MY "SICK" RIDE
Rediscovering cycling on my fab fold-up has led to much more than just getting around
My wee red folding bike elicits shouts of "Sick!" when I zip by a gaggle of high-schoolers awed by its white tires and petite frame.
As I ride up Roncey, a driver slows to roll down his window and ask if it's for sale. But most inquiries are from fellow cyclists asking how it rides and where they can buy one.
When I'm not around, a few people have gone so far as to see if they could steal it by breaking it in half. But most bike thieves seek whole folding bikes, not their parts, because of their customization.
Their super-funky style makes them like the bike version of a VW Beetle, and their history goes back to the 1900s, when they were designed for military use.
WHY A MINIMUM GRID?
A by-the-numbers guide to what it is and why it's necessary
WHAT IT IS
A none-too-ambitious plan to build 100 kilometres of protected bike lanes on main streets and 100 kilometres of bike boulevards (which allow bikes to travel both directions on one-way streets) on residential streets by 2018.
WHY THE SHORTCUT?
Because at the current sorry rate it'll take 158 years to build the 495 kilometres of bike lanes promised in the 2001 Bike Plan. And that's despite the fact that bike ridership has grown by miles in recent years. We're not even a quarter of the way there, having built only 112 kilometres.
SAFETY
55% of Ontarians who say they want to cycle more.
73% Percentage of Torontonians who say lack of cycling infrastructure is stopping them from taking to two wheels as an everyday mode of transportation.
CONVENIENCE
55% Percentage of all trips Torontonians make that are less than 7 kilometres, a distance that can easily be travelled by bike in less than half an hour.
CONGESTION
Streets aren't getting wider, and bikes take up way less space than cars and buses.
ENVIRONMENT
Air pollution is killing us.
1,300 Premature deaths every year in Toronto due to air pollution, according to Toronto Public Health.
HEALTH
2.5 Hours of physical activity Health Canada recommends per week.
AFFORDABILITY
$50,000 per kilometre
Cost of bike boulevards on residential streets (includes paint, signage and studies).
$125,000 per kilometre
Cost to retrofit existing bike lanes into protected lanes (includes bollards, signage and studies).
$72,140,000 per kilometre
Repairs to the elevated section of the Gardiner Expressways over 10 years.
SUPPORTABILITY
25 out of 44 City councillors on record as supporting the Minimum Grid during the election
HOW YOU CAN SHOW SUPPORT?
Buy a T-shirt; tie a yellow Minimum Grid ribbon on your ride; join Cycle Toronto; use the hashtag #MinimumGrid.
