A Bixi bicycle stand in Montreal. Creative Commons photo by Flickr user pdbreen.

When Toronto launched Canada’s first bike share program in 2001, many saw it as a miracle project. Mirroring the popular-abroad systems of Paris and Vienna, the system allowed cyclists to grab their bikes at one hub, cruise the streets, and then drop the bike off at a rack nearest their destination—all for a daily or monthly fee. It seemed bike sharing would cut traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and even obesity.

It wasn’t to be. The program crashed after only five years and Canada’s been stuck in first gear since. Thanks to Bixi, that may soon change. The international company—which already operates programs on three continents—ran a trial bike share program in Ottawa-Gatineau and a five-day demonstration in Vancouver this past summer, and was in negotiations with Toronto in 2009. While its efforts to revive bike sharing there were a failure, Bixi’s fledgling program in Montreal is gaining momentum fast.

The program has been in operation less than a year and already has 5,000 bikes, 400 stations, and 10,000 full-time members. That’s massive compared to the 450 users Toronto had at its peak before the 2006 closure.

A coordinator with the group that ran Toronto’s short-lived program says the on-and-off success of bike shares in Canada comes down to funding. “It’s a struggle being able to charge enough,” admits Sherri Byer. Indeed, Toronto’s Community Bicycle Network was forced to shut down its program after falling short $80,000.

While Bixi’s fee structure has kept it stable so far, the company actually credits its success to community consultations promoting bikes. Byer agrees combating people’s stereotypes is important. “North Americans generally don’t believe in bikes as transportation,” she says. “They’re seen as a recreation vehicle.”

Even so, while change may be a long road, Bixi has given bike-share enthusiasts heart. Eleanor McMahon, president of the cycling advocacy organization Share the Road, says there’s no question that bike sharing needs to come back, it’s just a matter of when and how. “Cycling is not viewed as mainstream, and it’s time that city government stepped up [and talked about it],” she says. “We have to ask, what kind of city do we want?”

Regardless of other circumstances, a helmet helps protect the only head you've got. Photo courtesy Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Intrawest, the resort company that runs the ski runs at Whistler Blackcomb and 10 other ski hills, announced yesterday that it is strongly encouraging skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets on its courses, and instituting mandatory helmet rules for all children and young-adult participants in its skiing and boarding classes. The move comes six months after British actress Natasha Richardson died of head injuries sustained at Mont Tremblant in Quebec. This is a good idea, and people should heed the advice.

Helmet-wearing (for all kinds of activities) is inexplicably controversial for some people, and I don’t get it. When I was a kid, we had a family friend die of a head injury sustained on a bike; it was around the time that I got my first two-wheeler, and my parents told me I had to wear a helmet. This was before anyone else around my school was wearing one, and I felt like a total dork. But I also felt, even as a kid, that it was better than the alternative. I still feel that way.

You only get one head. It’s worth protecting. Plus, the helmets don’t all look as dorky as they used to.

(And here’s “Protect ya neck” by those advocates of head safety everywhere, the Wu-Tang Clan. Sensitive people: beware explicit lyrics!)

Cyclists on Bloor Street in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, memorializing Darcy Allan Sheppard. Photo by Patrick Morrell/CBC.

The chain of events late Monday night that ended in the death of Toronto cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard—during an altercation with former Ontario MPP Michael Bryant’s car—are terrible and sad to behold. The news spread like wildfire yesterday and the local and national media descended en masse to report every detail.

One such detail (among many) that troubled me was that police volunteered the information that they had had another interaction with Sheppard on Monday. It was unrelated to the night’s events and had nothing to do with cycling nor traffic: the Toronto police had responded to a “noise complaint or a domestic dispute” earlier in the day involving Sheppard and his girlfriend:

Officers had been called to the scene of a domestic dispute on George Street, near Jarvis and Gerrard streets, Monday afternoon, Toronto police said.

“I guess you could say it was concerns of a noise complaint or a domestic dispute. When police arrived on scene, they investigated. There was no indication a criminal offence took place,” Staff Sgt. Kevin Guest told CBC News.

What was the relevance of this information? Why, moreover, were the Toronto police disclosing this information yesterday? No criminal offence, no official report, no charges—just the vague impression of…what? Emotional instability? Irresponsibility? Unsavoury-ness? I can understand a reporter, wanting to leave no stone unturned, asking whether Sheppard was known to police; what I can’t understand is why the police would answer that question, essentially tarnishing the reputation of the victim while the investigation is still going on.

[Photo source]

[Editor’s note: every month, Eco-Chamber profiles an eco-group from Canada or abroad, called “Eco-Action.” Eco-Action takes a look at both the group and the actions they demonstrate towards their cause.]

Not many see bikes as a symbol for activism. However, that is just what the Toronto Cyclists’ Union is changing. They advocate for a more bike-friendly city to encourage environmental, social and urban sustainability.

“Think of us as the Canadian Automobile Association of bikes. Like CAA, 80% of our work is advocacy. However, instead of advocacy for the automobile, we advocate for bikes,” says Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union.

Two wheels are on the rise throughout North America. Portland, Oregon , for instsance, recently outpaced Copenhagen in the #2 spot for “best bike cities.” Toronto is seeing a rapid influx of cyclists in its urban spaces. According to Treehugger, the latest census report shows that from 2001 to 2006, cyclists have increased by 32 percent, while the automobile commuters have decreased by 5.2 percent.

The Toronto Cyclists Union was formed out of a desire to replicate bike advocacy groups found elsewhere in North America. With such a rise of cyclists in Toronto, it is time to build more bike lanes and for cyclists’ voices to be heard in a city where cars have mostly dominated, says Bambrick. In 2008, the group’s launch year, there were 70 members of the Union. Within a year, that number has grown to nearly 600.

“The bike is a powerful tool. It’s a no-emissions means of transportation; a way of battling climate change, smog and city pollution; low-cost for individuals; relieves the overburden city congestion; and promotes better health,” says Bambrick.

But bike advocacy faces challenges: there are city councilors who consistently prioritize parking and traffic issues, instead of issues relevant to cyclists. Some of the city’s infrastructure plans consider pedestrians and greenery over bikes. And then there’s the generalized North American mentality that the automobile rules — and anything else is road-kill.

But the bike union is maneuvering around these barriers this year. Boosted by its members’ dues, the union is an aggressive lobbyist at the municipal, provincial and federal level. Last week, speaking at a Toronto city infrastructure meeting, the union advocated building new bike lanes as part of a redevelopment plan for Jarvis Street, a five-lane road that currently acts as an artery for auto traffic. An amendment was approved and new bike lanes should be included when the plan passes council.

Beyond transforming roads, bike union is attempting to transform minds. From road rage against cyclists — road rage so toxic that a 36-year-old man lost a leg in a confrontation with a taxi last year —  The union wants to restore some respect for cyclists’ rights, and their media efforts are helping to do that.

One shouldn’t have to be ‘Brave-Heart’ to cycle to work every day, threatened by cars and minimal lane space, says Bambrick. Instead, the Toronto Cyclists Union wants to make cycling an activity that every urbanite can do in safety.

As one of our oldest forms of transportation, bikes are also our future. It is a symbol of sustainability and shifting attitudes. In these times, bike advocacy groups are more necessary than ever. They put this back-to-the future two-wheeler in its rightful place in our cities — everywhere.

Creative Commons licensed photo courtesy stevenh