the Velorution

Check out this link for some bike commuting 101...

http://thevelorution.blogspot.com/2007/09/bike-commuting-101-car-if-you-dont-dont.html

Back in the days of childhood, a bicycle was more than a bicycle - it was an instrument of freedom. It was all we needed to get us from point A to point B. Yet somewhere down the metaphorical road of life, we trade that bicycle in for traffic jams and soaring gas prices, thinking we are better off. The time has come to dust off the Schwinn and hit the ground pedaling.

I'm inspired to start chronicling my commute. I bicycle 16km each way through the unfriendly streets of York Region... stay tuned.

Attention Litterbugs

Make sure we don't toss newspapers or coffee cups out our car window. Every piece of litter matters, and should be avoided. Before you go thinking that buttons or gum wrappers will just get picked up by the wind or stuck deep in a bush where it won't bother anyone, take a look at this image of a Laysan albatross. What a shame and poignant reminder to tread lightly on this earth! As it turns out, your little bottle caps can end up in the stomachs of wildlife. Do you part today and make sure your garbage accurately lands in a can.

Cynthia Vanderlip, manager of the State of Hawaii's Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary, cut open the dead body of a fledgling Laysan albatross (nicknamed "Shed Bird") to find more than half a pound of plastic in its stomach. Concentrated on the right are all the items retrieved from inside the bird: Plastic lighters, bottle caps, and other plastics that are carelessly tossed often wind up floating on the ocean surface, where they are occasionally consumed by foraging seabirds and other marine creatures.
(from http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/albatross_meal.php)

Toronto Transit Map

This map contains public transit (bus, subway, street car, train, and LRT) lines for much of the Greater Toronto Area on a map provided by Google. Data for TTC, GO Transit, VIVA, Brampton Transit, Mississauga Transit and Vaughan Transit is included.
http://crazedmonkey.com/toronto-transit-map/

The Harder Way... here's a map with the proposed cutbacks

True Horsepower Transportation

from Citizens for Renewable Energy, Newsletter #47 (sept 2007)

Commuters Offered Unclaimed Bikes

Bikes handed into the police and have remained unclaimed are to be offered to commuters so they can cycle the last leg of their journey to work.

Inverness and Nairn Transport Forum said they hoped the Re-Cycle scheme will help people travelling by train, car or bus to be more active.

Northern Constabulary said the bikes to be used would normally have been sold at auction.

The free scheme will be launched in Inverness on 12 September.

Bicycles will be made available at Rose Street car park.

Commuters will have to book a bike in advance and return it after work. Users will get a code for the cycle's lock.

The project also involves Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (Hitrans).

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6971924.stm

Events

Walk21 TORONTO 2007 - PUTTING PEDESTRIANS FIRST

8th Annual International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities
October 1st to 4th, 2007

2007 sees Toronto as the host city for the Walk21 Conference.

Walk21 looks forward to visiting Toronto to meet with international member delegates. Involving visionary and influential planners, practitioners, politicians and advocates for sustainable, strong and healthy communities where people can and do choose to walk.

Leading speakers and delegates from around the world and a diversity of sectors including recreation, community development, urban and transport planning, environmental protection, safety, health, education, tourism, design and business areas are converging on Toronto for this landmark event.

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The website http://www.worldrecordwalk.ca/ contains all you need to know about the World Record Walk 2007 and Ontario’s challenge to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people walking one kilometer at the same time! The World Record Walk will be held on October 3, 2007, 12:30 PM EST.

The World Record Walk is being organized by Green Communities Canada (www.greencommunitiescanada.org) with support from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion (www.mhp.gov.on.ca).

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How Value Analysis Improves Sustainability

An informative evening session on how Value Analysis can improve project sustainability in different sectors. Presenters will highlight how the VA job plan can be used to focus on sustainability. The VA process use of teamwork & multi-lateral thinking, the ability to generate new ideas and the need to champion new ideas are some of the keys to successfully improving sustainability on real projects.

Meeting Location: Ontario Ministry of Transportation, 301 St. Paul St. (Niagara Room), St. Catharines
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Date: September 25, 2007

Hosted by the Canadian Society of Value Analysis (CSVA)

Sustainability balances social, economy, and environment

Sustainable development is all about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. This can be achieved through the three strands of social equity which recognises the needs of everyone, maintenance of stable levels of economic growth and employment, and using natural resources prudently, whilst protecting, and if possible enhancing, the environment. This can be shown diagrammatically as follows:
[source: http://www.ciria.org/complianceplus/sustainability.htm]


The Transportation Association of Canada has a similar definition of sustainability that can be found here, along with 12 principles of sustainable transportation planning:
http://www.tac-atc.ca/english/pdf/sustainable%2Denglish.pdf