Spring is here

Spring is here and in the air. Today we reached a balmy high of 18 degrees. The girls are out wearing less, the sports cars are out....but most importantly...there are more cyclists getting out there and enjoying the warm air. Myself I rode to my local Starbucks to enjoy a nice cool drink while I got some work done. I really wish they could instal proper bike racks. Currently im relegated to locking my bike up to the dog post :( To my surprise my new bike seems to be generating a lot of interest as random people are coming up to me to inquire into this beast. I am still working out how I want to finally equip her, but you can see a pic of the bike in its current condition. I must admit, I do like the attention.

Keep riding Mississauga. It is as someone in the Mississauga News wrote, "The better way". As more of us get onto the roads we are living examples to drivers that there really is a better way.

Cheers

Winter biker :)

Just another guy braving the cold weather and a shinning example to the rest of us that Winter Biking IS Possible

Winter is upon us!!!

Well, I will make no apologies for not writing in a while. I've been busy and well lazy. Hopefully now that im biking again in the dead of winter, I can re-energize the blog.

Looks like things are looking good in the city. Cooksville for example is getting a much needed bike lane on the Queensway, which looks fantastic. Totally separated from traffic, very wide and quite long. Hopefully once it is complete the city will make a point of plowing it. For now it remains snow covered. The only issue with it, is that it does not have a north south connecting lane to it on the eastern side (between Cawthra and Dixie). Hopefully one day that will be addressed soon.

Grocery Shopping With A Bike!

Here in good old Mississauga, or Hazelville as I once heard, grocery shopping is a must. It is a simple equation, to survive we must eat, to eat we must buy our food. With that in mind have you ever considered using your bicycle to do your grocery shopping? Why the need to load up the gas guzzling, polluting SUV, when with a little human power muscle the same can be accomplished. You may not be able to buy two weeks worth of grocery but you sure can pack quite a bit. In the pictures below you will see what I was able to haul with me after a trip to the local Food Basics.

I hope my pictures and post have inspired you to use your bicycle the next time you visit the grocery store.

Bike Racks at Grocery Store !!!!

A huge improvement to the cooksville community came with the addition of bike racks at the local grocery store. It was about time one of the big chains decided to make their store cycle friendly. The racks are clean, strong and well placed. In the photo below you will see my bike sitting on the rack.

The competitors store across the street however has not been as proactive. They still do not have any racks installed although there is plenty of space to do so. You can see from the photo what a fellow cyclist had to do to lock up his bike. If only he knew that across the street there was a rack installed, maybe it would have changed his place of shopping.

Store with Rack installed


My bike on the rack



The Competition...no bike rack in sight



A biker who shopped at the competition...this is what he had to do. I have no idea how he secured the bike. What will it take for businesses to get on board and start making their facilities more bike friendly

Glenforest Bikes To Work

Glenforest Bikes To Work

On May 25th, Glenforest Secondary School students had the opportunity to participate in the City of Mississauga’s Bike To Work festivities at City Hall. The event brought together students of various backgrounds, regardless of their academic level, age, achievements or gender. It was truly an example of an inclusive activity open to all students that highlights what the Peel District School Board stands for. The students had a fantastic time at the event. They were able to start off the morning by getting some exercise on their 6km ride, eating pancakes on arrival to City Hall and then had a chance to practice using the new bike racks on Mississauga transit buses. The event ended for students with a Bike Safety Clinic hosted by a graduate of the Canbike program. Bike To Work Day was meaningful for Glenforest as it fell in line with the spirit of the school, of being a Green School that inspires staff and students and the community to embrace alternative forms of transportation to ultimately contribute collectively to the reduction of our carbon footprint. None of this would have been possible if it was not for the fantastic service and protection provided by Peel Regional Police, who escorted the 40 riders from Glenforest to City Hall along Burnhamthorpe Road, taking the right lane, not as obstacles but as traffic. Pedestrians and drivers alike were incredibly supportive of all the riders as they made their way to City Hall and back. The staff and students of Glenforest are thankful to the City of Mississauga and all the individuals involved who were able to bring this event alive for our students. We would like to offer our special gratitude to the Officers involved (for security reasons they shall remain nameless) who, with their patience, offered their time and services to provide a protected route for our students to arrive at City Hall safely. Without Police Services the event would not have been possible. Hopefully next year the event will be larger with more community involvement, parents, city and provincial officials and even greater student involvement. We also hope to continue the fantastic support we have received from Peel Regional Police.

From

Glenforest Secondary School

Janette Sadik Khan

As many blogs begin (it's been a while). A lot has happened in recent months. On March 25th there was another forum discussing our streetscape, city centre and transit at the Living Arts Centre. This was a great way for citizens to be a part of hour our city is organized and being planned. It would have been nice if more city officials were present to hear the message from Gil Penalosa from walk and bike for life. Either way some great ideas came out of it and we are excited to get the final draft report from Gil and his team, as they were the ones hosting the event.

AND..on Earth Day, April 22nd, walk and bike for life was also influential in bringing Janette Sadik Khan to Port Credit for a free lecture on planning ideas and strategies. Janette is the Commissioner of Transportation for New York City and has worked really hard in transforming the streets-cape and re-conquering it for the people. Some of the changes she was influential in was removing on street parking lots, with green public spaces for people to enjoy coffee's, read the papers...etc.. introducing safe bicycle lanes physically separated from traffic and various other traffic calming strategies.

We need more of these types of events in the hopes that the city will get the message of the kind of place we want to live. The Mayor needs to 'GET IT'. It would have been nice if she had attended.

We will see if anything tangible comes out of these meetings.

Creating a Great Mississauga South

Things are looking positive for Mississauga. Maybe it is the warmer temperatures, maybe the sunshine or maybe, just maybe the politicians and the citizens and activists are all on the same page and understand the direction they must guide the city towards. Last Thursday, March 12th, there was a fantastic presentation and workshop led by Gil Penalosa at Chartwell Baptist Church. Gil presented on how to make people friendly, happy cities where people not only want to work in, but also to live and play. It was fabulous and I am interested in bringing him to the schools within peel region. The event was participated by citizens from all walks of life, including members of Council, (Pat Mullin who has been advocate for cycling facilities in peel) as well as other officials from the city and members of the Mississayga Cycling Advisory Committee. I wonder how much more value the event would have had if the Mayor could have been there. After the presentations the participants broke up into groups where we brainstormed ideas as to how to create a great mississauga. Some of the ideas included greater public drinking fountains, bike lanes on the lakeshore and a reversible lane as well. There is a renewed sense of optimism throughout Mississauga and part of it is due to the great work by Gil and the public. Great stuff and I look forward to further presentations and finally action by the city.

The photo is of Gil giving the presentation. The event was comprised of about 15-20 people.