Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Toronto has a parking enforcement officer exclusively assigned to bike lanes

See the Toronto Star article, "Parking enforcement officer takes to Twitter — and two wheels — to zap bike lane invaders" and video.

This will have to be something I add to my "best practice" lists going forward ("Making cycling irresistible in DC 2.0 | Revisiting a post from 2008").

At a community meeting a couple weeks ago about extension of the Metropolitan Branch Trail in my neighborhood (I am on a neighborhood committee addressing "public works and infrastructure") I said that I am ok with Sunday parking in bike lanes as an accommodation to churches.

The director of Washington Area Bicyclist Association disagreed, saying that if there is an exception for one day, people will believe there is a dispensation to park in bike lanes at other times.

I can see that point, but as a way to assuage complaints from black churches about bike lanes ("Churches, community, religion and change), I think it's a reasonable step, especially as the lanes won't be blocked at other times.

And I think a Sunday exception is pretty understandable as an exception.

But in the process I realized that we don't seem to have "no parking bike lane" signs.  Although they are manufactured and easily available.

No Parking Bike Lane sign

And it wouldn't be hard to create a special sign for bike lanes around churches:

"no parking bike lane
except during Sunday church services
[listing specific hours of duration]"

My ability to "design" such a sign is limited by the options from an online sign generator, called My Parking Sign (they are a sign manufacturer).  It'd be nice to add info on what the fines are, etc.

No Parking Bike Lane sign: Except Sunday church services

Toronto Star video featuring Kyle Ashley of Toronto's Parking Enforcement unit

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2 Comments:

At 11:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

an officer like this could clean up and make his monthly ticket quota in minutes here in a city like DC where most drivers are from parts of the US where bicycles are considered to be mere toys and not to be taken seriously. There is a real arrogance that comes from some of the tourists who drive here- I have encountered this first hand numerous times. " I pay federal taxes so I own this city-it doesn't matter if you live here or not" is a usual refrain. Ticket them. PLEASE. Especially the out of state vehicles and non-service single occupant vehicles.

 
At 11:48 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/07/05/twitter-bike-cop-forced-to-tone-it-down-but-torontos-bike-lane-campaign-could-get-a-boost.html

 

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