Cyclists and traffic in Toronto

Last week while I was in TO, the city was celebrating Bike Week. Ironically it got a good kick-off on Mon with the TTC strike.

At the same time Metro Morning on CBC Radio 1 did a segment every a.m. in their Freewheeling series. concerning cyclists and traffic. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in transportation cycling. Also check out the their forum which had some interesting posts by cyclists.

One poster left this link on bikelanes which really deserves a good read for all those interested in the subject, pro and con.

Kiwis pushed to buy NZ-made products

STUFF : POLITICS - STORY : New Zealand's leading news and information website: Kiwis pushed to buy NZ-made products: "Contained in Thursday's Budget, the campaign to urge Kiwis to buy New Zealand-made products was the brainchild of former Greens co-leader Rod Donald and was brokered as part of the party's cooperation agreement with the Government. "

Former Sierra Club head enters Green Party race

Taking aim at the "frightening" Conservative government and an ineffective opposition, Elizabeth May, one of Canada's best-known environmental leaders, is officially entering the race to lead the Green Party of Canada.
Ms. May, an outspoken environmentalist who recently announced her resignation as executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, says the country needs a party leader that is not afraid to challenge Prime Minister Stephen Harper for being a "carbon copy" of U.S. President George Bush.
globeandmail.com : Former Sierra Club head enters Green Party race

The case for eco-friendly bags

Mountain Equipment Co-Op had what you might call an ethical dilemma.
The national retailer of outdoor recreation products, a 34-year-old organization that prides itself on being eco-friendly and embracing sustainability, was going through half a million plastic bags a year across its 10-store chain.
TheStar.com - The case for eco-friendly bags

TrikeDog

Cush is a 3 yr old lab mix. She loves to run with the trike and pull. She's been an enthusiastic trikedog since she could run. Up to this point I've only triked her in town for short distances, but today was her long distance test ride! We went a total of 20 miles and averaged about 7.5 mph. The fastest she ran was 12 mph. When I want to go faster than she can run (downhill), I have her hop up on the back. So far no more than 20 mph this way. She's still in training.

Bottled water "one of life's crimes"

Guelph, Ontario (CP) -----Margaret Trudeau wants people to stop drinking bottled water. "It's one of life's crimes. It's not natural, pure, clean....."

Yeah, and if people who can afford it, drink bottled water, they might not be as concerned with situations like Walkerton and Kasechewan
Low income people can't afford to buy their drinking water.

Here's another take on it:
Bottled water multi-million dollar scam, say Greens New ZealandGreen Party MP Nandor Tanczos is reminding people of the cost to the environment of drinking bottled water after a new study warned consumers were simply ...

Drivers on Cellphones

In the middle of a snowstorm, Mother, son perish in icy canal plunge while driver talks to friend about picking up coffee and doughnuts. -"Ms. Read's father, Tim, told CityNews last night that his daughter was on the phone with a friend when the crash happened; when the friend called her back, she yelled, "Help me ... I'm drowning."
Interestingly, everyone's blaming the 'dangerous road'......

Bill seeks cellphone ban, but Premier McGuinty sez:
"I'm not convinced that we need to ban them in Ontario. I understand there's a law on the books that has to do with dangerous driving and the like. We can't have a law for everything.
We can't have a law for everything? Is that a Liberal safety nanny talking? He didn't say that when Liberal MPP Pat Malloy introduced a bill mandating helmets on adult cyclists! Thank God it died on the order table.
"My advice to Ontarians is: if you're using a cell phone when you're driving, be careful. Act responsibly, be sensible and take the necessary measures to protect yourself and others on the road."
He irresponsibly condones an act that has been proven to impair a driver as much as blowing .08 alcohol. As a cyclist it scares the hell out of me when I see a driver on a cell. I see and experience their lack of focus on driving. See: Cellphone and Drivers Don't Mix