Bike parking rings to be stripped from downtown core: newsletter

Note: this blog post has been updated here.

Cyclist Duncan Hurd has received a draft copy of this month's Cyclometer, a City of Toronto biking newsletter, that says summit officials will be removing 1,000 bike parking rings from the G20 security zone.

The bike rings are in addition to other forms of street furniture that will be also be removed from the area, including Canada Post mailboxes. According to the newsletter, the rings will be stripped two weeks prior to the summit in the area bordered by Yonge St. and Spadina Ave., Queen St. to the lakefront.

"Every effort will be made to replace the rings quickly once the summit has concluded by the final week of June," the newsletter reads. "Posts will remain intact so re-installation will be simpler."

A downtown without bike rings to which we can safely lock up our bikes? Sounds like a scene from an Igor Kenk fantasy.

Thanks to Duncan for providing us with a copy of the letter, as well as pointing us toward the issue with his tweet.

Comments

[Urban Cyclist]

This is ridiculous! Why? Are they considered a safety risk or is it aesthetics? What about the hundreds of people that try to effectively use alternative means of transportation to go about their days in downtown Toronto?

[Realpolitik]

The combination of a hollowed bike lock ring (removed in secret sometime before the summit) and a sophisticated plastic explosive like RDX, along with (potentially) a shaped projectile could prove devastating.

The presidential limousine for example can take a blast from a grenade but I am highly doubtful whether a conventional looking vehicle could be designed to withstand an IED blast. Unless Obama or other dignitaries (Harper included) want to roam around Toronto in police APC's or military IED-rated transports every rational precaution must be taken. An object so easily removed (with a wrench) and replaced, covertly presents a prime target for somebody looking to plant say, a cellphone activated roadside bomb using a high-quality explosive. Just saying.

From where I see it, all of the contingency plans and surveillance effort I've noticed recently, combined with measures like this reassure me that law enforcement is doing anything and everything in its power to ensure that World Leaders are able to traverse the financial district and move about freely. Remember there are elements in global society that both possess the capability and the will to disrupt the international order. Firebombing a bank is one thing but there are definitely bigger interests at work that prompt G20 security decisions on numerous fronts.

It's unfortunate that businesspeople will be inconvenienced but local taxi services will undoubtedly experience a boom for a two week period. Think of it like a stimulus package for the taxi industry.