Bicycle activists in Toronto are fed up with the city government. The city has spent less than half of the money earmarked for putting in bicycle lanes, and is 2 years behind schedule. Cajoling the city has not had any luck, so they have decided to take matters into their own hands. They have been painting their own bike lanes onto the roads in an effort to make the city sit up and take notice.

“The shop owners on Bloor said they thought it was the city staff painting,” said Rick Helary, manager of road operations in Toronto. He says the total cost of the clean up was $1973.74. This is a small price to pay, says the Repair Squad’s ringleader, a man in his late 30s(members of the group asked their names not be used). “The city is taking way too long. There is no need for this. Why don’t they just paint the bike lanes? People are dying.” The most recent cyclist killed in the GTA died earlier this month when he collided with a garbage truck on Bayview Ave., near the 401.

I am not sure how much good this will do, but I hope that it works and that they stop doing it soon. It is interesting to see people complaining that the city is not spending enough money rather than that they are spending too much.

Portland has some pretty good bicycle access; quite a few of the major roads have bike lanes and there are more slated to be painted in the next few years. The trick is convincing drivers that bikes have a right to be in the road, and convincing cyclists that they need to follow the rules of the road.

(Source: The Toronto Star)