Leave the bikes at home

If your parked bicycle goes missing from downtown Toronto this week, don't bother chasing down Igor Kenk -- chances are the police are the culprits this time.

ISU spokesperson Sgt. Tim Burrows says police have been removing suspicious bicycles parked overnight around the G20 security zone (an area roughly bordered by King St., Yonge St., the lake and Spadina Ave.).

"If it looks like an abandoned bike, it's gone," Burrows said. "(If the suspicious bike is parked) after midnight and before 6 a.m., the bike's going to be investigated and there's a good shot it's going to be removed."

Like the many bike rings (and bus shelters and garbage bins and tree saplings) that have already been removed from the downtown core, bicycles can easily be used as makeshift weapons, Burrows explained.

He said some bikes have already been removed by police. Any cyclist who discovers his or her wheels missing can check with the Toronto Property Bureau at 799 Islington Ave. (416-808-3750).

"The other day, there was a very old decrepit bicycle -- there was no way it could have been ridden -- and it was locked with a brand new Kryptonite lock. These things just don't go together," Burrows said. "Whether it’s intent is to be used as a weapon or any other nefarious purpose, we’re just not taking the chance."

Meanwhile, it seems some office buildings are accommodating their cycle-happy employees and moving staff bike parking indoors. Twitter user @kayakinstructor tweeted this picture today of a Queen's Park building, where a makeshift indoor bike parking seems to have been constructed in the lobby.

 

Details of G20 fence announced

Fences will start going up on June 7 around the inside security perimeter ringing the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto as the first concrete signs of the G20 summit start to fall into place.

The fences will be similar to the chain-link barriers used during the Indy car race in July, said Toronto Police Superintendent Tom Russell at a press conference Friday morning. No razor wire will be used. Police will be able to use tear gas, he said, and while the piercing LRAD sirens will be primarily for communication, he would not rule out other uses.

The security bill for the G20 summit of world leaders on June 26 and 27 and the G8 summit that precedes it in Huntsville adds up to $1.1 billion, including $933 million for policing.

Work on the fence will continue 24 hours a day until it is finished, said Russell, who is in charge of the police G20 task force. People should be able to "move freely" around the area until the evening of Friday, June 25, he said.

The outer security perimeter, where residents and workers with access cards will have expedited access to, runs up Windsor St., east on Wellington, south on Bay, west on Front (omitting Union Station), south on York, west on Bremner Blvd., south on Lower Simcoe, west on Lake Shore Blvd. then runs north and encircles the CN tower, with a break south of train tracks (omitting the Rogers Centre). It then starts up again on Blue Jays Way and Front St., then runs east to Windsor and then north to Wellington.There will be a separate fence wrapping the Westin Harbour Castle on Queen's Quay.

The summit traffic zone, which will not be fenced in, stretches from King St. to Yonge St. to Queen's Quay to Spadina Ave., he said. The 400-series highways, the Gardiner Expressway, the QEW and Lake Shore Blvd. will not be closed during the summit although Hwy. 427 and the Gardiner will be shut down periodically to accommodate motorcades, he said.

"People will notice a significant difference in terms of uniformed officers in the downtown core" during the summit, Russell said. The ferry system to Toronto Islands, the TTC and Union Station will be open and operating, he said. Some streetcar lines will have service limited and the Front St. access to Union Station will be sealed, but the 504 streetcar on King St. will continue to run. Portions of the underground pedestrian way beneath the downtown core will be closed from the evening of the 25th until the morning of the 28th.

The York, Bay and Yonge exits to the Gardiner will be closed on the 25th and 26th, said Russell. The westbound ramp to the Gardiner will be closed on the 27th. On Queen St., Yonge St., Lake Shore Blvd. and Spadina, cars violating parking rules will be tagged or towed, he said. Police will be at the protest site at Queen's Park. Russell said G20 security are working with summit officials to establish a streaming service to pipe demonstrators' voices into summit headquarters will be in place.

For more information, visit the Integrated Security Unit's website here.

How do these security perimeters and traffic restrictions affect you? Email us: [email protected] or [email protected]