The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) was formed in 2006 and has been a project of the Clean Air Partnership since 2008. TCAT represents a unified voice to over 50 organizations working for a better cycling and pedestrian environment in Toronto.

1. Bike lanes, on-street parking and the impact on commercial business.

The purpose of this study, funded by Transport Canada, the Toronto Community Foundation and the City of Toronto, is to understand and estimate the importance of on-street parking to business. The installation of bicycle lanes on major arterials often requires the removal of on-street parking and there is a widespread perception that doing so will harm business. Up to this point there has been very little data to support or disprove this belief. A research study – conducted in July of 2008 – surveyed the opinions and preferences of merchants and patrons on Bloor Street and analyzed parking usage data in the Annex area. A research report titled Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business. A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto's Annex Neighbourhood based on the results was released in early 2009 followed by a webinar to make the tools and methods developed for the study available to other municipalities. The webinar recording has been posted on-line.

A follow-up research study was conducted in July of 2009 in which the opinions and preferences of 96 merchants and 510 visitors in Bloor West Village in Toronto were surveyed. A research report titled Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business Year 2 Report: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto's Bloor West Village was released on March 15, 2010 followed by a webinar on March 30th, 2010.

2. Comparative Study of Active Transportation Programs and Indicators in Toronto and Other Canadian Cities

This project funded by the Toronto Community Foundation is a follow-up to a brief report TCAT published for Bike Summit 2008, entitled Benchmarking Toronto’s Bicycle Environment: Comparing Toronto to other World Cities. The report generated a lot of interest in Toronto and across Canada, and it was noted that a more rigorous and comprehensive study would be useful.
 

3. Laying the Groundwork for N/S and E/W Cycling Arteries in Toronto

Based on the initiative taken in London, Copenhagen and other increasingly bike-friendly cities, with funding from the Toronto Community Foundation, CAP will study and make the case for major commuter cycling routes in Toronto. These would be long, continuous routes with exclusive space reserved for cyclists and vital links with higher order public transit (subways and LRT).
 

4. College Street Cycling Survey

In the spring of 2010, TCAT began working with the City of Toronto to evaluate cycling conditions on College Street before and after the installation of a new bicycle pavement marking application. More information on this research study here.

5. Complete Streets Forum 2010

Building on the success of TCAT's Bike Summit 2008 and 2009, the Complete Streets Forum expanded the mandate and scope of TCAT's annual active transportation policy conference.

The Complete Streets Forum took place on April 23, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. There were also pre-conference activities that took place on April 22, 2010 at various locations.

The forum was an opportunity for delegates wanting to learn about the latest approaches to designing healthy cities and the next steps for making Ontario an active transportation leader in North America. It featured speaker presentations providing policy and project updates, implementation case studies, best practices in planning, and evaluation of urban opportunities. Over 200 delegates attended from across Ontario and beyond representing transportation planners, urban design firms, municipal and provincial government, industry, public health professionals and established non-profit organizations.

More information here.