Photo above: Rachel Lee from Bloor Superfresh, Albert Koehl from the Annex Resident Association, Councillor Joe Cressy, Ron Koperdraad from Hot Docs Cinema, Jared Kolb, Executive Director at Cycle Toronto, and Councillor Mike Layton.

NEWS RELEASE

June 21, 2017

For Immediate Release



TORONTO - Bloor Street businesses, local Residents Associations and Cycle Toronto hosted a press event to unveil Bike and Buy: Tour de Bloor Passport, a program that forges a new chapter in community relations and demonstrates that cyclists shop locally. This is the first time a passport is being used to show that cyclists shop locally.



"Bike lanes have already made Bloor safer for everybody. Now, we want to make sure they make the street better for businesses as well. The Tour de Bloor passport will help to do just that,” commented Ward 20 Councillor Joe Cressy.



The Tour de Bloor Passport features more than 70 businesses along Bloor Street.



Shoppers can pick up a copy of the Passport and shop at participating businesses, receiving a stamp when they spend money. People that shop at 20 businesses or more will be entered to win great prizes. The Tour de Bloor Passport can be picked up this evening at our Bike Month Commuter Station at Bloor & Christie between 5:30-7:30pm or at Curbside Cycle or Sweet Pete’s B-Side (Annex). The Passport is also available online at bloorlovesbikes.ca. The program runs all summer long.



“We are proud to be a participating business on the Bike and Buy Tour de Bloor Passport,” said Rachel Lee from Bloor Superfresh. “We appreciate the safety benefits of the new bike lanes, and are glad that businesses and cyclists are working together to make Bloor a great street for everyone.”



"The pilot bike lane on Bloor has brought thousands more Torontonians into our neighbourhood by bicycle,” said David Harrison, Chair of the Annex Residents Association. "We want to see more of those cyclists in our local shops. We believe the passport will help achieve this goal. When local businesses thrive, that’s great for our community.”



According to a recent survey released by the City of Toronto, 75% of near-by residents support or strongly support the bike lanes.



"Building a vibrant and prosperous Bloor Street must include making sure people are safe, no matter what their choice of transportation. This passport is looking to capitalize on the increasing popularity of the Bloor Street bike lanes,” said Ward 19 Councillor Mike Layton.



Ridership growth on the Bloor bike lanes is increasing. Before the bike lanes were installed in August 2016, it is estimated that 3,000 cyclists rode along Bloor Street between Bathurst and Spadina over a 24 hour period. Since then, ridership grew to approximately 4,500 cyclists per day by October 2016 and has since increased further, to 5,500 in one 24 hour period in May 2017.



“As more and more people are shopping online, it becomes critical that we work with main street businesses to shape the vibrancy of our communities,” said Jared Kolb, Executive Director of Cycle Toronto. “We want to make sure that the new Bloor Street bike lanes help support local business. This Passport helps demonstrate that cyclists are some of local businesses’ best customers.”



The Bloor Street bike lanes were approved as a pilot project last year by Toronto City Council in a vote of 38-3, and are up for review this Fall.





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Media Contacts:

Jared Kolb, Cycle Toronto, (416) 644-7188, jared.kolb@cycleto.ca

Poster sized Bike and Buy: Tour De Bloor Passport.