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.



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.



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