Minneapolis, MN: the recent winner of Bicycling Magazine’s award for most bicyle friendly city in America shows off its famous Midtown Greenway, a dedicated bicycle route attracting new development and business in the city centre. In Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford’s bike plan calls for removing bike lanes from many city streets, because as he says, “roads are for cars and trucks.”
Chicago, IL: Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to make the city the most bike-friendly city in North America, outdoing previous cycling mayors by installing more than 150km of separated cycle lanes and a bike sharing program starting with 3,000 bikes. Toronto’s mayor has started calling for cyclists to be licensed, even though he thinks bicycles shouldn’t be allowed on roads.
Detroit, MI: in response to sharply increasing use of bicycles by commuters, America’s Motor City plans to add to its network of almost 60km of on-street bicycle lanes. Despite sharply increasing demand in Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford will delete 7km of existing bicycle lanes this year, and vows to never install new lanes in the city.
Vilnius, Lithuania: Mayor Arturas Zuokas fights cars illegally parking in the city’s bike lanes by crushing one with an armoured vehicle. Toronto’s Mayor’s heart bleeds when a cyclist is killed on the road, but in his words, “it’s their own fault”.
