, Detour publications
- Stickers on city bike rings
- Flyers left on bikes
- Web site links
- Posters in transit bus shelters and other places
- Bike events e.g. Ride for Heart
- CAN BIKE alumnae
- Community newspapers
- speakers to community/cultural groups
3. Possible activities for the new Committee:
- Cyclometer
- TCC Web Site, part of City site and/or separate TCC site
- Outreach Flyer for cycling information: advertising TCC activities, City contact numbers, web sites of interest to
cyclists etc.
- Other media activities e.g. posters, radio, TV etc.
Two of these options were discussed in greater detail:
1. CYCLOMETER
The committee felt that Cyclometer should be revived. A print version should be published 4 times per year: Feb. (for the
March bike show)
May (for bike week in June)
Aug. (for back-to-school)
Nov. (for the winter months)
The first issue, perhaps smaller than normal, will be published Nov. 1999. It will focus on the Cycling Master Plan to
inform the public about the Plan and request feedback.
Other suggested topics for future issues:
The new structure of TCC: post-amalgamation
Toronto's fall to #5 cycling city in North America
how to reach staff, cycling info, politicians
list of staff and job descriptions
new bike laws
Issues: budget? staff availability?
II. Web Site
The web site will contain Cyclometer, and additional information/articles and will be updated more frequently. The
committee discussed having a site separate from the City site; this will be investigated.
3. Future Meeting Dates:
The committee decided that future meetings will be held on the Thursday following the TCC committee meeting. Future
meetings are scheduled for:
September 23, 1999, 7pm
October 28, 1999, 7 pm
November 25, 1999, 7pm
There will not be a December meeting.
Action Items:
Short term:
- Gillian will speak to Barb, Dan and Sue to get more information about how Cyclometer was published in the past and
what staff and budget were involved.
- The following recommendations will be made to the full TCC committee:
- Communications Subcommittee should receive the budget for Cyclometer.
- Communications Subcommittee should take over the web site and/or develop own web site.
- Communications Subcommittee requires a budget for its activities.
- Communications Subcommittee requires dedicated staff.
Longer term:
The Subcommittee will speak with other bicycle groups about their communications activities, to learn from them and
perhaps partner with them. The following groups were suggested: ARC, TBN, NTBC, OAC, Pedal, Detour publications
