My last BikeBrampton signoff from Brampton

As we get closer to moving to Mattawa, I had a chance to reflect on the last 10 years of cycling advocacy in Brampton, courtesy of Dayle Laing at BikeBrampton.

On Wednesday, January 25, I joined my last BikeBrampton Zoom meeting. I said my goodbyes to colleagues and friends that I’ve spent many hours within the trenches of City Hall, trying to make the city experience a little better outside the automobile. Many of them were supportive when Toby was diagnosed with cancer. I’m going to miss them dearly.

I’ll try to make it back to Brampton when I’m able. But it could be a while before the twins are big enough to hold themselves upright and can sit in a bicycle trailer or cargo bike.


Final U-Haul truck booked.

What should be the last truck has been booked. It’s a big one — 26 feet. I was hoping to have it for a week but it seems that one-way rentals from U-Haul don’t allow this. 48 hours max, so, we’ll have to maximize staging to load the truck as soon as it’s picked up, and hit the road the next day, 24 hours later.


The end of one journey, the start of another

“Different Spokes” is the results of years of work, some of which I was a part of early on in it’s conception. It’s where I was hoping to take The Bikeport before life pulled me in a different direction.

The bicycles in this photo represent the end of an era for my family. The cruiser-style bicycle was my wife’s, before we committed to living car-free in Brampton for what ended up being 10 years. It was later passed on to my daughter. The orange mountain bike was Toby’s, and his older brother before him. Had Toby not become ill with cancer, he would probably be at the age now where we would consider sizing him up to another bicycle. A coming of age moment.

Instead, it’s the end of an era.

This photo carries a lot of weight with me: Joy and sorrow at the same time. A composition that reflects the bizarro state of my life.

I’m beyond thrilled that BikeBrampton and Punjabi Health Community Services in Brampton were able to make this happen. This is so awesome and I’m so sorry I can’t be a stronger participant in it. The people that made this happen are amazing. I’ve no doubt that Different Spokes is going to offer an amazing space for people using bicycles in Brampton.

It’s also a bittersweet moment to donate these bicycles. I still remember my last ride with #TheLegendaryToby, before his liver failed. We rode to A&W for burgers together. It’s an experience I’ve become used to in grief where I don’t want to separate from the things that belong to Toby, knowing full well that as we prepare to move, there isn’t space or purpose for keeping it. It’s better that it “live on” in another child’s possession.


Carshare Coming to Brampton

There’s some very exciting news for Brampton today: Car sharing is coming! Community Carshare is coming to Brampton in the Fall of 2014.

What is Carsharing?

Carsharing “is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use day-to-day. The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a company, public agency, cooperative, or ad hoc grouping.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsharing)

 

Carsharing adds another tool to people who want to free themselves from car ownership: Providing access to cars only when they are needed. This addresses challenges in the suburbs where using transit might be possible to get to work, but a car is still required for other transportation needs such as weekends.

What is Community Carshare?

Community CarShare is a non-profit co-operative which provides its members access to vehicles on a self-serve, pay-per-use basis. The co-operative was founded in 1998 and operated first in Kitchener-Waterloo, adding service to Hamilton in 2009, Elmira, Guelph and St. Catharines in 2013, and London in 2014.

 

Community CarShare’s mission is to deliver a carsharing service and to promote carsharing as an important component of a sustainable transportation system. Through this the co-op seeks to reduce overall transportation costs, traffic congestion and air pollution, thus improving our community.

 

Reservations for CarShare vehicles can be made for as little as 30 minutes, or as long as needed, and gas and maintenance costs are included in driving rates. By filling in transportation gaps with occasional car use, Community CarShare also helps support the use of greener transportation modes such as transit and cycling. Many CarShare members also already own a car, but supplement their driving needs with CarShare reservations a few times a week.

(http://communitycarshare.ca/about-carshare/)

 

Learn more about how Community Carshare works

 

Sign up for Community Carshare Brampton Mailing List

 

Join Community Carshare

 


Letter: A Bi-Directional Bike Lane

The following is a letter I sent to Brampton 311, Councillor Gael Miles, and Councillor Sandra Hames.

 

Hello. I’m Kevin Montgomery, a car-free resident of Brampton.

 

I suggest a pilot project to install bike traffic signals and a bi-directional bike lane to connect the Don Doan Trail to Bramalea GO Station. The specific locations I suggest for bike traffic signals are at the intersections of Bramalea Rd. at Avondale/Dearbourne Blvds. on the north and west sides, and at the intersection of Bramalea Rd. at Steeles Ave. on the west side, with a bi-directional bike lane connecting the two intersections on the west side of Bramalea Rd. Please see the map image with illustration for reference.

 

My commute usually sees me taking my bike to and from Brampton GO Station downtown. If it’s early enough (before traffic picks up), I’ll sometimes take my bike to Bramalea GO Station in the morning by way of Birchbank Rd. and Avondale Blvd. Unlike Brampton GO Station, taking a bicycle for multi-modal connectivity to Bramalea GO Station is not easily done, and especially not for the faint of heart as traffic increases. This is particularly true for northbound trips trying to leave the station during rush hour, which puts someone on a bicycle in the awkward position of trying to get to the north-east side of Steeles/Bramalea and merging with heavy, impatient, and fast-moving automotive traffic. A bi-directional bike lane on Bramalea Rd. would solve this problem for cyclists by removing the need to merge with automotive traffic at all. It would need only one road crossing on the same side as the pedestrian exit on the south-west corner of the intersection, and cut construction costs by only building one lane instead of two.

 

The problem of parking and the traffic it creates in that area could be easily reduced by encouraging people in the Bramalea area to make a healthier lifestyle choice, leave their cars at home, and take their bikes to the Bramalea GO Station by way of the Don Doan trail and nearby north-south Pathways. Installing bike traffic signals and a bi-directional bike lane would allow for easier, meaningful, and most importantly safe, bicycle travel and multi-modal connectivity to existing Pathways into Bramalea and onwards.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

 

Inline image 1

 

 


Carfree Webapp Interview


Update: Brampton Recyling Center is Bicycle Friendly!


Filing A Driving Complaint To Police

There might come a time while you’re riding, unfortunately, when you see or find yourself a victim of bullying or ignorance on the streets. If you witness or are a victim of dangerous, aggressive, or unlawful driving such as speeding, unsafe lane changes, or unsafe passing, you might decide to report the incident to the police.

In the City of Toronto and in Peel Region, both police forces have an online form that you can use to report the incident.

Filing a report  might be appropriate in instances where:

  • No collision has occurred. If the incident resulted in a collision, call the police.
  • The suspect driver is not known to you. If the identity of the driver is known, call the police.
  • The suspect’s licence plate number was obtained. A brief description of the vehicle is also required to confirm the licence plate information. (For specific driving complaint incidents).
  • There is a continuous neighbourhood driving complaint where a specific place, day(s) and time(s) of the issues can be supplied for follow-up action.

A detailed description of the incident should be submitted. Providing as much information as possible will help to make sure that action will be taken against the suspect vehicle owner. If the incident happened outside of Toronto, try filing with their form anyway. Your report may be forwarded to the local Police of the city where the incident occurred.

If you decide to file a report, you can find them at these links:

Toronto:
https://webapp1.torontopolice.on.ca/dors/hit-run.html

Peel Region:
http://www.peelpolice.on.ca/en/aboutus/roadwatch.asp