miltoncancon

The 2014 Ontario Bike Summit

As a representative of the Milton Cycling Participation Strategy (CPS) Committee, I was invited to attend the 6th Annual Ontario Bike Summit in Toronto this past week. The two-day event was attended by local cycling advocates as well as municipal and provincial government representatives from across the province. The Bike Summit is organized by the Share the … Continue reading →

Ontario Legislation Good News for Cyclists

Omnibus legislation to result in safer roads for all users  “Keeping Ontario’s Roads Safe Act” fulfills recommendations from 2012 Ontario Coroner’s Cycling Death Review (TORONTO – March 17, 2014) – The Share the Road Cycling Coalition today welcomed the tabling of the “Keeping Ontario’s Roads Safe Act” in the Ontario Legislature as an important step forward … Continue reading →

Exploring Milton’s Trails by Bike

A few months ago, I decided to take a bike ride. I’d been riding on and off for a few years, but usually just short rides to and from work or the grocery store. This was different. It was a lovely summer evening, and the heat of the day had dissipated to the point where … Continue reading →

Come Ride With Us!

Starting Wednesday, July 25 we will be holding weekly group rides. These will be easy-paced, casual rides in the cool of the evening, exploring Milton’s trail system. Cyclists of all levels are welcome! For our first ride we’ll meet up at the front entrance of the Milton Sports Centre, then make our way east, then … Continue reading →

‘Cycling in Halton’ Maps a Disappointment

http://www.halton.ca/activetransportation

I was excited to read that Halton Region had come out with an updated cycling map for our area. I confess, I hadn’t really looked at the old one, but surely with online mapping technologies like Google Maps we would now see a really useful tool for cyclists.

What a disappointment.

Not only are the maps rudimentary and poorly labelled, they are in PNG format is basically just a picture. The map for South Burlington for example shows a simple loop that goes along Lakeshore Blvd, up Burloak, and then diagonally south west along… a street? a trail? If you don’t know Burlington well, you’d never guess from this map.

The map for central Milton is even worse, as it suggests that you ride the entire length of Main Street. Of course, anyone who lives and rides here knows that even before underpass construction made the middle section of Main Street completely impassable for cyclists and pedestrians for the next three years, the narrow road lanes and treacherous trail/sidewalk on the south side made it one of the worst cycling routes in town.

The Region is asking for feedback on their 

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The Velodrome moves forward

I must admit, when I heard that Milton was looking to build a Velodrome for the 2015 PanAm Games, my first thought was “Monorail!” The whole thing sounded like an enormous white elephant – another orphaned Hamilton project championed by certain Milton councillors as a way to garner headlines, much like their ill-advised flirtation with … Continue reading →

Notes from the London Bike Summit

In 2006, OPP Sgt. Greg Stobbart was struck and killed by a truck while cycling on Tremaine Road, just south of Main. The truck driver had had his license suspended five times before the accident, owed $14,000 in driving-related fines, and yet he was only sentenced to 100 hours of community service and told to … Continue reading →

Milton Cycle Network in the News!

Great article in the Champion today, with an interview with Milton Cycle Network founder Bogdan Kowalczyk (much better than the awful “bad hair day” clip of me in that piece on CHCH last week, I think). So, what do YOU think about this velodrome idea? Great for promoting cycling, or money better spent elsewhere? Cycling … Continue reading →

Metrolinx Program Encourages Kids to Walk or Bike to School

Metrolinx has implemented a pilot project called ‘Stepping It Up’, which hopes to educate kids, teachers and parents on the benefits of active transportation, and help them to take steps to remove barriers to kids walking or biking to school. Given the childhood obesity rates and the number of cars we see jammed in and … Continue reading →

Cycling in Posh Style

I would have loved to have made it down to Toronto this past weekend for Tweed Ride Toronto, an event which combines two of my favourite things: bicycles, and neo-Victorian fashion. Despite the somehow appropriate drizzle and competing events such as Occupy Toronto, the Ride was a smashing success, with at least a hundred wool-clad … Continue reading →