Survey for public input on 10-year plan for Toronto cycling network

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  May 8, 2015

Survey for public input on 10-year plan for Toronto cycling network

Toronto residents and businesses are being asked to complete a survey to help the City's Transportation Services division create a plan for expanding and improving Toronto's 856-kilometre cycling network over the next 10 years.

"The City of Toronto is committed to expanding and improving our cycling network," said Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West), Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. "The survey lets Toronto residents provide input on the objectives and criteria for selecting the routes that will form the cycling network."

The survey is online now and will be available until May 29 at http://www.toronto.ca/cyclingnetwork.

The plan has three objectives:

- connect gaps in the existing cycling network

- expand the cycling network into new parts of the city, and

- renew existing cycling network routes to improve their quality.

In addition to taking into account public input, the draft plan will be analyzed against eight criteria to ensure that cycling investment is focused where it will have the most impact. Maps that show the following eight analysis criteria will be posted on the cycling network website over the next few weeks. Criteria include:

• connecting existing routes

• extending coverage to new areas of the city 

• crossing barriers 

• responding to population and employment density 

• meeting current cycling demand 

• recognizing potential future cycling demand 

• improving road safety, and 

• connecting to key destinations.

This news release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/1dSjJwQ

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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Media contact: Steve Johnston, Strategic Communications, 416-392-4391, sjohnsto@toronto.ca