Cycling at the Speed of Life

This morning I participated in a "Ride for Change" bike ride through Vaughan organized by the Deb Schulte Campaign to show support for cycling. Deb has a history in athletics and is very pro-cycling. She would like to build a city that includes everybody, including cyclists - whether they cycle for transportation, or for leisure. Deb is one of 13 municipal candidates in the upcoming Vaughan election who have so far taken the Active Communities Pledge to show their support for making Vaughan a bicycle friendly community.

An article in the National Post on Saturday, July 24, 2010 entitled "Gridlocked in Suburbia" noted a recent MoneySense survey that ranked Vaughan dead last out of 179 Canadian cities in the category of "walk or bike to work", relying on Statistics Canada data that found less than 2% of the population used either method. The City of Vaughan and York Region need to get moving with implementation of their bicycle master plan.

York Region is planning to issue a bike map in 2011. I have taken the liberty of starting my own online cycling map of Maple. The green lines are good cycling routes, yellow take caution, the red need improvement, and I've also added some comments about pedestrian issues at various locations.

Vaughan certainly needs better pedestrian and bike infrastructure: a network of sidewalks, pathways, and bike lanes that take you anywhere you want to go. It's not a war against the car... it's about getting more people on bikes. It is too often treacherous for those who choose to travel in Vaughan by bike or two feet. Pedestrians and bicycles should be considered in all future road planning, and not just leave it up to the developers to decide. The 4-lane McNaughton Rd extension that was built a few years ago, which passes the Maple GO Station, was clearly built with only the car in mind. Also the Teston Road / 400 interchange that I rode through today.

My favourite part of the ride today was seeing Keele Street teeming with bicycles on both sides of the street. Amazing! Perhaps, some time in the future, Vaughan will be like that every day. The culture will have to change, and it starts with our City's leadership. Until then, I cycle on, and I can't help smiling along the way.