Email communications with Toronto city councillor, city transit cycling infrastructure unit regarding Use Hand Signals road sign for cyclist safety.
Thank you for your email to the City of Toronto, which was forwarded to us by Councillor Palacio’s office.
I’ll be forwarding this to our Cycling Infrastructure unit for review and follow-up. Please allow up to 15 business days for response.
Sincerely.
Shinette Talusan for Stephen Buckley
General Manager, Transportation Services
City of Toronto
City Hall, 100 Queen Street West
24th Floor, East Tower
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-392-8431
Email: [email protected]
>>> Councillor Palacio 06/02/2015 1:17 PM >>>
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Good afternoon Stephen and Bruce,
Hope all is well.
I’m in receipt of the email below from my constituent Luciano regarding proposed road signs for cyclists. Please refer to the email below for further details.
I would greatly appreciate if you can please look into this request and report back with your findings.
Thank you very much for your continuous assistance and I look forward to your response.
Regards,
Cesar Palacio
Toronto City Council
Ward 17 – Davenport
416-392-7011
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From: Luciano Sebastian De Monte [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: May-26-15 3:49 PM To: Mayor Tory Cc: Councillor Palacio Subject: Road sign for cyclists
Dear Mayor Tory,
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This is my first time contacting any mayor. I’ve reached out to city, provincial and federal representatives in the past and unfortunately never received a reply. I hope that this time will be different considering the context of my communication. I am a self employed graphic designer with 16 years of experience. I live in Toronto, Ward 17, with my wife and my 20 month old son.
I’m contacting you today to tell you that as a driver lately I’ve noticed some cyclists using hand signals while on the road, as of course they should be doing. Although both you and I know that many cyclists don’t follow the rules of the road as they should, let alone hand signals. This leads to very dangerous situations, just like the incident at the corner of my house a few years ago where a cyclist was killed on his way to work as a teacher. I’m not sure of who was at fault here but in the end it doesn’t matter. Someone lost their life that day while trying to go earn a paycheque. This was a very devastating incident for me and my family, especially since he left behind a young family. Today there is a ghost bike at the corner of Davenport and Lansdowne in tribute the the fellow that lost his life there.
When I got home the other day I decided to research whether there were any road signs geared specifically for cyclists and after a few google searches I didn’t really find a single symbol that is public domain or otherwise to represent and acknowledge cyclists on the road. Because of this lack of signage, that same night I designed a set of icons that can be used for that purpose of acknowledging cyclists on the road by giving them signs and rules to follow, not unlike that which is done for cars and pedestrian. I designed an icon, in 3 variations for each hand signal, and fourth one inclusive of all three hand signals. I believe that only one icon or symbol would be necessary to indicate that cyclists should be using hand signals at all times.
I fully believe that by acknowledging cyclists with road signage, it would not only promote safer riding, but it would encourage drivers to acknowledge that they share the road. This would be especially true if there were street signs specifically for cyclists. The sign would be up there for the cyclists but it would also engage drivers, making them aware and reminding them that cyclists may be around and to watch for hand signals. Now, I’m not a cyclist myself, however I do have plenty of friends that commute to work on a bicycle. As a driver though,I would appreciate knowing that cyclists are being engaged with signage enforcing certain rules. It would make my driving experience less stressful and dangerous while driving alongside a cyclist. One of the main reasons I’m not a cyclist though is because I don’t feel confident with the cars around me. I realize that the city is creating more bike lanes and trying to encourage cycling as an alternative to driving to help eliminate congestion, pollution and the number of cars on the road. I believe that taking the initiative one step further, by using signage specifically for cyclists, engaging them to ensure they are using safe practices and following the rules would be an even greater step towards your, and the city’s initiatives on transportation.
I’ve attached the icons below. I would be very pleased to speak with you or any other representative of the city to discuss this matter further. I hope that you’ll see the positive message that a road sign of this nature can project. I’m actually very surprised that nothing like this already. I see that there are signs that indicate “bicycle”, but nothing engaging the riders themselves. My design serves a dual purpose: engage the riders to use hand signals; engage the driver that cyclists are on the road with them.
I hope to hear back from you with an opinion on this matter. I believe that this could be something truly groundbreaking and that other metropolitan cities would be quick to follow suit, not only across North America, but around the world. It would be good to see Toronto leading the way on an initiative like this.
Sincerely,
Luciano Sebastian De Monte