Just like that, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has become a hero to all bikeless cyclists in Toronto. Wong-Tam has convinced three developers in Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale to contribute a total of $1 million to the Bixi bicycle-sharing program.

The big Bixi deal

Wong-Tam approached Canderel, Diamondcorp, and Lanterra about contributing to Bixi in exchange for creating fewer parking spaces than the City requires. Apparently, Wong-Tam didn’t need to sway the developers at all - they would have spent more money on the parking spaces.

Canderel contributed $500,000 from their new Yonge and College development, currently going by the name Yonge and Grenville. Diamondcorp contributed $200,000 from their 159 Wellesley Street development, which is currently in the preconstruction phase. Lanterra contributed $300,000 from their redevelopment of Sutton Place, called The Britt Condos.

According to the Toronto Star, Lanterra Chief Executive, Barry Fenton, never considered the deal as a cost-saver. Very often, developers are released of city parking requirements for nothing. Fenton believes that his staff could have convinced Wong-Tam to ease up on the requirements without the Bixi deal, but he believes that investing in urban cycling “just really, really, really makes a lot of sense.”

The future of Bixi

The $1 million collected from the developers will go towards to expansion of Bixi. There are currently 80 Bixi stations downtown, and $1 million is enough to install another 20.

$1 million is quite the investment, but Bixi carries a $3.9 million debt on its back that it just can’t seem to shake. Earlier this year, the option of having the TTC take control of Bixi surfaced, but it didn’t end up happening, and Mayor Rob Ford called the program a “failure.”

Wong-Tam has a more optimistic view of Bixi’s future:

“In a short period of time we will have allocated a million dollars. And that’s just this tiny little ward,” Wong-Tam said. “If everybody else used this, and there was a consistent policy across the city, we could probably bring Bixi into North York, into Scarborough, into Etobicoke. It could be everywhere.” (thestar.com)

What's your opinion on Bixi?

It makes so much sense. Cut down on parking spaces, invest in urban cycling. Cycling is environmentally friendly, healthier for your body, and if we have more major companies like condo developers contributing to the program, then more people will be able to take advantage of the service.