Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Alison Stewart from Cycle Toronto: Toronto Mike'd #1364

Episode Date: November 10, 2023

In this 1364th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with the Director Advocacy & Public Policy at Cycle Toronto Alsion Stewart about biking in Toronto. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1364 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future

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Leaf Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making her Toronto Mike debut, is Director Advocacy and Public Policy, that's a mouthful, with Cycle Toronto, Alison Stewart. Welcome to the program, Alison. Thank you, Mike. Happy to be here. And I can vouch for the fact you really did ride your bike here. Yes, I rode the company car, Zig, an e-bike. Okay. I've never ridden an e-bike. How much pedaling to e-ing is there in an e-bike like that? Well you still have to

pedal. My legs still got a good workout even though biking against that wind along the lake shore it certainly made it a lot easier. That's a Bob Seger song you know that? Against the wind. Yes. He wrote it actually after a bike ride on the waterfront trail by Lake Ontario. Well that is amazing.

Well that's not true. I made that up. Please don't share that fun fact because I made that up but you want to know a wild coincidence? So earlier today, so we're talking now it's like 2.30 p.m. This morning, I rode my bike from where you are now in Southern Etobicoke to the Walrus, which is not actually a Walrus. It's actually like a magazine. So I rode to the Walrus to deliver a veggie lasagna from Palma Pasta to FOTM Jennifer Hollett. Amazing. I live just around the corner from the walrus.

Okay. So my route I took, and then I'm curious, I just want to know what route you took here. And we're going to have a great chat about cycling in Toronto. And if you don't give a rat's ass about cycling in Toronto, you should still listen. Like, there might be some fun involved, and if you don't listen, you're missing out. But okay. I took the Waterfront Trail,

because we're pretty much right on it right now. I took it east to Parliament, and then I took Parliament to Richmond. That's the way I got to the Walrus. What route did you take to get here? I took the Lakeshore trail but how did you get down to the lakeshore trail like what what artery did you take to get uh south to the lakeshore trail I took Richmond to Strong and then King to Shaw and then down by the Princess Gates.

Okay, Strawn. So, fun fact. Jennifer Hollett used to work at Twitter. Their head office was King and Strawn. Did you know that? I did not know that. Okay, here's another fun fact. Since this is all about,

you thought it was about Alison Stewart. It's actually all about Jennifer Hollett. But I said to her, because she's the reason we hooked up. She said, you should talk to my friend Alison. And I said, I would love to. I bike 365 days a year in this city. I would love to talk to you about all things cycling in Toronto. And then I said, oh, Jennifer, how do you know Alison Stewart?

She said, like, maybe you tell the story. How did you meet Jennifer? Well, I actually met Jennifer from a posting in Kijiji. At the time, I was renting my spare room to help pay my mortgage. And lo and behold, I met the marvelous Jennifer Holland. Did you say, oh, I recognize you from Much Music? I did not. All right.

So that's wild. She was looking for a place to rent in the city of Toronto. And she ended up, basically, that means you live together. Absolutely. Okay. I think that's a mind blow right now, how FOTMs came together here. Okay. Now that title, did I get it right? Director, Advocacy and Public Policy with Cycle Toronto? Yes, you did. That's a big title. I feel like that's an important role. How long have you had that title? I have been in this role since April 2022. You know, that's not that long. It's not that long. I feel like, wasn't that last week?

No. It feels like last week, but it also feels like several years ago. Okay. And you're comfortable? You're ready for a good hour chat with me? I am indeed. And you're an Allison. I took note of this.

I'm very interested in the different ways to spell Allison because off the top of my head, I can think of three or four. And you are... You're the 1L Allison. Absolutely. The right kind. That's the Allison that's name-checked

in this Elvis Costello song. 1L. Yes. Were you always proud that, you know, those 2L Allisons are like, that's name-checked in this Elvis Costello song? Absolutely, yes. Were you always proud that those two Al Alisons are like, that's not really your song. This Allison absolutely is one L. Well, to be honest, I never thought of it that way. More of the fact that the one song out there that has the name Allison is kind of a depressing song.

A depressing song, but a good song. And what percentage of music is good? Well, that is very true. You could have had a mediocre pedestrian Elvis Costello song, but you have what could be, arguably, maybe his greatest composition. That is very true.

And certainly it gave Allison some kind of prominence before it became as popular as it is today. I wonder if younger Allisons have one L because of Elvis Costello. I think there are more two-Led Alisons, the younger versions. Oh, they're getting it wrong. Okay, we'll let Elvis take us 30 seconds in,

and we'll bring her down here. Oh, Alison My aim is true My aim is true. My aim is true. You know, he's my Elvis. I know there's a lot of Elvis Presley fans out there, but I'll take Elvis Costello over Elvis Presley. Do you have an Elvis preference?

Like you, I would go with Costello. Because he wrote a song called Allison. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, I accept no other answer. Okay. So that was a fun fact with Jennifer and the fact that I delivered her a vegetarian lasagna because when she was here, I only had meat lasagnas in the freezer. But as we speak, Allison, I actually have a vegetable lasagna and a meat lasagna.

So the first hard-h hitting question has nothing to do with cycling, but I need to know now what's your preference. If I were to give you a frozen lasagna from Palma Pasta, it would be vegetarian. You've got it. I feel like I need an applause here. You're getting, uh, you're getting, uh, vegetarian. You've got, so I've got one vegetable lasagna, the freezer, everybody, and it's going to you, Allison. So you're taking that home with you today. Oh, that's amazing. And you'll be biking that home, which is impressive to me.

We both did the same bike ride, just opposite ways. Yes. Because I was at, again, I was at Parliament in Richmond earlier today to see the walrus and see where they bake the cake over there. I got to say, I saw a tweet from you and I'll read it verbatim here. You wrote, I'm looking forward to chatting with a fellow cyclist. Sorry, I'm butchering your tweet.

I'm looking forward to chatting with a fellow cycling enthusiast about the freedom and joy biking brings as well as the necessary infrastructure and support needed to make biking the normie thing to do. So that's kind of the premise. We're going to cover a lot of ground. I have a bunch of notes. But tell me, how did you end up at Cycle Toronto? Like, who were you pre-Cycle Toronto and how did you end up with this very interesting title there?

Well, previously, I'll go back to, I first began my journey working for Cycle Toronto in 2013 when I started volunteering for them on the grounds that I was trying to turn my budding road rage and frustrations of being a daily cyclist on Toronto roads into a positive experience and effective change. a positive experience and effective change. Fast forward to 2021. I had completed my master's. I have a master's in public policy and administration and law. It's a mouthful. And I had, after the pandemic, I was looking for to do something that I really enjoyed and that I was passionate about. I had previously worked at York University for four years in partnerships development, government relations role. And when the former executive director, Keegan, approached me to see if I would consider working for the organization because the previous advocacy manager was running for the municipal election in 2022. I said, okay, why not? Let's see.

I would love to help Cycle Toronto through this period of change. And fast forward to I started as a senior advocacy manager. And then when Keegan left to pursue a different career, I became the interim ED to help the organization move forward with my co-partner, who is now the ED, Michael Longfield. And I now support him as the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. Okay, awesome. Now we know a little more about you, how you ended up with Cycle Toronto. But for us normies out there, what is Cycle Toronto?

What is this organization? Like what's their mandate? What's up with them? And that means what's up with you? Well, Cycle up with you well cycle toronto really is a member supported charity that seeks to help toronto become a vibrant equitable cycling city for as many people as possible and that is exactly what we try to do so like i mean obviously you're doing a bit of it right now because here you are speaking to many Torontonians, you know, and that's part of your gig there. But, like, does Cycle Toronto organize, like, rallies and protests? And, like, do you guys have a voice at, like, city council meetings?

Like, how do you guys get the message across? So we do a lot of things. We do it through our education and awareness programs, things like our Get Lit stations, which, for example, in October, we give out free lights to cyclists at night because, shockingly, 50% of cyclists do not have lights at night or early in the morning, which is very scary. Please, please, if you're going to ride your bike, you need lights. And at this time of year, I noticed you got to put those lights on at like 4.30 p.m. Like it's crazy right now.

Absolutely. Like don't leave home without your lights because you never know when you'll need them. On the advocacy side of things, we organize all sorts of events, whether we're giving deputations on, or sorry, workshops on how to depute and how to get involved at City Hall and engage with your local councillors. We organize, you know, protests or rallies if we are wanting to make a point or we support others in the community that are organizing rallies. Some of you out there may be familiar with the biking lawyer who is a really strong advocate and was one of the main organizers behind last year's rally in High Park.

Yeah, I got questions about that. So this gentleman's name is David Shellnut? That's correct. And is he part of Cycle Toronto? He happens to be a member of our board. Okay. So yes. But he's also a big part of the cycling community.

Okay. Now it's interesting when I had the Toronto's bicycle mayor, okay. Lannerick Bennett Jr. There was confusion online with whether I had the mayor, the bicycling mayor, or did I have the bicycle lawyer? Like there was a little confusion and they're two very different people doing different

things, but both advocates for safer cycling in the city. Absolutely. Okay. And this David, again, I've never met this David guy, but I did get a note. Like when I said, Alison Stewart, it's like, would you talk to David? And I said, yeah, I talked to David, but he's a good guy. Like he's a great guy. You will, you should absolutely have him on.

Okay. Okay. but he's a good guy like he's a great guy you you should absolutely have him on okay okay so throughout this hour or so i'm gonna be peppering you of questions but i just want you know it can be a two-way street like because you are i do oh my god i i shoot you what i kill no i do legitimately every single day maybe there's like a handful of days and a calendar year that i can't get out there but i'm on toronto trails and Toronto streets and Mississauga trails and streets every single that's not even a brag. It's just a fact like this is like my medicine. And if I skip a day, I don't feel right. So I literally just work it into my calendar where I don't skip a day.

So today, and this has been a rule I've had for 11 years, like if I can bike somewhere, I don't take the car. I don't even take the TTC. 11 years. Like if I can bike somewhere, I don't take the car. I don't even take the TDC. I bike. So if I can bike. So when I realized I had to make a delivery to the Walrus, I basically look, where are you?

Oh, you're Richmond and Parliament. Like no problem. That's bikeable for me. That'll be, that'll take care of my daily ride. So if you have any questions for me whatsoever, I'm just saying you can, don't,

don't be shy. You can, you can spit it into the microphone. Okay. Well then as a, as someone who bikes every day, what is your the favorite your best? Your best success? Like what do you enjoy most about that? And what do you dislike most about that? Okay. Well, I love many things about it. So okay, where do I begin here? I firstly, it's like my exercise, okay, because I love to here? Uh, I, uh, firstly it's like my exercise. Okay.

Cause I love to eat pizza and I like to drink great lakes beer and, uh, I would be three, 400 pounds maybe, but I burn a lot of calories on my bike. So there, there's the physical. And it also, I also found I wasn't tired at night. Like I was kind of wired at 11 and then I realized if I did 90 minutes, like that's kind of my target every day. If I do 90 minutes of cycling, I actually at about 11 PM when I'm lying in bed, I'm tired. Like it's like, this is like a natural medicine basically to help me sleep is that I'll do the 90 minutes on a bike. So there's a physical benefit. There's also absolutely a psychological benefit, like something about just even in,

in the two days ago, we had the cold rain. So I always say, I don't mind cold. I don't mind rain. I don't like it when they're together. Like I don't like that three, four degree, two, three, four degree rain. Like I don't like it. So I'll sometimes shorten my rides, but I still get out there. And there's an absolute mental benefit to cycling for me where, uh, I will solve all my problems on a bike ride. Like I'm my problems on a bike ride like i'm really smart on a bike ride like i kind of it's like a meditation so there's absolutely a huge psychological benefit like i feel better psychologically i feel better like mentally when i do my daily ride so we got physical we got uh mental benefits i gotta, I do like the idea that like there's no carbon footprint at all. Like

when I cycle, no fossil fuels required whatsoever. Like I do enjoy the fact that there is an environmental benefit to it, but that's not the main reason I do it, but it's definitely important to me. And last but not least, I got to say, I like the idea that, you know, if you maintain your bike and I have a few bikes and I maintain them, it's a very economical way to travel. Like, yeah, once in a while you got to replace a tube you've popped or you got to make an adjustment here. And if you crash your bike, you might have some problems and you got to fix up your bike. But absolutely good for the wallet.

So it's good for the earth. It's good for the wallet. It's good for my mental health and it's good for my physical health. Why wouldn't I do that exactly and also you the one additional benefit that many of us get from biking is the social aspect okay you know you get to speak to that because i don't think i'm getting any of that right now because i'm a solo cyclist like it's uh sometimes i throw on a podcast and uh sometimes i'm listening to jams and i I do dig that feeling, but that's not social. Tell me about this social benefit I'm missing out on.

Well, when I'm biking around day to day, it's easy for people to see me, and I can hear them, right? So, oh, hey, Ali. And one of my favorite bikes is La Banane, and so I dress her up with flowers or Halloween. And so people will stop, ask questions if they're not my friends. And even just- Is that a banana? That's a banana.

That's French for banana. That's French for banana. Okay, and I have a banana right here. That's a coincidence. That's awesome. Okay, it's like a prop. But I got a question about this banana, but you continue that thought and then I'll get to this question about your banana bike there.

Well, because when you're biking, people, one, you tend to be happier. You're out and about. You're experiencing the environment. You get to see things and enjoy the communities. And I don't know. I always, I'll talk to people. Okay. So, you know what?

I kind of get you on part of that. Like, so they're absolutely, I like the idea that I can, I can stop and take a picture and I can check something out. Like I totally see the city differently when I'm on a bike than any other. The other day I was at Horseshoe Tavern to see a concert with Art Bergman, FOTM Art Bergman. And on the way back, I saw something was going on at the Rivoli. Like I'm on my bike, I'm on Queen Street and I can see cameras in the room and I kind of stopped. I pulled over and I take, I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Like it's very late at night.

It's like midnight. There's a whole camera thing going on at the Rivoli. It turns out Neil Young was doing a private show there that night and that was all for Neil Young. And it's like that's the kind of stuff you can kind of like soak in when you're on a bike versus, you know, jumping in a car or whatnot. So I get that part of the social. I don't personally, do you

bike with people? Like do you do group rides where you're maybe chatting? Like is this literally a social endeavor for you? It sometimes is. I do it all. But for example, and actually, I'm going back to Jennifer Hollett, six degrees of.

I think we're down to two degrees, I think, of Jennifer Hollett. That's true. That's true. So year two, I think, of the pandemic, we discovered the group, the Toronto Cruisers. And so on Wednesday night, these joyful people

get together. We meet at the corner of Huron and Bloor at 8 o'clock and we ride into the evening with our bikes lit up and lights. I like that. It's super fun. Highly, highly suggest that you join us come

mid-May when they come back. Okay, wild. I'm missing out on some more benefits here. Chris Drew, you didn't mention the banana bike, I think, by name, but Chris Drew says, what's your favorite local shop and why that's next to a bike lane slash cycle track? What's Chris alluding to there? Not entirely sure. He was asking what your favorite bike shop is and if it's on bike infrastructure.

Okay, so do you have a favorite local shop for repairing your bicycle? Well, I have been going to Cycle Solutions on Parliament since 2000, so they're kind of my people. They take really good care of my bikes but i also like visiting urbane cyclist and sweet peets they have some pretty sweet accessories sweet peets got sweet stuff yeah absolutely okay i love i'm digging you're here i think in the history of this podcast which is now at episode 1360 something i think this is the first cycling episode and it's wild considering every

day I've had a podcast I've gone out on a bike ride. So I'm glad you're here. And Chris Drew, I want to shout him out because I've met him at TMLX events. We have these Toronto Mike listener experiences and Chris has come out. So Chris, hello to you. I know you're listening and I hope you can make TMLX 14

on December 9. That's like a little less than a month away and we're gonna all collect from noon to 3 p.m at palma's kitchen in mississauga so you're invited allison and anyone jennifer is invited everybody listening come to palma's kitchen in mississauga december 9th for tmlx 14 you'll get palma pasta you'll get beer fresh craft beer from great lakes brewery and there'll be a pandemic friday reunion so there you go chris i hope to see you there and i hope to see you there allison absolutely that sounds like fun okay so many places i want to go how does toronto do like from a high level how is toronto with regards to cycling infrastructure in 2023?

Like, how are we doing? Are we, how are we doing? You tell me. Well, I take a positive approach. I think the city has come a long way, especially since 2008, where there was just, what, 200 kilometers of bike lanes. Fast forward to today, we have roughly almost 650. Wow.

The city is making huge progress. And for example, in 2018, Cycle Toronto had the minimum grid campaign, which was to really have a connecting, connected grid of bicycle lanes in the core. And fast forward to 2023, we have that. And we are now looking to expand that grid out to the inner suburbs and also improve the quality of that grid. So ultimately, people like criticizing Toronto. Often I'll hear people say, well, we're not Copenhagen or we're not Amsterdam. And it's like, well, no, we're Toronto. And aren't we lucky?

Look what we have. I mean, now when I started biking in Toronto in the early 90s um there were no bike lanes that I ever came across it was just Martin Goodman trail pretty much and then unless you were doing like a Humber trail or a Don Valley trail like you had those were the three big ones I remember anyways from the 90s right but if you're living and working in downtown toronto and you need to get around you literally it was me and the the the bike couriers and a few of the um you know elderly asians that you know were riding around with their groceries um we've come a long way we've come a really long way but how much further, really, like in our utopian future of Toronto and bike infrastructure, like how much further do we have to go in your humble opinion?

Well, for example, if we're looking at it the big picture, currently just 4% of Toronto's streets and roads have some form of cycling infrastructure on it. So in an ideal world, I would say that should be 80%. But one day at a time. So right now what we're looking to achieve is to bring that 4% up to 20%. And over the next three years, we're right now advocating and working with the city and hoping to see the new cycling network plan be doubled to 200 kilometers of new cycling infrastructure over the next three

years okay so you've got these targets okay now i'm gonna get like kind of specific here and again my brain always naturally and i think all of us are like this you think about your backyard like you know toronto's a big city, okay? Yes. Shout out to FOTM Mark Carey. One day we decided we were going to bike the peripheral, like the perimeter of Toronto. So the Toronto proper, the 416.

We were going to bike it. That was a long bike ride. Like it was, you know, it was quite the experience. Toronto is massive. And I always think, okay, I'm in Southern Etobicoke here. And I always think if I have to go East West, I happen to be blessed. I consider myself blessed in the city that I'm on the waterfront trail. Like if it's go East and West, I'm, I've got that handled. So I always, I'm always thinking kind of, uh, uh, North South. So to be very specific,

and I think I'm talking to the right person here. If I need to go north from here, I know that Islington and Kipling are cycling shit shows. Okay. Okay. This is what I know, but I know Royal York is where I'm going to end up on. I'm on Royal York all the time. That's my north self, but,

and I want to sing this to the great song. Tears are not enough. Okay. Paint is not enough. Okay. You can co-op that if you want. Okay. Uh, paint is not enough. Okay. You can co-op that if you want. Okay. But,

uh, Royal York has a line of paint and that's where I ride in that line of paint. And I, uh, like, what are your thoughts on paint as a bike lane? Paint doesn't protect you. Do you want to sing it? I do not want to sing it. I am not a bike lane. Paint doesn't protect you.

Do you want to sing it? I do not want to sing it. I am not a good singer. Paint is not enough. It is not enough. Honestly, that's one of the things where we would love to see is that in addition to seeing 100 kilometers

of new cycling network, that we see 100 kilometers of our existing network, which consists of just paint um be upgraded so that it does become separated and thus safer for people to ride because paint is not enough paint's not enough and then okay so i mentioned you know kipling and islington and i'm a guy i literally today because i did something on queensway and i came down and i took Islington down. Like, I actually personally don't mind it.

But I'm thinking of my kids. I'm thinking of the less confident. This is not fair to them. I'm always thinking, let's get more people on bikes. So the good bike infrastructure gets more people on bikes because they feel safer. I'm pretty sure at the Walrus today, I think Jennifer introduced me and said, I had biked all the way from South Etobicoke. And I think the gentleman said something to the effect of, is that safe?

Like one of those things. And I'm thinking, okay, okay. There is no north-south from where we are sitting right now. We won't get too specific on where that is. But where we are in South Etobicoke, yes, I can get to rural York, and then they have the painted bike lane that'll get you to where are you getting up there dixon and then rural york disappears but there's not a lot to the west here like there

actually is i don't know if i lived further west do i have to get my butt all the way east to rural york just to have a fairly safe way to go north from here like there's a there's there seems to be these these gaps all over the city and again i say this and we're going to get into more specifics but i know most of the city doesn't live on the waterfront trail okay so absolutely where are these north south arteries for cyclists well that's they do tend to be more located on the east or east side so to your, there are a lot of gaps, and we're hoping to improve those over the next few years. But for example, Ward 3,

under the leadership of Councillor Amber Morley. Okay, we prefer to refer to her as FOTM Amber Morley. FOTM Amber Morley. Under her leadership, I think that's a great opportunity for Ward 3 to start expanding the cycling routes and create some north-south routes,

as you mentioned. But also, there are many people that live along the waterfront and that people are coming into the city, including food delivery couriers that come from Mississauga, even some as far as Hamilton, that are riding that Martin-Gubbin Trail throughout the night, which is unlit.

And that connection going over the Humber Bridge, while today, for example, it wasn't very busy, but for most part of the year, it's overly congested. And that's your only safe crossing over the Humber from down here. Right. Of course, there's a lot of people taking photos on that bridge. Okay. You've got like newlywed couples.

I see so much like photography stuff and pros and stuff. I don't know if they need a permit. I don't ask those questions. I just bike through. But yeah. Okay. Now you're in my backyard. So much ground I want to cover here.

So I'm going to just get to questions throughout. And again, I'm going to ramble here and there. But I'm glad you shouted out Amber Morley, our counselor, because I'm a big fan. And you actually, I think, yeah, you tweeted we need more women like Counselor Morley in leadership

positions. I did. So she's got a good, so far, and she's still only a year in, I guess, but she's off to a great start. In your expert cycling in Toronto advocacy and public policy opinion. Absolutely. So for example, at council yesterday,

she brought forward a petition that 10,000 people had signed calling for revisiting the bluer street bike lanes in etobicoke and she stood firm to say that she's listening to people but that she wants the city to you know continue implementing the lanes to give it a chance to get used to them and that really for all the development that's taking place in her ward, it really is important to build for the future and create as many complete streets

to make it safer for all, give people transportation options. So that was great leadership. Okay, let's talk about the bluer bike lanes because I do catch rumblings. My mom lives very close to that bike lane and she'll tell me like, oh, the traffic, she's kind of like kind of sour on it because the bluer street is down to one lane basically for the cars, the automobiles.

And this causes, you know, slower commute times and traffic for them on bluer street. But so my, I want to hear your thoughts on this. I have ridden it from High Park to Aberfoyle and I freaking love it. I'll be honest. I love having this Bloor bike lane I can take from High Park to Aberfoyle. But why are motorists so angry about the Bloor bike lane? When I would look at the city, and I do drive as well, I'm not, you know,

I have a driver's license and an automobile I can drive to, and I do. But why can't they just drive on like Dundas or Queensway? Like there are a lot of east-west arteries without bike lanes on them. Well, I think generally

change is difficult. Motorists, because they've been so used to having and owning the bulk of our public roadways, get a bit proprietary. But the real question is, well, a route like Bloor, for example, it has one of the two subway lines that we have in Toronto. So really the question is, if we really want to prioritize

public transportation and active modes of transportation and keeping people mentally and physically fit and really decluttering our roads of single car use occupancy, which would free up space and time for emergency services to get around as well as, you know, business vehicles. And really, what car drivers don't seem to realize is that they're traffic. Right, right. Okay. So the Bloor bike lane, I mean, you and your position, I know you're a big advocate for the Bloor bike lane. How far west will it end up when it's all said and done? How far west is that going to go well it will go to six points in etobicoke and then hopefully it will continue going west to connect to mississauga so i love it

okay i love i love that option there uh shout out to fotm jerry howarth who has a lane named after him right where they cleaned up that six points a few years back which by the way they did a great job do you remember what that was like vaguelyaguely. I avoided that area like the plague. Well, I went to high school near there. And in fact, okay, I went to this Westwood Theater that was there. It's long gone now. I think they're building condos like everywhere else.

But the Westwood Theater, I went there to see the Disney cartoon Robin Hood. Do you remember the Fox was Robin Hood? Do you have any memory of this? Vaguely. And there was like a Brewster would play like a mandolin or something and sing. Did I drop acid or something else?

I have these memories. Those are your memories. Those are not my memories. All right. I feel like I'm Dr. Melfi here. Let's talk about this. Okay. But anyway, the Six Points spaghetti,

whatever it was, was ridiculous. And it was awful for cyclists. It was just terrible. And now it's really, really good. Like, it's like they just fixed it. Like, we can do that. We can see that, hey, this doesn't make sense. We can fix this.

And that's a good example, the Six Points area. And it's also a good reminder that we can we designed our roads and cities the way they currently are so we can also redesign them to be more effective and efficient based on our current needs okay so the bluer bike lanes aren't going away right they just got here and i like them they're gonna stay right yes promise well i can't promise anything but yes and soon i'm gonna ask about this high park bullshit too but uh wait were you gonna say something i heard the uh you were gonna say something no i was swallowing a laugh about the high park thing okay well i'm gonna get to

this high park bullshit because i'm in high park a lot my i'm in high park a lot and i want to talk about that flying orange had a question okay why is there no plan to have a bike lane on either queen or king so i'm reading it as it came in and i i just biked queen to go to the horseshoe tavern and i was in a bike lane so am i is it just parts of it have no bike lane like what would you say to flying orange oh i i and king had a bike lane too didn't it why do i know king was designated to be a transit priority route to prioritize transit, which has since become a little disused or rather not enforced,

so cars are not following the rules. Right. I would love to have bike lanes on Queen because there's an example of a high street which is jammed with streetcars, it's jammed with pedestrians, it's jammed example of a high street which is jammed with street cars it's jammed with pedestrians it's jammed with cyclists and it's jammed with cars um it is not currently on the map because it's not part of the major route map okay so right now there are no bike lanes on Queen no why do I uh where were the hell where the heck was I

why do I okay I of course you would know you're that's your job but you probably bike on Queen because you want to be on Queen because there's all sorts of great destinations on it I I guess wonder what uh east west street I'm confusing Queen with that I feel like I was on when I last Friday I went to the Horseshoe Tavern as I mentioned and I bike there because I bike everywhere because for 11 years Allison I asked myself one question for everywhere I have to be. One question, can I bike it? This is a rule I made for like, it's just a black and white rule.

Can I bike it? And if the answer comes back, yes, it's non-negotiable. And I don't care about weather and anything like that, unless it's like we're actively in a blizzard and I'm like, you know. But typically, I'm like, if I can do it, I do it. So interesting. Okay, no bike lanes on Queen or King. But there is a bike lane on Bloor.

Yes. Right. Okay. So in this neck of the woods, closer, like I say, let's say Etobicoke for a moment here. The, before the Bloor bike lane, where was the, and when you're north of where we are now, which is Waterfront Trail. So it goes without saying, this Waterfront Trail is amazing and I love it. where we are now, which is Waterfront Trail.

So it goes without saying, this Waterfront Trail is amazing, and I love it. But if you were north, like many, many, many Torontonians are, what was your safe east-west biking artery before they put bike lanes on Bloor? There wasn't one, right? There wasn't one. There was maybe Harbord. Eglinton.

Or Harbord. Well, that doesn't even go this far west. Well, no, that's true. It stops at like, it's way, way, where does that stop? Way, I want to say near Dundas. It starts, like where the Chocolate Factory is, where the Sterling is. But that's way east of here, like where you are now

in lovely Etobicoke, I know. But I think it's Eglinton. Like I think literally, I think, and this is the guy who does bike a lot, but doesn't necessarily care of his bike infrastructure. I think you had Eglinton in, we're in Etobicoke now. You got Eglinton to the north and you had the waterfront trail

to the south. And I don't believe there was anything in between that you could ride without being, you know, with the cars and buses and trucks. Well, there's the Humber Trail, which connects from Eglinton

and takes you down. Yeah, but that goes north and south. That's true. Okay, look, Alison, you're in the big leagues here, okay? You know, I'm telling you, I can, what is it uh what art bergman said to me i can go down every rabbit hole you have i'm here all night here yeah humber trail is wonderful i just went to vaughn for this event called screamers it was a halloween event and i took mostly humber trail and i was thinking

this is amazing tough at night though because i have the light and i'm like yeah it was like scarier than streamers, okay? So north-south, there's the Humber Trail here and it's great. And there's actually, they're going to fix it up because there's a gap

and they're fixing it, but through Marie Curtis Park, you can go along the Etobicoke Creek and there are some spots where you have to get off it because it kind of sucks and you couldn't do it

the whole way, but there is a nice lane along Etobicoke Creek and they are fixing that part near Shireway there okay i digress but i don't believe there was anything east west in this neck of the woods that uh that existed between eglinton and lakeshore so it only made sense to add these bike lanes to bluer yes and also because they already they extend from the downtown right like it went it went to, it go to Shaw. It went to, it was a bottom line is now it'll go all the way.

Like you said, it's like Aberfoyle now. And then eventually six points. And then. And then eventually it'll go all the way out East up to Kingston road, up to Scarborough golf club road. Why do you think there's such animosity from many motorists in this city against, you know, cyclists? Well, I think it's because people have gotten so used to being catered to and, for example, being given close to free parking. And so when you are building complete streets, which not only provide separated and protected bike lanes, but also improves the pedestrian environment, we have limited space. So sometimes that is going to require reducing a traffic lane or parking, or maybe sometimes both. Okay. I mean, I sense it. Like I shared a story with this not so secret FOTM group yesterday that I

once was riding in that, that paint we talked about in rural York. Like I was riding in the bike lane and a guy in a pickup, I guess he had to wait for me to cross before he could turn. And he opened his windows and he told me again, if you have the children in the car, but get off the fucking road was what he yelled at me. And I remember I yelled back,

I'm biking, I'm going, where would you like me to go? And then did he say the sidewalk? No, no. Oh God, no,

that's my pet peeve. No, no adult should be riding on the sidewalk. But yeah, I mean, that was me in a bike lane. That wasn't even a non bike lane street. So there's,

there's absolutely, there's a percentage of motorists out there who would just like us off the roads. Absolutely. And I just think right now people are particularly impatient. And for some reason, you know, when you're in a position of power, and in this case, it's when they're in their big trucks or SUVs and they're comfortable in their carcoon,

they think that they have the right of way. And it's frustrating. And to your point about riding on the sidewalk, I would just like to say that, you know, when you do see an adult riding a bike on the sidewalk, it's often because there's no safe infrastructure. And so, for example, if I'm occasionally biking out west or by islington or yeah i can see why somebody would be frightened to ride their bike on kipling or islington

especially because this is where even i am like i need to be smart and careful here where the exchanges to the uh the gardener oh. And then when you get north of the 401. So cars start to amp up and to get onto the highway. And you're, you know, you're on the right of the street going, let's say you're going 22k an hour or whatever, some people less. But yeah, now you've got to kind of make sure you get left so that people can, you know, start to build up. They're going like 80, 90k to get on that highway. Yeah.

And even when they're coming off of it, even for example, Richmond and Adelaide, which both have protected bike lanes, you've probably experienced it yourself, when you're at Parliament, cars are either ramping to go on to the off-ramp, or they're coming off of it. And if they have a green light...

I experienced that today, absolutely. You've got to have some confidence out there, which is why a lot of people need improved infrastructure, which is where you come in. Absolutely. You got to have some confidence out there, which is why a lot of people need improved infrastructure, which is where you come in. Absolutely. And that's so through our advocacy. So one, it's, you know, trying to build support in the community, like talking to residents associations and BIAs, as well as, you know, getting our supporters up and writing emails and building relationships in their community and also talking with local councillors and city staff

to try to find solutions, right? Okay, but Alison, when the King Street pilot was kicking off, there was a lot of restaurant owners saying it was going to cost them business because you couldn't drive and park out front or whatever on King Street. Like, so how cooperative are the BIAs when you try to, you know, get rid of these parking spots and put in a bike lane? Well, it also depends on the BIAs. So for example...

What are the good ones? I want the good ones. Well, the Annex, for example, has a really good Bia where they understand the value that having um bike lanes how much it impacts business in a good way so for example one of the things that um i think should happen more often is the city should be able to pull moneris data because that's really how you you know with data you can prove that well hang on a minute you're are shop owner. You are overestimating the volume of your customers that are coming to you by car versus the volume of your customers that are coming on transit, on

foot, and on bike. I'm glad you said the M word, okay? Moneris, did you know, Alison, that they have a wonderful podcast called Yes, We Are Open and season five is dropping now. The host, Al Grego, will be here soon to kick out jams tied and season five is dropping now the host al grego will be here soon to kick out jams tied to season five episodes but he travels the country and collects these

inspiring stories from small business owners and entrepreneurs like like like you and i and then he shares these stories with us through yes we are. And I just want to urge people to subscribe and listen to Yes We Are Open from Moneris. Well, I did not know, but that's great. And so you should ask him about some of the data on the people that use Moneris along routes that have bike lanes. I'm going to take a no right now, Alison. Are you kidding me?

Yeah, absolutely. Love to talk Moneris with Al Grego, who's very happy. Their HQ is Islington and Bloor, so you can have a nice, easy bike ride there on the Bloor bike lanes. Absolutely. It's right there, Islington and Bloor, I'm telling you. Shout out to my brother, Steve. That's okay, I'm passionate too about cycling,

and I'm always knocking things over. I had on this program Sylvia Tyson, but she's 83 years old so i didn't make her come in the basement i thought that might kill the poor woman so we did a remote and i'm chatting her up and then i learned her son was in a band called look people with james b and i had actually like her son is on the cover of this album and it was over here and i got so excited so i went to get it and then i knocked over everything and then i listened back to this episode and then periodically I'd hear crashing in the background. Like as things came down

Wendell Clark came down, Stu Stone and Jamie Kennedy's blowing up came down, Brian Linehan came down, my phone thing came down, like everything was just crashing down. So crash away there, okay Allison? And how's this going so far? I want to take your temperature now.

Now we're warmed up. Should we start the episode sure and I can tell people that when you arrived I didn't want to talk to you because I I want to learn everything on the show and now that I thought about it Allison you said a nice thing and I shut you down and I said Allison Stewart shut your mouth and save that for the podcast. And this is your opportunity. Mike, you are an excellent interviewer. But is that true or are you just warming up the host here? No, it's absolutely true. And one of the things that is really enjoyable about your podcast,

which I actually discovered thanks to Jennifer Hollett, is there are natural conversations. No editing in. You can vouch for this now that, oh my goodness, everything I said on that mic was recorded and he did not edit it. Oh, you know what I forgot to give you? You'll like this. We talked about Moneris having a great podcast. You can listen to that podcast and your jams with this new wireless speaker from Moneris. They want you to take that home with you. Oh, wow. That's generous. Thank you very much. It's very good audio too.

You'll be impressed. Awesome. Get a big sound out of that. I can hang it from my bike. Yeah, absolutely. And you can, it from my bike yeah absolutely and you can uh what kind of music would alice and stewart listen to on a bike ride if they were blasting out of that maneras speaker there alice and stewart listens has a different playlist for every ride um you know depends on the day depends on the mood i did put together a really fun playlist for cycle toronto's big tor Bike Ride. Every song was about biking. Would this be on that playlist? Yes. Yes, absolutely.

But it wasn't the first one. There are lots of other ones out there. Name check some if you can here. I love hearing what people are listening to. Oh, no. You know, maybe you have to give me the whole list, but maybe one more. And you can cheat.

There's bicicleta, like from around the world So Shakira has a song Her hips don't lie Her hips don't lie Yves Montand is a Frenchman Has a classic called A Biciclette Which is a really cheerful song That makes people smile when you bike by Are you from Quebec originally?

I'm not, I'm from Guelph, Ontario Okay, because you have a good accent I do, I lived in France when I was young. Okay. I have an ear for it, not because I have a terrible accent. Even in English, I sound terrible. But my kids are all fluently bilingual, and I can tell which of my kids have the accent right and which don't.

And shout out to kids number two and three, which have wonderful French accents when they talk French. But you know what's a wonderful accent? Right? Language is meant to communicate. So we need... It ain't this one, Alison. I'm waiting for the bell,

the bells. You know, you mentioned you come across cyclists who are biking in the dark without lights and that's no good. But do you find some cyclists that are out there without their bells or their horns?

Less so, yes. People like using their bells. Well, I'm just setting up this moment here. Let's listen. It's really the definitive bike jam, right? I feel like this is the, for English songs anyways, this is your go-to bicycle race. Kraftwerk has a song called Tour de France.

Oh, I will add that to my playlist. Okay, since we're doing this here, okay, I'm glad we're talking here. I also have... That is on my list. Okay. Yes. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bicycle Song.

Yes. to the funky beat of James Brown and his dancing feet. I'm gonna set your fish on fire, Mr. Whipping of Desire. So please do not resist your fate. I'll pick you up. Yes, it's a day. How could I forget to mention the bicycle is a good invention sitting there in a silent movie beside the only girl who really ever knew me happy days but sad to face him heaven knows i'm on the case so how could i forget to mention the bicycle all right there you go.

There's another go-to jam. And you know, there's also one from Pink Floyd called Bike. Okay. Are you going to return at some point, not to kick out bike songs, but to kick out Alison Stewart's favorite songs of all time?

That would be fun. Okay, that's the correct answer here. You can't be like, no way am I going to do that. Okay, well, let me drain the swamp's the correct answer here you can't be like no way am i gonna do that okay well let me drain the swamp on the bike songs here i rode my bicycle past your window last night it's really a roller skating jam but they reference biking in this song so So, shout out to Melanie and Brand New Key. Is this on your playlist? It is not, but it needs

to be. Well, that opening line, come on. Yeah, it's a great song. Melanie's still tours. I still hear oh, she's coming to Hugh's room or whatnot, but catchy as heck. Yes. Alright, now that I've kind of Catchy as heck. Yes. All right. Now that I've kind of played some songs, we've relaxed,

I'm going to shout out one more podcast you can listen to with that new speaker you got. And then I'm going to ask you about what the heck is going on with what happened with Hyde Park. And we're going to talk about Hyde Park, a West End park. I'm in all the time. But Allison, whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, The Advantaged

Investor provides the engaging wealth management information you value as you pursue your most important goals. So you're going to subscribe to, I hope you're taking notes. Yes, we are open for Moneris. And then you're going to subscribe to The Ad hope you're taking notes. Yes, we are open from Moneris. And then you're going to subscribe to the advantaged with a D the advantaged investor podcast from Raymond James. That one's hosted by Chris Cooksey. You're going to love it. What's going on in high park there? Um, like currently on weekends, cars can't drive in there. Like, give me this, what's going on there. And then I'm going to go back and ask you what the hell was going on there. I want to know what's going on in high park.

So the good news is high park. It's car free on weekends and holidays, right? So it's safer for people to enjoy the park and bike in the park and walk in the park. Um, people to enjoy the park and bike in the park and walk in the park. This is all part of the high park movement strategy with a goal of trying to make the park

a more accessible, pleasant park destination because there's been a problem of cars cutting through the park. And it's kind of weird that we're talking about the suitability of removing, or the suitability rather of putting bike lanes in a park, as opposed to removing car lanes in a park. Right. So as the city went through different design options, there were those, of course, that did not want to see any changes whatsoever because they wanted to continue to drive through the park

many of whom were calling out accessibility as an issue because you know I have an elderly mother how on earth would I get her to the park? One of the things we'd like to say and for people who did not know this is that Hyde Park at the time had 562 parking spots, just 22 of which were for accessible. So one of the things that we would like people to know is that when you put in bike lanes, you are improving the accessibility of the park because when you

have cars, it's more dangerous and it's harder for people to get around. But if you build it for accessibility, you can have specific drop-off areas. And if you are going to have parking, well, give it to those that need it the most. Right. So do we have that now? So real life, again, I like to talk specifics here. So all summer long, my kids played high park soccer. It's called High Park FC.

And my third born played on the same soccer team as Hayden's son. You liked the things are as bad as a seam hat here. That was a gift from FOTM Hayden. Hayden has a special needs daughter. And on these weeknight games, often she would come and watch her little brother play. But we had our championship weekend and cars were not allowed and she ended up having to stay home with her mom.

And Hayden and I were talking like, he basically couldn't get his special needs daughter to see her little brother play this soccer tournament because no cars were allowed. And I'm wondering at some point, will we have that accessibility for those who cannot walk into the park some point, will we have that accessibility for those who cannot walk into the park? Well, what we're hoping for is that the city looks at developing

a, like a transit route. Like right now, there's a little train, but if you have some kind of, you know, public transportation that circulates the park, so it makes it easy for people to be able to be dropped off at the entrance to the park, it makes it easy for people to be able to be dropped off at the entrance to the park and then be delivered to the different destinations within the park so that you don't need to drive into the park but you can get to it safely. So were you born and raised in Toronto? I was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario. I already asked you that question. Okay so do you remember when the zoo had the monorail i do not okay shout out to anyone who remembers the the 1980s uh zoo and the monorail which which felt like the future and then it got

shut down there's some accident or whatever but okay so we need it sounds like there are wheels in motion uh pun intended here we're gonna we gotta figure this out because you know you talk about the old grandma there are people who would like to enjoy the park who cannot walk into the park and we need to we need to be uh sensitive and conscious to make it accessible for everybody even though me as a cyclist like as a selfish cyclist i gotta say i love it i love it being car free but i just want to remember the people like hayden's daughter uh who don't have the luxury of biking in or walking in okay now high park there was that bullshit with the cops uh pardon my french you're better you know it's worth swearing over because the police and you're referring to last summer when they began actively targeting cyclists who were biking

in the park for failing to come to a complete stop at stop signs. Absolutely ridiculous, especially as, and there are many videos out there that were shared on socials, police and all the car drivers driving in the park were not coming to a complete stop either. And also, instead of the police, you know, maybe targeting the drivers along Parkside Drive, where there have been some serious collisions and fatalities in the past few years. It seems absolutely, well, a questionable use of their resources to target cyclists

in a park. Well, you're being kind. They were basically, they had the power to target cyclists in High Park. Like even saying that sentence is wild. And we're talking about, just so people know i i was you know following along like you were but uh people who would not stop fully at a stop sign in high park when they were riding the loop there and they would be pulled over i actually changed my habit so i would often ride the waterfront trail to colburn lodge and then ride up and do a couple of loops of high parks particularly in the spring when it's 10

degrees warmer in high park than it is here in my backyard, believe it or not, but okay. So I would often do that. And when they were doing that targeting, I basically just changed my route and said, I'm going to just take waterfront trail to Trillium park by Ontario place,

and then do that loop and then come back. Like I just made modifications because I didn't want to be harassed by cops. Exactly. And nobody does. And imagine like we're, we're both, you know, you're a privileged white man. I'm a privileged woman. Oh, I'm super privileged. You're right. But the police, so imagine if you are, you know, a person of color or a woman or police have this position of power. And it also adds to that whole toxic environment of giving car drivers, you know, the ability to pester cyclists because the police are themselves doing it.

Absolutely unproductive and dangerous. And most importantly, Alison, uncool. Very uncool. And then fast forward to, again, it just, cyclists are not villains. They're, you know, you mentioned all the reasons that you enjoy biking. Also, cyclists who are looking for a place to train, they don't really have places where they can safely train. And during COVID, when the city launched ActiveTO and opened up, for example, the Lakeshore Boulevard West so that people could come out and get exercise safely. Yeah, from Windermere to Stadium Road we had it and I loved it.

Absolutely and many cyclists took advantage to go out and get their practice and that has since come to a close. Well, that's more bullshit. Let's call that some more bullshit because it was Mark Shapiro wrote a letter to like City? Well, that's more bullshit. Let's call that some more bullshit because it was Mark Shapiro wrote a letter to like city council to say that people had,

weren't coming to Jays games because between Windermere and Stadium Road, Lakeshore was closed to vehicular traffic. And lest we forget, the mayor at the time was literally getting paid

$100,000 a year from the Rogers Family Trust. Like this is all documented facts. Stay tuned for more Ed Keenan episodes of Toronto Mike where we talk about this. But it stunk then and it stinks now. And suddenly this active TO Lakeshore closure disappeared. Exactly.

So suddenly cyclists who were looking for a place to, you know, get their exercise, go to Hyde Park. And one of the things that quite frankly is missing from Hyde Park is a cycling clubhouse. So, for example, you know, you have baseball fields, you have tennis courts, you have a pool, you have off-leash dog park, you have a zoo, you have all these amenities, but you don't have anything for cyclists. Okay, you're singing my song here. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Love it. And the active TO closure because of the Mark Shapiro thing or whatever in 2024, are we, were, were any chance we get that back?

Well, it was cool. Not sure. It was very cool. So one of the things we are thinking we would love to see is, for example, having a permanent solution to Lakeshore. So right now, Lakeshore, as you know, is a six-lane arterial road, and it's cutting off residents who live along the Lakeshore of accessing the lake safely. So what we'd like to see is that ActiveTO really becomes permanent and that there is a dedicated east-south lane dedicated for cyclists so that that would free up space for the already overused Martin Goodman Trail so there's fewer conflicts between the different users. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because I'm a big fan of the Martin Goodman Trail. But of course, on a nice weekend in the summer, it's basically so many's so many pedestrian,

blessed pedestrians, they belong there too. We share that trail, of course. But the pedestrians and dogs and the kids who, every kid I see on that trail, I'm like, I just assume out of nowhere, they're going to bust a left.

You know what I mean? And it's like, I have kids. I don't want to hit any kids. And I have yet to hit a a kid i want to put that on the public record i've yet to hit a kid and uh but at least you know i will say this the way i you know you don't go more than 20k an hour on that martin good material if i ever did hit a kid they'd live to tell the tale i'm just going to point that out it won't hit a kid though okay but but this is wild okay so uh the where do i want to go next i'm gonna do you mind if if I ask you another question from a listener who heard you were coming over? Not at all.

Lanerick Bennett, who you already talked about, the bicycle mayor. I like this guy. He's an FOTM too. He says, the bike bus has gone from a lofty idea to a full-on piloted concept in BikeTO. Moving students and teachers by bike to their schools here in Toronto,

would there be room at Cycle Toronto to create advocacy around bike to school TO year round in 2024, 25? So answer Lanric. And then this is going to be a good gateway because I do want to talk about year round cycling because I know far too many cyclists who put the bike in the garage or shed, I'm going to say maybe late September or maybe early October.

And that's it till like May. And I want to talk about, you know, biking this city in the winter. But let's talk about what Lanrick Bennett is speaking of, the bike bus. The bike bus is a great, great initiative. Lanrick, thank you for your question. I, you know, this is an exciting, great initiative. Lanric, thank you for your question. You know, this is an exciting time of year. Cycle Toronto, we're beginning to take a look at what the next couple of years looks like

as we build out our priorities. And this is something I will bring to our executive director, Michael Longfield, to put in the bucket with, wouldn't that be marvelous? Because studies demonstrate that when you have a bike bus or even a walking bus that exists as well, it's a great way of safely getting kids to school using sustainable active modes of transportation and reducing the traffic that's caused by parents who drive their kids to school which is kind of sad

right right right right until my seven-year-old broke her arm we uh me the seven-year-old nine-year-old biked to and from their school every single day and then now we changed it to a walk because of uh the broken arm but uh can't wait to get back out there biking for sure for sure you said you got here on an e-bike right i did and you know you pedal so like i've never had an e-bike i so you pedal but you don't have to it's not all pedal powered like there's a motor you you basically it's like a normal bike except it has a battery okay and so you still need to pedal to move but for example if you are heading into a high wind or you're going up a hill or you are tired, you can add a little bit of juice and it helps, helps you move along a little faster with

less effort on your part. Okay. So can you ride that e-bike in all the bike lanes where you would ride a bicycle? Absolutely. Yes. yes okay so it is one yes absolutely okay so i because i i was always curious every once in a while i'll see what to be honest i don't know my bikes okay sorry joe louis i don't know the difference but it looks to me like it's almost like these are like and i don't think they are vespas okay but they're like oh these like these are look like they look like little mini motorcycles and they'll be roaring on the martin goodman trail for whatever. And I always think, are they allowed to be here?

And I'm not here to go at any e-bikes. I think e-bikes are so much better than a car. But I didn't understand the rules. So no, they are not officially allowed on the trails or bike lanes. So what's the difference between those guys and you? Well, those are, you don't need to pedal. Those are pure, pure E motored. Right.

There's no pedaling on those. There's no pedaling. Right. No, those are just like a version of a Vespa. That's not as cool looking. Okay. Okay. That's the big difference is, you know, so, so your E-bike is allowed in the bike lanes,

but those E-bikes are not allowed in the bike lanes no they're not although you know do they also do they belong on the roads um not really so okay but those i mean from like an ecological factor whatever like we'd rather people taking a bike like that i don't know what they're called is there a name for them like e-scooters what are they called is and i can't remember let's call them e-scooters okay everyone knows what i'm talking about so we would rather a torontonian uh get from a to b if they're not going to take public transit and they're you know and they're not going to bike and walk we'd rather they're in an e-scooter than they are taking a car right absolutely And actually right now the city,

one of, they are doing a, they're putting together a micro mobility strategy as a way of taking a look at what are all the different kinds of mobilities that we see on our streets and also looking at emerging ones to try to determine what, how should the city plan and organize what mobilities should be supported.

And this is something we're looking forward to because one of the things we're hoping is that it will help support the need for safer infrastructure. So, for example, right now we've been fighting to get normal bike lanes, We've been, you know, fighting to get normal bike lanes, but with all these emerging, you know, mobilities, you've probably noticed this, that some of our bike lanes are already now at capacity with all these different mobilities, and it feels like a traffic jam. But if we had bike lanes that were wide enough

that had, you know, slow and fast lanes, it would help encourage more different kinds of mobilities and get fewer people out of their cars. Is there a city on this planet Earth? We speak to you live from planet Earth right now. Is there a city on this planet that we look at as maybe they're ahead of us, but they're like a model for what Toronto could be? I know you dropped a couple of, because I've been to both Copenhagen and I've been to Amsterdam. Amsterdam's a whole, like Amsterdam's a whole different thing. Like to me, I can't even really, I can't even really compare.

It's just a completely different like culture of cycling in Amsterdam. But is there a model city for Toronto as we try to progress with our bike infrastructure? Well, actually just last week, Tim from, oh gosh, I Like Bikes, I believe. I'm about to share his video on Twitter. He does wonderful videos. And this video, it's a 15-minute video showcasing Freiburg in Germany about how this city is really a model for how you can redesign your cities

to focus on transit and bikeability and walkability and how it can all work if it's well designed and well thought through. I was actually frustrated by Amsterdam because, again, very selfish man here. Okay. I always, what do I like to do? I like to go, you know, let's say about 22, 23 kilometers an hour and kind of just go. And meanwhile, in Amsterdam, everyone's going like 14 kilometers an hour or whatever. And yeah, you can wear your three-piece suits and they're all, they're dressed up for the

office. And it's amazing because they all, it's all cycling for us and it's really inspiring. But I think I would personally be frustrated. Like, I guess I'd have to go to Vondelpark and do loops there or something. Like, where do you, you know, stretch it out?

Well, I don't know. I haven't been to Amsterdam in years. Can you expense a trip? Does Cycle Toronto have enough money to send you to Amsterdam? Oh, I wish we did. We are a charity.

We're getting ready to announce our end of year fundraising campaign. So if your members love biking, campaign. So if your members love biking, please consider becoming a member just $30 a year or donating to us, CycleTO.ca. Sign up for our newsletters, our action alerts, get involved. No, I'm glad I wanted you to do this. Yeah, like if anyone has got this far in the podcast about throwing their, you know, iphone out the window or whatever they are likely a candidate to be a member so you need more members because that's where the money comes from right absolutely here we're gonna do it's like a we're gonna do a telethon here whatever the sales sales page all right so and it's in that that website again is

cycle cycle to.ca cycle and not psycho to that's my website but cycle to.ca okay some quick hits here and then i'm gonna have the big famous open-ended question where you can tell me because i i feel this is i feel you know like i speak too much from where i live because i start i don't like to drive to bike i bike from home therefore, there's an entire borough I probably get to on my bike five times a year. Okay, this is called Scarborough. And then if you chat with somebody in Scarborough, you realize, oh, we actually have it pretty good in Etobicoke. Like, so I'm very guilty of forgetting the fact that there's huge chunks of the city where, you know there's there's even less infrastructure than i that i'm used to why are we underserving scarborough from a from a cycling oh you can argue from a

mass transit as well like i feel like what's going on uh we love scarborough like how can we improve the bike infrastructure in scarborough well for residents of Ward 20 in Scarborough Southwest, that will begin by electing a new councillor that will support active modes of transportation. Who's the current councillor? They is not a current councillor because they're in the middle of a by-election, but they had Councillor Gary Crawford,

who is not particularly supportive of active modes of transportation. And so political leadership is needed. So why don't the inner suburbs have better transit or active modes of transportation is a good question. And largely to do with the leaders that have been overseeing those wards. I had a conversation about a decade ago of a gentleman named Karim who lives in Scarborough and I was explaining like there's always a route

this is my thought because I do I go to Google Maps and I gotta go here 411 Richmond Street oh waterfront trail Parliament up to Richmond and there it is okay and then I can do this for everyone I'm going to Screamers and Vaughan oh look there's a nice route I can take

there's a bit of car stuff but I'm not afraid of that but just like it says where do you work and live in Scarborough Dreamers and Vaughn. Oh, look, there's a nice route I can take, whatever. There's a bit of car stuff, but I'm not afraid of that. But just like I said, where do you work and live in Scarborough? And he was explaining these streets that he would have to cycle on would make, I would say they would make Islington look like Royal York. You know what I mean? These are really a lot of cars going really fast, really scary to cycle on

for the average Torontonian. And he literally sold me on the fact that there is no safe, comfortable route for him to take on his bicycle. Like he has to drive. And that's in Toronto. I know it's awful. And anytime I bike out to Scarborough,

I will often ride on the sidewalk because there is, it's so terrifying. Because you got to live to fight another day, safety first. But even for pedestrians or transit users, I mean, they are so underserved. Their transit stops are at quite, at great distances, even to cross the road. And I mean, I almost got hit by a driver walking across a, you know, at the green light because a driver decided to pull a U-turn in front of me. And again, paramount to all of this is that we all need to, you know, we bike to live.

We walk to live, not to die. Like it's all about safety. It absolutely is. It is. Okay. So we're underserving Scarborough. You and I agree on that, but you're working on it at Cycle Toronto. Absolutely. It's everything. It is. Okay, so we're underserving Scarborough. You and I agree on that. But you're working on it at Cycle Toronto. Absolutely.

And, for example, one of the things that we, with our alliance, we have an alliance for Safe and Active Streets, which is composed of a few other civil society organizations. We have a by-election candidate survey, which we are sending to all 23 candidates in the Scarborough Southwest to try to help residents make an informed decision about who they vote for. It's such a chicken and egg thing, right? Because, you know, if you've lived there for many, many years, you really, you know, cycling is not part of your world for these aforementioned safety

issues and the missing infrastructure. Therefore, it might not be top of mind that we need better because you don't do it because you can't do it. So it's really like, you know, if you build it, they will come. Exactly. And if you're so used to an environment built for cars, it's sometimes hard for people to see how that can be different. Right. Right. Lieve Thompka writes in, My question is, three-way intersection i.e merton

and young street bike lane going south do i need to stop at the red light as i'm biking south question mark yes there may be people crossing young street i look for those in parentheses but i've seen other cyclists go through the red light and now i do the same thing and i know it's gonna be hard to visualize this so we might not have a specific answer for this but i know what the traffic act says allison and i also know what i do and this is i think i feel like this is like an unspoken thing but the traffic act is of course you have to stop at the uh red light absolutely so So yes, under the Highway Traffic Act, cyclists are viewed as vehicles in the same way that vehicular traffic is. So yes, you need to come

to a clean stop. This said, like many cyclists, myself included, you know know it is a momentum type of transportation so if you are coming up to a red light or a stop sign you because you're out in the elements you can quickly ascertain and hear if there's oncoming traffic you slow down and treat that red light as a yield um many of us do that um this said and this is part of the problem, until we change the Highway Traffic Act, you need to be mindful because if a police person is nearby, that police person could ticket you. And that's what caused the kerfuffle in Hyde Park. I've cleaned it up from the bullshit in Hyde Park to kerfuffle.

Yes, yes. But it's really both. I've heard this often referred to as the Idaho stop. Yes, and we're referring to it as the safe as yield stop. Now, I will speak personally, because I literally, I believe if I keep my, you know, I'm on pace to hit 12,000 kilometers biked in 2023 on Toronto and Mississauga streets and trails.

Like, that's where I'm on pace. So I don't believe in knocking on wood but i did it anyways okay so i can tell you that if i like you said i ascertain if is there any if there's cars at a red light i stop at the red light yes stop sign same thing i if i stop at a stop sign if i see cars or stop if it's a four-way stop for example i follow the same rules as if i'm in an automobile okay but if i'm at that uh four-way stop and there's no cars at the four-way stop, I look, I see there's no cars there. I treat it like a yield.

Absolutely. I do that 100% of the time because cycling is a momentum pedal event and I don't want to come to a complete stop at a stop sign with no other cars at a stop sign. And I do know when I do that, I'm 100% aware I'm violating our traffic act and I'm also 100% here to tell you i don't care

well you know i think everyone agrees with you um even the police we see the police when they're on their bikes they do the same thing as the rest of us oh i thought you meant the band like oh no no i don't know what sting would do i feel like sting is a cyclist i don't know he just seems he's into i can remember this is a man who was into tantric sex. Okay, Alison, of course he's into cycling, right?

But he also wore long capes and that would get kind of caught in your, you know, you gotta tuck it in. Come on, don't you? In Amsterdam, they would bike in those big long capes. You know,

some of the rock stars, I know, I want to shout out Bono. Bono, I think, although he did hurt himself on a bike crash, but you know, have you ever broken a bone in a bike crash?

I have not. Okay. Keep, keep that streak going here. I have. It it is inherent i think in all the things and this is gonna lead us where i want to go to close out because i know you're exhausted uh you're sweating over there but life is good for you allison and this is your toronto mic debut and it's everything you hoped it would be 100 okay i was pausing there for you to say i was 100 right because you said such nice things about me as an interviewer i don't want to disappoint but um you actually wrote me a question on twitter and i'm still calling it twitter allison i don't care what elon musk calls it i have your permission yeah i know what you're talking about what is your experience this is you

to me but i'm actually gonna we're gonna about it. What is your experience biking on the Martin Goodman trail in winter? So I would like to talk to you, Alison, about winter riding in the city of Toronto because so many cyclists in the city go, I would say they go May to September. Like this is around there. That's where a lot of Toronto cyclists are. And then once September ends, that's a green day song. Wake me up when September ends. So when September ends, that's a Green Day song. Wake me up when September ends.

So when September ends, the bike goes in the garage and they'll tune it up in the spring or whatever. Do you bike in the winter, Allison? I do. I feel safer biking in the winter than walking on sidewalks in the winter. Maybe, do you have any tips for somebody listening to us right now on November 10th, who's thinking like, why do I put my bike away for the winter? These, these goofballs are biking Toronto in the winter. This guy's putting up 800 kilometers of biking in January. What am I doing?

So do you have tips? Cause I have tips, but I want to hear your tips. Well, honestly, it's, I treat it the same way I would if I have to go walking outside. You dress accordingly. So make sure you have your gloves and your scarf and your comfortable shoes and your bike guards. But it's also still the most reliable and efficient way to get around. And the one thing I do do is I put away my bikes because I don't want them to get ruined by the salt. And I jump on Bike Share. Bike Share Toronto is a great city run program. And in fact, thanks to their data, they demonstrate that Toronto is a cycling city year round. And by way of an example last January their

bike rides in January were up 270% year over year wild I'm glad you mentioned bike share that's a good pro tip too because yes I can tell you because I have like the good bike which doesn't come out when the salt's out there and then I have an old

like sort of a beater that I bring that I care less unless I care less about it getting rusted out and messed up because winter cycling is tough on a bike but that bike share solution there that's a that's a pro tip right there it is because one it comes with the lights also you can bike it and it great you can go to work or do your thing and come out and if there's been a blizzard you don't have to dig your bike out of 10 centimeters of snow. Okay. Yeah. Yes.

You can take the subway back or walk. And if we had this talk, like let's say five years ago, we were having this conversation. I would be the guy to tell you like, bike share doesn't know Etobicoke exists. Like I'd be telling you, but what's been wonderful to witness the last five years is the bike share stations popping up

even all the way here in Southern Etobicoke. Absolutely. And even in North York and even in Scarborough. Even Scarborough. Yes. They didn't skip Scarborough this time. No, they're getting better. Okay.

I never use bike share because I have my own bikes, but I totally think that's awesome that that option, I like knowing that option exists and my daughter uses the equivalent in Montreal and that's how she gets from the flat her and her girlfriend's rent and to McGill like it's every day she's on the bike share and she's

been having a great experience with it so I love that this option exists I'll say I do do three things so you got to be dressed for the weather like you said so i'm a big layer guy and depending so i'll be out there if it's a windshield and minus 20 but the proper layers proper gloves the proper boots so your toes don't get numb because for a long time my toes would get numb after like a half an hour and i you'd make these adjustments and be like why can't

i bike an hour without my toes going numb and you basically this trial and error you figure out the wardrobe thing which i wear the balaclava under the helmet and uh you get all that sorted out so you got to dress right for the weather of course secondly is i slow the f down when there's snow and ice because uh i you know i talk about going 22 an hour uh typically or whatever but yes i slow slow down particularly and you kind of live and learn on this because i have uh had many a crash to figure this out but any kind of turn okay so if you're turning you gotta slow that bike way down because the traction between the rubber of the the tires and the ice slash snow you're it's gonna go out from under you and you're going to end up bruising your thigh.

Well, when you're riding, absolutely. And be centered on the bike. You want to be heavy in the middle. Heavy in the middle, but slow way down on those turns. I learned that the hard way. But now, so yeah, so an active snowy, icy time, slow way down on the turn. So you got to dress appropriately, slow down.

And then I will say i choose my routes differently and this is where i want to go with you is like like winter trail maintenance and maintaining these these uh arteries for cycling in winter do you know offhand like i i've noticed that martin goodman trail gets plowed and salted. But I, and again, maybe I'm wrong, but this is just me living the life. I noticed that it's like that from the Humber Bridge going east, but I find west of the Humber Bridge, and I live west of the Humber Bridge,

west of the Humber Bridge is not necessarily plowed and salted. Do you have any idea what the rules are for the city of Toronto for maintaining these cycling routes? Well, they have, the city has posted on their site that they're really supposed to be clearing bike lanes once with what, two centimeters of snow. The city's gotten better of clearing bike lanes. We'll be looking for it once the first snow comes to see how they do it. But it's definitely an area of improvement because I think it was two years ago

when there was a good month where neither cyclists, neither pedestrians were able to really move about safely. Yeah. And, you know, we talked about the Humber Bridge and I'll just say the Humber Bridge, I find after a snowstorm, it becomes an ice rink and it doesn't get maintained at all. Like whatever they're driving to do the plow and the salt, they skip the bridge. That is unfortunate. I know. And then you wait for Mother Nature.

So basically you have a period and I get off and I walk across, okay, because you walk like a penguin, okay? So you get off your bike and you walk like a penguin. You cannot ride that ice rink when it's like that, but you're waiting for Mother Nature to give you one of those sweet, like, special sunny eight-degree days, so it kind of melts you a path, like, you just, Mother Nature has to clear that. Well, that'd be great. You should reach out to your local counselor to ask them. Well, Amber Morley, I can text her anytime and she replies because she's an FOTM. Are there any missing links?

I'm just checking to make sure I got everybody's questions in here. Are there any missing links in the city that are particularly high priority for you good people at Cycle Toronto? Oh, are there any? There are quite a few. I'm not sure. We're actually working on putting together our list. So right now, we could recommend, like if there's someone listening right now who is like, we need a bike lane on this street, or there's a, I noticed there's missing links, I call them, because you'll have these places with great thing

and then there'll be a gap where you have to kind of, you know, why can't we close the gap and repair that missing link? So if people have suggestions, this is something that can be done on your website, right? Absolutely. You can email info at cycleto.ca. The city also has an interactive map,

which we'll be sharing as well for people to put their personal suggestions. But I would say the biggest missing links for making our city a really safe cycling city is trying to connect those arterials and 400 series highways. Because, you know because we began our discussion talking about getting across the 427 into Mississauga, for example,

having to negotiate those interchanges. Right. Okay. Very good. I noticed, I like to go to Ontario Place and then I'll do a little like, I'll do Trillium Park. I used to, of course, until a few months ago, I used to do Trillium, which connected to the West Island. And then I would do, I had a whole thing I did. And then one day I went into that Trillium Park and there was a big fence and it said

I could not ride my bike from Trillium into the West Island of Ontario Place. There's a bit of an Ontario Place chat we can have here. But what's happening now is as i bike again i bike uh i'm biking let's say i'm biking east and i'm on the martin goodman trail where ontario places they they put up like nine feet i know these these fences they're wooden they're like boards this is a good long stretch by the way of like about eight or nine feet tall and i noticed today for example and they've been doing this for the last week they're painting this wooden thing black so you can't see now

it's like a big big tall black wall on the martin goodman trail where through the whole stretch of ontario place and then of course if you want to go into trillium park you can still get in there but you can't get in there the old way because that's now got security in there for whatever construction is going on there you have to go around to where that the Anakshak is and then come at it that way so you can still get in if you know what you're doing but like I feel like the the transparency with the uh work going on in Ontario Place is pitiful it's horrible and I imagine you should invite Norm DiPasquale from Ontario Place for All to talk about the horrible situation

that is unfolding regarding Ontario Place. And I discovered it today riding out here, how, you know, that beautiful view of Ontario Place is gone. It's so ugly. And I don't like not knowing, like they're hiding something because I don't trust this government and I don't trust what's going on with Ontario Place to begin with and I don't think anything should

happen until we get the report from the, what is it, the Auditor General whoever's doing the, yeah, so stop what you're doing, stop what you're doing because I'm about to ruin, right, like stop what you're doing and now you've got these big tall black walls and I can't see what's going on there. Like what?

Now I got to learn how to use a drone so I could keep my eye on you. I kept thinking the other day, I guess I'll have to kayak over there and check things out from the other side. Like I will have to do that and then follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike. I'm going to report back on what I witnessed,

but stop it. It's greasy AF. And it's also going to make Martin Goodman Trail dangerous if with all the incoming construction trucks coming in and out of Remembrance Drive. But again, this comes back to they don't think anyone's out there in the winter and I'm sure it'll last many

many years and it'll be many summers as well. But there's this idea like, oh, nobody bikes in the winter anyways. But this is something we're here to say. If you take nothing else from this episode, you can bike Toronto in the winter. I do it. If you have questions, if you take nothing else from this episode you can bike toronto in the winter i do it if you have questions ask me i'm out there i think there's a handful of days five or six days in a calendar year where i'm like there's a nice storm out there i can't bike it or we're in an active blizzard but again shout out to fotm hall of famer cam gordon who invited me to see uh ron hawkins at the only cafe in East York on the Danforth.

And that was the night of a big blizzard in the city. And I did the same thing I do for everything I have to go to. And I said, can I bike it? And you know what I decided? Yes, I can bike it. Because around the corner here, I have an old hybrid with snow tires on it,

like studs, like snow tire studs. And that will give me the traction I need. That's what i rode that day and i think it was like a 45 kilometer round trip and i'm glad i did it because uh it was fun were you wearing a snowboard helmet and goggles no i was wearing my uh sunglasses and my regular bike helmet always biking it not the law but you should always ride with a helmet. Well, well, tell me only cause I, I am,

I, I had a bad fault crash on Royal York in March, 2020, and it split my helmet in two. And then I got my, uh, what do you call it? Cat scan and everything seemed okay.

But the guy, the guy did say, I would hate to see what happened to your skull if you weren't wearing that helmet. Absolutely. And that was a doctor. But what were you going to say there? You hesitated.

So you don't think you need a helmet. I don't, for example, always wear a helmet. But I'm lucky because I have safe bike infrastructure. So it's not something that I need. If I lived where you live, Mike, and I was faced on some of these, Royal York Road, for example, I would definitely wear a helmet. And in the winter I do wear my snowboard helmet just for warmth sake.

And the traction. And the traction. Yes. So when it's rainy or snowy, then maybe then we agree, then that's a good time to wear a helmet. Yes. Okay.

I'm glad we had this chat. Anything else going on? Any more final thoughts on what's happening with ontario place uh i like what they did with chillian park however many years i think that was the kathleen win government i think but whatever they did with chillian park i'm a big fan of that i kind of wish that just keep going and do ontario place like a beautiful park like that absolutely um i am heartbroken because ontario place was one of the favorite places I enjoyed biking at night, especially in the summer on a hot, hot night. You bike around, sit, enjoy the evening air, view Toronto from afar. No longer. a different way now.

Like you can't get at it through Trillium, but you can still get at, you can still bike the West Island. That part by the Cinesphere is closed, but you can still do that part you're talking

about with the great view of Mimico, actually. Okay. And you can still get at the West Island. You just have to go at it through that bridge that's near the

Budweiser stage. So where the entrance to the Budweiser stage is, there's a bridge there. That's the only way into the, and it's still open, and I'll let you know on Twitter.

I will let you know if they ever lock that up and put security guards there. But you can absolutely still access the West Island of Ontario place on foot or bike through that bridge. I just want, because I... Yeah, that's where I will try it out. Because you're right,

it does look a little bit foreboding when you go by with all those big blackboards. Yeah. It's ugly too. And you can't see the beautiful waterfront and, uh, I don't like not knowing what they're doing there,

Alison. So you're here to keep your good eye on all of this. I enjoyed the chat. I know probably people are sick of my voice, but I'm glad we got to hear your perspective on things at, uh, at cycle Toronto. thanks for

being part of our community of biking enthusiasts and spreading the good word. We just need more, right? So more members of Cycle Toronto. So get over there and what did you say it cost? 30 bucks? $30 a year. Please. What is that?

If you can afford it. I mean, times are tough right now. But, you know, it's free to sign up for our e-newsletters and our action alerts. So help us call for more, better cycling infrastructure and programs. I know. I hear I am playing lowest of low to take us home here. But how's FOTM Diane Sachs doing? Like, I feel like she would be a cycling advocate.

Is she as advertised? She is definitely a cycling advocate where what we'd like to see a little more from Councillor Sachs is a bit more of an eye on equity regarding how we support some of our more equity deserving communities have access to, for example, bike share and e-bikes. Okay. Cause I'll talk to her if you'd like.

I produce her podcast. I can talk to her. Oh yes. I'll have a word with her. Absolutely. Before we say goodbye, I have a measuring tape for you from Ridley funeral home. I forgot to give you that. thank you.

All the swag. You have to measure stuff and now you can easily measure. And I will shout out quickly, recycle my electronics dot ca because if you have old electronics, old tech, old devices, don't throw that in the garbage. Even old cables. Don't put it in the garbage. Those chemicals end up in our landfill.

You go to recycle my electronics dot ca. It's completely free. They'll tell you a place near you where you can drop that off and be properly recycled. So it's good for the environment. And that brings us to the end

of our 1,364th show. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. Gotta have a plan B, Allison. You never know. I'm at Toronto Mike. Allison, how can we follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. Gotta have a plan B, Allison. You never know. I'm at Toronto Mike. Allison, how can we follow you on social media?

On social media, you can follow CycleTO. Or my tag, I believe, is Ali's Nuts on Instagram. Or Allison Stewart on Twitter. Okay, everyone, you can find her, okay? You know the website to go become a member of Cycle Toronto. Much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. That's Palma Pasta.

Don't leave without your vegetarian lasagna, Allison. I will not. That's Raymond James Canada. That's Mineris. That's Recycle My Electronics. And Ridley Funeral Home. See you all Monday when my special guest, Sunaya.

I always say this name wrong. Sunaya. Sunaya. I'm going to get that right again. Sunaya Superji, who is, of course, a sports media personality who's been covering sports. She's at The Athletic now. She'll be here in studio to kick out the jams.

See you all then. Rosie and Gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms me today And your smile is fine. It's just like mine. It won't go away.

Because everything is rosy and gray. Well, I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain. And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Chaclacour But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true Because everything is coming up Rosy and green

Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms us today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away Cause everything is rosy now Everything is rosy

Yeah, everything is rosy and everything is rosy and gray.