July 22/09 18:43 pm - Bikes+Transit.com

Posted by Editoress on 07/22/09
 

With millions invested in bicycle-friendly transit, Bikes+Transit.com aims to show cyclists how to take full advantage

High Park subway station one of many local gateways to great pleasure cycling

Starting July 13, a new public awareness website - www.bikesandtransit.com - aims to help cyclists get the most out of GTA transit, and in doing so discover great, local cycling daytrips from Pickering to Toronto to Burlington, and beyond.

“With GO Transit and Toronto Transit Commission buses joining commuter trains, subways and motor coaches carrying bicycles this summer,” says Donald Wiedman, founder of Bikes+Transit.com, “local tourism and clean air are in for a big boost.”

“If you live within biking distance of a subway, a lakeshore train, a GO Bus, and soon all TTC buses,” he continues, “you are actually linked by transit to hundreds of kilometers of safe cycling along the regions’ Waterfront Trail, Trans Canada Trail, municipal cycling trails and quiet country roads. Transit easily and inexpensively whisks you east to Whitby, westward around the Lake to Grimsby, and now north to the beaches and towns along the shores of Lake Simcoe.”

Within the City of Toronto, the website highlights using the subway to reach High Park, Humber River and Don Valley bike paths. Take the GO Train to the west for a ride along the Mimico waterfront, or go east to The Beach. Toronto’s Highland Creek bikeway and Waterfront Trail between Guildwood and Rouge Hill GO train stations in Scarborough also should not be missed.

“I encourage Bikes+Transit.com’s goal of introducing Ontario commuters to cycling and transit practices common to other municipalities around the world,” says City of Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee chair Adrian Heaps. “The website helps improve accessibility to cycling trails via bus, ferry, train and subway stations across the GTA, and improves the profile of inter-modal transportation.”

“I believe the future of our communities,” adds Toronto Transit Commission chair Adam Giambrone, “depends on the extensiveness and usefulness of our transit services and cycling infrastructure. By providing clean and healthy alternatives to the automobile we can ensure that our cities will continue to develop in a sustainable way.”

Hoping to give inter-modal transportation behaviours a boost across the GTA - for healthy living, local travel and the commute to work, Bikes+Transit.com will feature nine weekly sample local cycling destinations this summer, very affordable and easily reached by transit.

Press release