Speaker's Night: A Century of the Bicycle's Ups and Downs - pride, prejudice and politics

Name: Speaker's Night: A Century of the Bicycle's Ups and Downs - pride, prejudice and politics
Start: 2025-05-15T19:30:00-04:00
Location: 4709 Dundas Street West , Toronto, ON, Canada, Ontario M9A 1A8

Schedule

Thu, 15 May, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

4709 Dundas Street West , Toronto, ON, Canada, Ontario M9A 1A8 | Toronto, ON

NOTE: OUR SPEAKER's NIGHT SERIES IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.etobicokehistorical.com/become-a-member.html
Throughout its history in Toronto, the bicycle’s place on the roads and in public esteem has fluctuated wildly. What is it about the simple bicycle that it can be so loved by some yet despised and detested by others? Albert Koehl will reveal the tumultuous 130-year history of this mode of transportation from the bicycle craze at the turn of the century, to the rise of the car and the motorway in the 1950s, to the intensifying cry for active transportation in the 1990s and into pandemic times. Drawing on archival materials, newspapers, and personal interviews, and full of fascinating vignettes from his book, Wheeling Through Toronto, Albert presents the story of how we got here and what Torontonians need to know as we pedal forward.
Albert Koehl has been an environmental and community lawyer, and a former adjunct professor of law, for over thirty years, dedicated to issues of climate change, energy (mis)use, and transportation. He is one of Toronto’s leading road safety and cycling advocates – his work inspired and sustained by a commitment to social justice and the belief that how we get around shouldn’t be based on power or wealth, but on fairness and respect for each other, our community, and our climate.

Location: Montgomery's Inn, 4709 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1A8
Start Time: 7:30pm (Refreshments served from 7pm onwards)