Bike-lane protector will fight on
Kyle Ashley says leaving squad won’t silence his calls for safety
Kyle Ashley, who a year ago became an international cyclist hero for chasing motorists out of Toronto bike lanes, is hanging up his police-issued bike helmet for good.
But the 30-year-old parking enforcement officer, whose resignation takes effect July 21, eight months after getting in hot water with his bosses, told the Star he will not stop riding or fighting for cyclist and pedestrian safety.
“I was a powder keg that happened last summer at the right moment in time,” Ashley said of his switch from a regular parking enforcement officer to one charged solely with zapping motorists in bike lanes with $150 tickets and cheekily using Twitter to shame couriers and coffee buyers who forced cyclists into traffic.
“I was just a force multiplier for the feelings cyclists had about safety and, with the number of fatalities we’re seeing in road violence this summer, it’s still a real concern for the people of Toronto.
“I’m thankful for the experiences I had (as a civilian police employee) but moving forward I’m focused on my advocacy and bringing my voice back to the discussion about road safety and enforcement and having streets be designed safe enough for somebody who’s 80 or 8.
“There seems to be a renewed sense of a ‘war on things’ and ‘neighbour versus neighbour’. It’s not a war on your car or anyone’s car — it’s a war against inaction and poor street design.”
Ashley is back on Twitter and working on a podcast titled #StateOfTheLaneTO.
His first episodes will feature people hit by vehicles and those speaking for the ones who died, explore topics including identity, gender and skin colour in cycling, and highlight “Vision Zero heroes” pushing changes to curb the alarming bloodshed on Toronto streets.
Ashley is also working, on a volunteer basis, with Beck Taxi on messaging to drivers on safe driving and on training videos Beck is producing with Centennial College. Other companies have reached out to him for help, he said. He is also chatting with bike-minded city council candidates ahead of the October civic election but is ruling out, at least for now, moving into politics himself.
His efforts last June immediately drew international attention and applause from Mayor John Tory, then-chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat and others. His pointed criticism of Canada Post vans in bike lanes led to Tory talking to the Crown corporation and a promise that the practice would stop.
But last Nov. 3 he deactivated his Twitter account and went on sick leave after two managers arrived at his home to accuse him of “inappropriate” tweets — he was unusually outspoken for a civil servant — and demand his social media passwords. The police service has never publicly said which tweets were deemed inappropriate.
Before he left the road, the police service had beefed up the bike-lane squad to three officers. Ashley has been replaced and the trio ride, ticket and tweet with the “same amount of resources to targeted and dedicated bicycle lane enforcement,” as before, the police service says.
Ashley won’t say much about his departure and noted he can’t under the terms of his resignation.
“The decision to resign was not an easy one to come to. I really struggled in making it because of my commitment to making our roads safer,” he said. “There had been concern, as was well documented by the Star, that my personality/profile was too political. I have to assert that that is simply hogwash.
“I, from the beginning of my tenure, have always maintained that public safety should never be politicized, and that public safety is an apolitical issue.”
Kristine Hubbard, Beck’s operations manager, said she loved Ashley on parking patrol and is thrilled his voice is being heard again.
“I was happy to have him call out Beck drivers or vehicles because that helped us identify drivers and we could say, ‘OK, do you see what you did here and why the risk to others of doing that?’” she said.
“We’re looking at maybe using the radios in our cabs to have him do a radio show or messaging to help give drivers the in- formation they need.”
Liz Sutherland, interim director of Cycle Toronto, said her advocacy group looks forward to working with Ashley in his new role. She said he made such a splash because his emergence as Toronto’s first bike lane protector was a shockingly welcome surprise for local pedallers.
“People in the cycling community had concerns about the lack of enforcement and suddenly they felt like they had a champion, somebody on their side.”