For cyclists, vandalism of city’s bike counter feels like ‘another attack’
· Toronto Sun
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The city’s downtown bicycle-tallying machine is down for the count.
A bicycle counter on the Martin Goodman Trail along Queens Quay W. near Lower Simcoe St. was out of service when the Toronto Sun paid a recent visit, in what appears to be the second case of vandalism in just a few weeks.
The machine is a bit skinnier than a poster box one might find at a bus stop. It’s hooked up to a sensor and displays the number of cyclists who pass by — or, at least, it does that when it’s working.
City Hall told the Sun that the counter was set up in May and there hadn’t been any issues until recently. The machine was vandalized earlier this fall and repaired on Oct. 20, only to stop functioning again Monday because of a wiring problem.
“The city will continue to monitor the situation and address any issues as needed,” City Hall said in a brief statement.
Michael Longfield, executive director of advocacy group Cycle Toronto, said it’s particularly disappointing because the sign was about to mark a milestone: The millionth time a cyclist had passed the sensor this year.
“It helps really demonstrate that despite what we might be hearing from the premier and the minister of transportation right now, that thousands, tens of thousands of people rely on riding their bikes every day through the city as a means of transportation,” Longfield told the Sun .
Numbers from the city’s online open data portal show the sensor logs roughly 2,000 or 3,000 cycling trips on a typical day. It’s unclear whether there’s been any change associated with the vandalism as the city’s data hasn’t been updated since Oct. 13.
Echoes of speed camera saga?
The Toronto Police Service said it wasn’t aware of any reports of mischief involving the bike counters and directed further questions to the city.
While sensors are used across the city, bicycle counters that display traffic data are a new concept for Toronto. There is another one in the west end, on Bloor St. north of High Park.
Longfield said he has no idea who might be damaging the bicycle counter or why, but he’s heard comparisons to the repeated vandalism of speed cameras across the city . The constant toppling of the machine on Parkside Dr., at the east end of High Park, became something of a running drama in Toronto before the province banned the use of speed cameras last year.
“It does seem a bit concerning that individuals feel they can do these things and kind of get away with it, whatever their motivations happen to be,” Longfield said.
He said the vandalism is playing a part in a “broader feeling” among Toronto’s cyclists that bike infrastructure is a target, particularly given the province’s recent removal of bike lanes on Bloor St. in Etobicoke.
Still, he acknowledged that the sensor is in a “very different” location — on a dedicated, long-established bike path, rather than in a converted lane on a busy arterial street.
“I can’t pretend to guess who’s doing this,” Longfield said, “or why they’re doing this or what motivation there is for it — you know, within their own mind there is a relationship or not — but I would say the broader cycling community, it sort of feels like yet another attack on a mode of transportation.”