Bike-riding parking officer won't be silenced after his Twitter account is suspended

"We've had some complaints about some of what he's been doing," said police spokesperson Mark Pugash.

Thestar.com
Nov. 3, 2017
By David Rider

The outspoken Toronto parking enforcement officer known for ticketing vehicles in bike lanes says his bosses can keep him off Twitter but "they can't silence me."

Kyle Ashley made the comment Friday in an interview with the Star after Toronto police said they suspended his Twitter account while investigating the "appropriateness" of some of his tweets amid "numerous" complaints from people they won't name.

Ashley said two of his managers arrived at his home Friday, while he was off sick, and "lambasted me regarding my Twitter performance, in front of my spouse." He said he deactivated his popular @TPS_ParkingPal account when they demanded he turn control of it over to them.

The managers did not specify a complaint, Ashley said, but one referred to a communication from the office of Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. Ashley said he never tweeted at Coderre and can only infer that Montreal cyclists frequently retweeting and cheering him on put pressure on the mayor, who is fighting for re-election, to do more to protect cyclists there.

Coderre's campaign spokesperson had not, at press time, responded to the Star's late-afternoon request for comment.

Ashley, a vocal advocate for cyclist and pedestrian safety, said: "You can silence my Twitter account but you can't silence me, the person. I will continue to work with Friends and Families for Safe Streets and other organizations but, as for me on Twitter and social media, that's up to Toronto police."

Ashley, who cycles while handing out $150 bike lane tickets, said he was not suspended and plans to report for work Monday.

Mark Pugash, a police service spokesperson, said in an interview: "We've had some complaints about some of what he's been doing.

"We've had concerns and that has escalated and while the complaint and the concerns are being looked into it's been temporarily suspended. We've had numerous complaints and concerns ... ranging around the appropriateness of some of the things that he's been posting on Twitter."

Pugash rejected Ashley's "lambasting" comment, saying one of the managers told him the interaction was calm and professional.

Asked about talk of a complaint from the Montreal mayor's office, Pugash said "that was raised" but could offer no details about the nature of the complaint or who it was from.

Pugash also emphasized that the parking enforcement unit is not stepping back from targeting bike-lane invaders, or the use of social media to target scofflaw motorists. He noted the service added two other officers in the same role.

Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association which represents parking enforcement officers, said Toronto Parking Authority officials will meet with Ashley next week to "see if they breached any of his (contract) rights and to deal with the issue."

Ashley burst onto Toronto's commuting scene in June when he convinced his bosses to let him focus solely on protecting bike lanes. His cheeky use of Twitter to scold motorists, including delivery companies, who invade bike lanes earned applause from cyclists including then-chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat.

Cyclists in international cities including Copenhagen expressed envy at Toronto's dedication to ensuring bikes can safely pass through bike lanes. Canada Post agreed to stop its trucks from invading the lanes after Ashley singled out the Crown corporation.

His public scorn, sometimes aimed at politicians, is unusual for a junior civil servant.

When Toronto MPP Yvan Baker recently tweeted text of his "distracted walking" bill aimed at smart-phone-staring pedestrians, Ashley tweeted back: "Let's continue to victim blame. Because walking across the street, your 160 lb body at 3kmh can do some SERIOUS damage. This is dribble."

Baker's office said Friday neither the MPP nor any of his staff complained about the tweet.

When another person tweeted at Ashley about Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti's resistance to spending money on bike lanes, Ashley tweeted back: "I don't want to pay his salary. But I do."

Mammoliti, who often complains of a "war on the car" in Toronto, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Jared Kolb, executive director of Cycle Toronto, said Ashley has "filled a vital gap" in Traffic Services communications that leaned toward blaming pedestrians and cyclists killed or seriously injured rather than motorists who hit them.

"In speaking out for road safety issues Kyle put responsibility for traffic fatalities squarely on the shoulders of motorists . . . and I hope he's back soon," Kolb said.

It's not the first hint of trouble for Ashley. After saying the city needs more robust barriers to protect cyclists, he prefaced a July interview by saying any questions about cycling infrastructure had to be referred to city officials.

"The community's now got somebody they feel is in their corner," he told the Star's Ben Spurr at the time, adding that online engagement gave voice to a group "that didn't feel like they were being represented or listened to before."