Kites and Bikes: Two approaches at city hall

This op-ed appeared in the Toronto Star on July 11th.  I’ve included the amazing illustration by Lola Landekic, which was not included in the Star’s online version of the piece. I’ve also included a short update at the bottom.

One year ago, a slow summer afternoon was interrupted by a stream of unexpected phone calls. New signs had been installed in Scarborough’s Milliken Park stating “No kite flying allowed” and as the official spokesperson of the Toronto Kite Fliers Association, journalists were calling me for a quote.

The kite ban was an exaggerated response to genuine safety concerns that had been raised about the growing sport of “kite fighting” and the abrasive strings used by competitors. Most kite flying is completely harmless and the ban unfairly punished the majority who were flying safely. My initial comments were not positive in tone.

Trinity Bellwoods • Kite’s eye view

I was at a kite festival in Port Colborne a few weeks ago, and I bought a tiny keychain video camera from a nice fellow named Matt Black.  Matt’s with the  Wind Climbers club (Cambridge) and the Renegade Strings club (Guelph).

The camera is so small and light that you can attach it to a kite and get amazing aerial shots of the city that are impossible to get any other way.  I got a simple and stable kite from Gary Mark (Toronto Kite Fliers) and tried out my new camera at Trinity Bellwoods Park.  (I just taped the camera to the keel, with one piece of duct tape).