From: Todd Lawrence Parsons by way of IsraelChackowicz <parsons@math.toronto.edu>

To:"Mary Casini" <mcasini@toronto.ca>

Date: 10/5/99 1:04pm

Subject: Request to present at TCCC meeting

Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

Content-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.95.991005142057.1540552D@coxeter.math.toronto.edu>

Hello,

For the past several months, the Community Bicycle Network (CBN) has been engaged in the preliminary research and fundraising for our Community BikeShare Project. BikeShare is an initiative to bring community bike sharing - in the spirit of Copenhagen's Free Bikes or Portland's Yellow Bikes - to the streets of Toronto. The CBN feels that it's now time to reach out to other champions of cycling in the city, and find potential partners in the BikeShare Project. It is with this end that I request an opportunity to make a presentation to the Toronto City Cycling Committee on behalf of the CBN. Is it still possible to speak to the October general meeting? Otherwise, I would be very happy to speak in November.

I have attached to this email a one-page summary of some existing bicycle sharing initiatives and our vision for BikeShare. I hope this will be enough to engage your interest. We see bicycle-sharing as a unique way to promote a cycling culture in Toronto, and hope that the TCCC will find our vision equally appealing.

Yours sincerely,

Todd Parsons

CBN Board Member

Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII; NAME="Share.txt"

Content-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.95.991005142051.1540552B@coxeter.math.toronto.edu>

Content-Description:

 For several years now, free community bikes have been an essential component of public transportation in many European cities, including Copenhagen and Paris. The bikes are available at "hubs" throughout the city where they are utilized for short trips by citizens and tourists alike. After usage, the bikes are returned to their pick-up point (or to any other hub) where they await the next cyclist.

More recently, volunteers with the non-profit organization UCAN, based in Portland, have introduced North America to bike share initiatives, but with an exciting twist: all of Portland's "Yellow Bikes" are recycled cycles.

Bikes that were destined for landfill are collected, repaired, and returned to the streets. Much of the "re-cycling" work is done by at-risk youth, retirees and the financially disadvantaged, some of whom are volunteering with UCAN, while others are paid through human resources development initiatives. UCAN's model has been so successful that it has been imitated across the United States. Austin, Bellingham, Boulder, Denver, Fresno, Olympia and St. Paul all boast bike-share programs similar to Portland's Yellow Bikes.

The Community Bicycle Network (CBN)'s Bikeshare Project aims to build upon the successes of these programs to bring community bicycles to Toronto.

Such a program would greatly improve the livability of our City, by encouraging residents and visitors alike to choose the most efficient, quiet and emmissionless mode of transport available. We have considerable experience in bike recycling and in community economic development. Our recently completed Mentoring Cycle program was an extremely successful partnership with Youth Services Canada (YSC) and Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) to provide valuable, marketable skills to at-risk youth. Our vision is to work together with YSC, HRDC, the City of Toronto, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, the private sector and other community groups to spearhead bike-sharing in Toronto, simultaneously providing training and employment opportunities for young people.

Together, the CBN is confident that we can take the next step forward in public transit and help make Toronto the first Canadian city to become a community bike city.