[URBAN NOTE] "Bike station at Toronto City Hall shelved after $650,000 already spent"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Patty Wimsa reported on the ongoing controversy about building a bike station at Toronto City Hall. This sound decision, like so many, has apparently been politicized by the city's mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug. (So says the strongly anti-Ford Star, at least.)

The city spent $650,000 on a bike station under Nathan Phillips Square before the project was quietly shelved by staff in 2011, a decision some councillors say should have come back to council for approval.

“That seems very strange,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher. “The scope of work for the Nathan Phillips Square revitalization is part of a pretty public restoration. That should have been reported out.”

The station, with secure parking for 380 bikes, was a signature element in the revitalization and would have been one of the biggest in North America.

Council approved $1.2 million in funding for the station in 2010. The $650,000 was spent on design as well as electrical and mechanical servicing. The remaining money, $550,000, is still sitting in the budget, said city spokesperson Natasha Hinds Fitzsimmins.

[. . .]

Both Mayor Rob Ford and Councillor Doug Ford have said they will try to kill it when it comes up for approval at city council this month. They say the facility — complete with four shower stalls — is a waste of money and deprives the city of revenue-drawing parking spots. (The staffed station would charge fees for users but not earn a profit.)

“The Ford brothers should actually look at the drawings,” says Andrew Frontini, a member of the architectural team who won a design competition for the square. The showers are made of concrete blocks and finished inside with the “most economical porcelain tile you can get but that you can still clean,” said Frontini. As well, the storage area for the bikes is basically a metal cage.