Miami, FL: Miami hires expert consultants from the Dutch capital to improve cycling infrastructure to the city built for cars, and to better cycling education. Rob Ford fired a world-renowned transit expert when he dared disagree with the Toronto Mayor’s ill-advised billion-dollar suburban subway boondoggle.
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.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore takes to Twitter to promote Sydney, Australia’s Sydney Rides Challenge, challenging local businesses to encourage employees to ride a bike, even just for a few minutes a day. Toronto city councillor Doug Ford (Mayor Rob Ford’s brother) muses about running over cyclists every day on his drive to work.
