vic.gedris.org Never mind the blogs, here's the website.

As many readers are no doubt aware, a taxi driver and cyclist were involved in an altercation a few days ago which escalated into a fight that ended with the cyclist’s leg being amputated. The driver was charged today with six offenses: criminal negligence causing bodily harm, dangerous operation causing bodily harm, fail to stop at scene of accident causing bodily harm, attempt to obstruct justice, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon. He appears in court tomorrow.

This is a sad story, but one we should all try to keep in perspective. Nearly 25,000 people mount bikes each day in Toronto and most are able to get to their destinations without incident. But it seems once or twice a year there is an altercation of this nature that escalates to more than just yelling between a driver and cyclist. Most cyclists will never be in a situation where their life is being threatened by an irate driver.

While I’m sure many of Toronto’s most dedicated cyclists will see this incident as a symptom of our car-oriented culture, I feel it has less to do with that and more to do with someone who has much greater issues than a hate-on for cyclists. After reading numerous blog posts and comments on this incident over the last few days, I’m concerned that too much energy is being spent raging against this driver instead of using the incident to push for much better cycling infrastructure and awareness. I would assume most cyclists are more concerned with getting doored by cars on roads without bike lanes, since the chances of that happening are much greater than being attacked by a taxi driver. I’m not trying to minimize this awful scene — rather, I’m hoping to put this into a wider perspective on how to approach these isolated incidents.

I’m curious to hear how people think we should view this incident.

photo by Trevor Hunter

Another Toronto winter is upon us and for those of us brave silly enough to endure the low temperatures, the wind, the sleet, the hail and the snow on two wheels; it’s time to get those bad weather beaters in fighting shape. Mine was pretty much ready to go a few weeks back but needed a new chain, some new pedals (I went with the Sylvan Road over the Sylvan Track pedals I normally use to accommodate bulkier shoes in the winter) and of course, new winter tires.

In the past I’ve ridden 28mm Touring tires, 30mm Cyclocross tires, 25mm Road tires with minimal tread and 23mm Road slicks with varying degrees of success. The two predominant schools of thought when it comes to choosing a winter tire are as follows;

1. Thinner, higher PSI tires will cut through the snow and slush giving you a better chance at making actual road contact but can be a little bit less reliable in icy conditions.

2. Wider, lower PSI tires get more surface contact making riding in icy conditions somewhat safer and more likely to roll atop the snow rather than cutting through which both can be good but the ride tends to be much slower.

It’s a tough trade off because slow & steady is the safest possible way to ride in the winter but when your extremities (boys, you know the ones I’m talking about) are half a second away from freezing off, you want to get where you’re going on the ASAP so I tend to choose a tire that offers me the best of both worlds; speed & traction.

Of course then there are the metal studded tires but that’s a whole other monster - in my opinion they all that ideal in Toronto unless you have dedicated wheels and/or like changing tires a lot as conditions change. For Ice Racing, however? All studs, all the time…

Based on Ben’s recommendation* I snagged myself a pair of Schwalbe Marathon tires for the winterbike as the Pizza Pizza tires on there right now just weren’t cutting it when the roads started to get slick.

They can be ridden with a higher PSI in dry conditions, decreasing area of surface contact with the road and giving you a nice, swift ride as you may experience with thinner tires but when when the conditions get sloppy you may drop the PSI allowing the the treads themselves to make contact and giving you a much more surefooted ride. Throw in some Kevlar for puncture protection and a 3M reflective strip for increased visibility and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice little tire.

As you might expect when mounting a larger tire with fenders on a frame that wasn’t really intended to carry them can be a bit of a headache - not as much as it was mounting cross tires last year (even though the Jamie Roy had better clearance than this frame) - but a headache none the less.

I just took a file to the brakebridge mount to give myself an extra 1mm on each side which was just enough to kill the major rubbing.

I could still hear the whizz of the little production nubs as the wheel rotated so I broke out the exacto (pliers worked better in the end) to cut them off.

We haven’t received any truly extreme weather as of yet so the Marathons have yet to prove themselves where it counts but based on my test ride with them (on an icy road) I have high hopes for a mostly vertical winter.

*Speaking of Ben, his beautiful Benotto is up for grabs and he’s asking a fair price for it so if you’re in the market for some classic Italian steel, don’t sleep!

**Speaking of Thien, he recently sold his beautiful red Bridgestone and has been unloading the components individually which means dirt cheap B123s for me.

An upcoming Spacing Magazine theme will be “The Suburbs” — we’ve tried hard to include writing about Toronto’s  inner boroughs in our print magazine and on this blog, but think we need to dedicate an entire issue to these interesting places that will be where much of Toronto’s future unfolds. We’ll be putting that issue together in 2009, but until then we’re pleased to be partnering with the Scarborough Arts Council and Centennial College on a series of public discussions on our suburbs. These are “Live-to-Podcast” events, and we invite you to join us in our studio audience to participate in the taping of this lecture series that will later be available via online video and, yes, podcast.

Once seen as quiet bedroom communities far from the noise of the urban core, Toronto’s inner suburbs have become centres of activity - culturally vibrant, diverse and ever changing. The New Art of Suburbia, a two-evening panel discussion and forum, will address these changes and implications for arts and culture. Dealing with changes in the development and urban fabric of Toronto, speakers from a variety of backgrounds will tackle pressing questions:

–What is the nature and role of creative communities in the suburbs?
–How can we better understand and support arts and cultural activities in the suburbs?
–How can we create and support a vibrant arts scene in suburban communities?

Session 1: Not So Quiet: Welcome to the New Suburbs

WHEN: Monday, December 1, 2008, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Centennial College Residence and Conference Centre / Markham Room
School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culture, Centennial College
940 Progress Avenue, Scarborough
PANEL: Ian Chodikoff, Editor, Canadian Architect Magazine; Janet Fitzsimmons, West Hill Community Services;
 Nate Horowitz, Dean, School of Communications, Media & Design, Centennial College

Moderator: Tim Whalley, Scarborough Arts Council

Session 2: The Suburban Art Scene

WHEN: Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Centennial College Residence and Conference Centre /Scarborough Room 
School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culture, Centennial College
940 Progress Avenue, Scarborough
PANEL: Catherine Hernandez, Dora Award-nominated author of Scarborough Stories 
Rafael; Gomez, Director, ThinkTankToronto; 
Erika DeFreitas, Visual Artist and Curator

Moderator: Shawn Micallef, Spacing Magazine

The New Art of Suburbia will respond to a burgeoning interest in the development of Toronto’s suburbs and provide a forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities in supporting and sustaining cultural and artistic activity in these communities. The New Art of Suburbia is a joint venture of Scarborough Arts Council, The Centre for Creative Communications, Centennial College and the School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culture, Centennial College. Spacing Magazine is the media partner for the series.

Photo by Danielle Scott.

Man faces six charges in fail－to－remain collision
Broadcast time: 11:28 Friday, November 21, 2008
Traffic Services

On Friday, November 14, 2008, at 2:27 a.m., police responded to a call for a fail－to－remain collision in the Dovercourt Road/Argyle Street area.
Sultan Ahmed, 38, of Maple, has been charged with:
1) Criminal negligence causing bodily harm,
2) Dangerous operation causing bodily harm,
3) Fail to stop at scene of accident bodily harm,
4) Attempt to obstruct justice,
5) Aggravated assault,
6) Assault with weapon.

He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall, on Friday, November 21, 2008, room 101, at 1 p.m.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416－808－1900, Crime Stoppers

Media Updates:

• Cabbie charged in bizarre Dovercourt altercation with cyclist - National Post
• Cabbie charged with assaulting cyclist who had leg amputated - CBC Toronto

• GO Transit offers to buy part of Union Station [ Toronto Star ]
• TTC marks ridership record as it improves bus-subway links [ National Post ]
• Councillor applauded for opening barn door [ National Post ]
• Councillor uses own budget to get trash hauled [ Toronto Sun ]
• Hill of bins ‘an eyesore’ [ Toronto Sun ]
• New building might sit atop old building [ National Post ]
• Squaring away controversy [ Toronto Star ]
• Doublin’ for Dublin [ Toronto Sun ]

I thought that I was the cat’s pajamas last year when I completed ‘through the fire and the flames‘ on expert while maintaining an average speed of 46km/h but I now realize how clearly outclassed I am after Wade sent me this here video…

The next issue of Spacing that you’ll have in your hands will likely be our fifth anniversary issue (see larger version of the cover).

Spacing launched December 3rd, 2003 at the now-defunct 360 Legion Hall near Queen West and Spadina. We weren’t even sure if there would be a second issue, so we feel quite fortunate to have reached 13 issues over five long years.

Next week we’ll reveal more details about the content of the issue set to hit newsstands in the first week of December. But we wanted to make you aware of our release/anniversary party before anyone else books you that night for a holiday party.

WHEN: Wed. December 10th, 7pm-1am
WHERE: The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West at Dovercourt
HOW MUCH: $5 for subscribers or $10 (includes mag)
RSVP: check out the Facebook event listing (send to your friends!)

We’ll have large panels displaying the finalists from our thinkTORONTO urban design ideas competition. Rannie Turingan will be manning the photo portrait station again. Rose Bianchini will be filming people’s answer to the question: name five things you like about Toronto. And,  saxaphonist and former Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill will perform solo (he performed at our launch party in 2003, bringing this party full circle). And lastly, the DJ trio Track Meet will provide us with danceable music throughout the night.

UPDATE: The TTC has just issued a press release heralding the surface route service improvements coming this Sunday. The TTC website now has the details here. The press release also says that the TTC has also just hit a new record for ridership from mid-November 2007 through mid-November 2008, of 465 million rides. This breaks the 1988 record of 463.5 million, yet we are not yet at the same service levels on many routes (particularly the streetcar network) that we had 20 years ago.

Previously posted October 26: 

The oft-delayed TTC Ridership Growth Strategy reaches a milestone on November 23, when all routes currently operating are subject to a new maximum headway (the time between scheduled buses on a route) of every 30 minutes. Effectively, this guarantees nearly every city resident bus service until after 1AM, 7 days a week, even on the least-patronized routes, like the 120 Calvington, where buses only run hourly during peak periods. In addition, there are some other minor service improvements to some of the busiest routes intended to help with overcrowding. Finally,the new Mount Dennis garage will open to handle the increased number of buses. Both these service improvements and the garage opening come a year late due to David Miller’s controversal mandated TTC funding cutbacks. (more…)

This is exciting stuff:

Meanwhile, LA Weekly has published a pretty scary article about the digital billboard situation in Los Angeles.

This Sunday will see a large number of service improvements both during peak and off peak periods to implement the next major step in the Ridership Growth Strategy.  The three major changes in this round are:

• Restoration of service during all operating periods (except overnight) on almost all routes.  This will eliminate the “does my bus run now” problem faced by riders on many parts of the system.
• A maximum 30-minute headway (a proposed 20-minute maximum will be examined for possible implementation in late 2009).
• Improvement of loading standards so that the acceptable average maximum load on buses is lower than previously with the result that more buses will serve crowded routes.

The details of the changes have been discussed before on this site, but what I am interested to learn via comments is rider experiences over the next few weeks on the affected routes.

• Is there a noticeable reduction in crowding?
• Do the new off peak services run reliably especially if their headways are 20 minutes or more?  Do buses run on time, or on a non-schedule making it hard to plan trips to meet the posted arrival times for buses?

For Queen 501 riders, there will be a new schedule designed to simplify route management.  The two services, Neville-Humber and Neville-Long Branch, will be scheduled separately (although headways are supposed to be blended) rather than having cars switch between the two branches.  What has your experience been on the 501 for the past month or so, and is there any difference with the new schedule?

Finally, here is the November 23, 2008 Service Summary for those who want all the gory details of the operation.

Updated:  This afternoon, the TTC issued a press release as follows:

TTC announces service improvements

Sets record of 465 million rides

Beginning this Sunday, November 23, customers of the Toronto Transit Commission will now be able to take almost any bus route in the city between approximately 6 a.m. and 1 a.m., seven days a week.

As part of the TTC’s service improvement plan, all bus routes will now align with the hours of the subway. Routes that used to only operate during peak periods, or midday, will now run during the same hours that the subway operates, with a maximum of 30 minute waiting times. An increase in the number of buses during peak periods will mean an increase in service for customers across Toronto.

Customers have been requesting the TTC to increase services in areas of the city that require reliable transit at all times of the week. For example, the 32D Eglinton West via Emmett route will now operate every 30 minutes or better, seven days a week until 1 a.m., servicing
residents on Emmet Ave. who previously had a lengthy walk to and from TTC services.

A full list of new and improved TTC services can be found here.

What: Bloor-Yorkville lights up with holiday magic
When: Saturday November 22, 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Where: Village of Yorkville Park (On Cumberland between Avenue and Bellair)

Though we have enjoyed some pleasantly warm weather through most of November, that familiar crunch under our feet means its winter again. That means pushing through sidewalk crowds who are both boxed-in by snowbanks and stopping to window shop at every story, getting the bottom of your pants soaked from trudging through snow, navigating the curbside slush-swamps when crossing streets, and… well pretty lights!

On Saturday, November 22, the lights are switched on in the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood with lighting displays “lit” simultaneously to join popular animated storefront windows and charming decorations – a part of the citywide Cavalcade of Lights celebration

The event is going to be hosted by Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman (CBC TV’s Steven and Chris Show) and will feature Zero Gravity Circus performers.

For more information visit www.bloor-yorkville.com.

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What: Mobile City Book launch
When: Thursday, November 27, 6 pm
Where: George Brown School of Design (230 Richmond Street E)

The Mobile City is a project aimed at enhancing youth participation in community building in the twin cities of Milan and Toronto. It is meant to provide urban youth in those cities with a platform to share their dreams and insights about urban life. Through the use of digital photography posted to the photo galleries on this web site, as well as commentary on the discussion board, the project will act as a bridge between the two cities, the two nations and the two different cultures.

The winners from the Mobile City contest have been compiled into a book which will be released next week. Daniela Benelli, the Minister of Culture for the Province of Milan will be the event’s special guest.

For more infortmation visit www.mobilecityphotography.org.

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What: York Region Transportation Master Plan public consultations

Where: See description

When: Tonight, Nov 25, Nov 27 6 pm

 To allow residents to learn more about the Transportation Master Plan Update and provide input, The Regional Municipality of York will host a third and final round of Public Consultation Centres this month across York Region.

Draft transit and road network improvements as well as policies and programs for the next 30 years will be presented.

They take place tonight at Markham Council Chambers (101 Town Centre Blvd), Tuesday, November 25 at Newmarket Council Chambers (395 Mulock Drive), and Thursday November 27 at York Region South Service Centre (501 High Tech Road, 1st floor, room ABC).

For more information visit www.york.ca (pdf).

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The Events Guide is a regular feature on Spacing Toronto. To submit a listing, email eventsguide@spacing.ca. Please note that, due to demand, we cannot guarantee publication of your listing.

photo by blkmage

Must’ve been a wild night.

POLITICS
• Green bin helps, but not enough to hit city’s goal of 70% [ Toronto Star ]
• Green bin reaches for the sky [ Toronto Star ]
• Toronto’s green bin program moves into highrises [ CBC.ca ]
• Green bin recycling’s movin’ on up [ Toronto Sun]
• City betting tenants, landords willing to ‘do the right thing’ [ Toronto Star ]
• City curbs parking at Islington strip malls [ Toronto Star ]
• Showdown looms in Halton [ Toronto Star ]

ART
• Streetcar barn makes long journey to become artists’ colony [ CBC.ca ]
• Wych Will [ Eye Weekly ]
• Urban revival balances past and present [ Toronto Star ]
• Raising the barns [ NOW Magazine ]
• Dazzling Dundas [ NOW Magazine ]

TRANSIT
• City to clear snow from Martin Goodman Trail this winter…mostly [ National Post ]
• City gives cyclists a hand this winter [ Toronto Sun ]
• Cyclist who lost his leg unable to aid police [ Globe and Mail ]
• CUPE tries to extend its reach at the TTC [ Toronto Star ]
• Safe way across 401 just needs a sign [ Toronto Star ]

MISCELLANEOUS
• Naughty on St. Nick’s [ NOW Magazine ]

This a reminder that this Sunday, Nov. 23 from 10am to 2pm in Riverdale you'll get a chance to see the best cyclocross racers in the province race and wipeout in Riverdale Park East. If all goes well we should be able to see people in skimpy clothing and bikes evidently unsuited for the terrain to wipe out on muddy snow. One can hope. If not at least there will be sausages.

There will be:

• 30ft beer tent where riders go through at speed
• vendors permit for the sale of "100's" of vintage wool jerseys
• cowbells on sale for 1$
• hot dog/sausage vending
• free jetfuel coffee for everyone
• and a polish band!

Chills and thrills and spills!

See the full event details here.

Councillor Joe Mihevc’s unfortunate and undeserved ousting as chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee and Councillor Michael Thompson’s minor temper tantrum over the loss of his post on the TTC board were the only stories told in the media earlier this week after the mid-term committee reassignments were unveiled [PDF] at last Friday’s Striking Committee meeting. But when the dust settles, neither of those decisions will have more impact than what is set to happen to the Parks and Environment and Public Works and Infrastructure committees.

With the exception of Executive Committee, standing committees of City Council are mostly politically balanced. Usually there are three votes the Mayor can count on to support his direction and three that range from sometimes supportive to almost always opposed to anything the Mayor proposes. Given the voting habits of the current crop of councillors (and the requirement that every councillor be appointed to at least one standing committee) the Mayor doesn’t have the numbers to get a majority on every committee. To ensure the remaining part of his agenda proceeds as planned, the Mayor has to forecast which committees will be most important to him over the next two years, and which will have less important work to do on his agenda.

Committees like Economic Development and Government Management are traditionally ones where the Mayor has few problems getting consensus from across the political spectrum so there’s generally less concern about the political affiliation of those councillors. In contrast, it seems over the first two years of his mandate the Mayor felt he needed to focus his political capital on his environmental agenda, demonstrated by stacking the Parks and Environment Committee to ensure a clear 4-2 majority on key votes. That committee delivered the Mayor’s climate change plan to City Council and it passed Council unanimously. A job well done.But following its work on the climate change plan, the Parks and Environment Committee has been very quiet, with at least one regularly scheduled meeting cancelled because there was nothing on the agenda. Now, key environmental initiatives like packaging reform laws and bicycle lane approvals are coming through the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee since that committee is responsible for waste diversion and roads. However, the Mayor has had problems progressing on both the cycling and packaging fronts because of 3-3 splits on key Public Works and Infrastructure Committee votes (a vote loses on a tie).

With that surely in mind, the Mayor shuffled committee assignments (approved by Striking Committee last Friday and going to City Council for approval at the end of November beginning of December) to make Public Works and Infrastructure weighted 4-2 in his favour by dumping Councillor John Parker and Councillor Mark Grimes (responsible for holding up bike lanes and striking the deal with Tim Horton’s that will, at the least, delay part of the new packaging laws), and replacing them with his ally Councillor Gord Perks and opposition rep Councillor Cesar Palacio. The corresponding trade-off was replacing Councillor Perks at Parks and Environment with potential mayoral candidate Councillor Karen Stintz, making that committee an even three-on-three.

What this means for the remaining 24 months left in this term of council is that Public Works and Infrastructure will be doing more heavy lifting that the other non-executive standing committees and Parks and Environment will likely be inconsequential, leaving the politically ambitious Councillor Stintz and vociferous Councillor Michael Walker to sit in boredom.

Photograph by Kevin Steele

Spacing contributor Laura Boudreau is blogging the Creative Places + Spaces Regional Forum at the Artscape Wychwood Barns. Follow her posts on Tuesday and Wednesday to learn more about innovative city-building at the Barns and beyond. 

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The Forum is over, but the celebration continues: the Barns officially open to the public tomorrow, November 20th.

Happy exploring!

Photo: Wychwood Streetcar Barns #1, Hugh Martin

Spacing contributor Laura Boudreau is blogging the Creative Places + Spaces Regional Forum at the Artscape Wychwood Barns. Follow her posts on Tuesday and Wednesday to learn more about innovative city-building at the Barns and beyond. 

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It’s the Community Hubs breakout session, and we’re exploring the kinds of new and innovative partnerships that are being developed to advance the “neighbourhood hub” concept from an idea to reality.

Ruth Crammond, the United Way’s Community Hub Coordinator, gave us some insight into a hub project that’s in the works for east Scarborough:

As part of its strategy to strengthen social services across Toronto, United Way has announced a major initiative of a 15,000 square-foot community hub that will provide programs and services to residents in the neighbourhood of Eglinton East/Kennedy Park in east Scarborough. The facility will house a number of social programs and services, including a satellite Community Health Centre…

 The hub, which will be operated by West Hill Community Services (a United Way member agency), is an exciting initiative, but still in the very early stages of development:

“Too often the cultural sector is not at the table during the earliest stages of culture-led regeneration,” said our facilitator Patrick Tobin, Director of Policy Programs, Ontario Region, Canadian Heritage. That’s something the United Way approach is definitely taking into account, trying to leverage the local relationships and partnerships that are already at work in its targeted 13 priority neighbourhoods, all in the hopes of helping rich cultural infrastructure explode at the community level.

The take-home message of the session is more question than answer: What would a community hub look like in your neighbourhood?