North York's Cycling Black Hole

When looking at Toronto’s cycling map, there appears to be a large black hole in North York bounded by the Don trail system, the Finch hydro corridor, the Humber River Trail, and the Beltline Trail (or Eglinton). It is a reality I face whenever I bike to work near Dufferin and Lawrence via the West Toronto Railpath and Caledonia. Bike lanes do exist on Marlee – which I used often when heading to certain downtown destinations after work – but they don’t connect to anything north of the Beltline. It is a shame, given the large amount of employment lands along Caledonia and near Downsview Park. Last month, I checked out the proposed York University and Downsview connections while doing some municipal election volunteering with Progress Toronto to better understand how to fill this hole.

Toronto's cycling map - note the large gap in North York

To start things off, I brought my bike on the subway to Downsview Park station. Downsview Park itself has a bunch of smaller off-road trails, but don’t do much for on-street connectivity. The nearest on-street bike lane is found on Sentinel Road at Dovehouse Avenue, which meant braving Sheppard Avenue for almost two kilometres. Given the width of Sheppard, it would be a no brainer to put in a multi-use path from Vitti Street – the entrance to Downsview Park – to Sentinel and give neighbourhood residents a safe cycling route to the subway. Especially considering the Downsview proposal called for a short bi-directional cycle track on the south side of Sheppard from Sentinel to Sunfield.

Sentinel Road at Dovehouse Avenue

The existing bike lanes on Sentinel were meant to be extended from Dovehouse to Sheppard, though that wasn’t done at the time I was there. The City recently issued a construction notice for bike lane installation on Dovehouse from Keele to Sentinel. While it would help reduce the distance needed to travel on Sheppard heading westbound, a signalized crossing would be needed at the northern John Drury Drive entrance to allow for safe access to Downsview Park station.

Finch Hydro Corridor at Sentinel

The existing painted bike lanes on Sentinel go through a residential area, which helps reduce the stress level when riding towards York University. While it bears repeating paint isn’t enough to keep people riding bikes safe, traffic calming measures should be enough in this case. These bike lanes provide connectivity with the Finch hydro corridor and The Pond Road. Some bike lanes were called for on Evelyn Wiggins Road to link with an existing trail next to a bus only corridor, though they weren’t yet installed. To make matters worse, there isn’t a curb cut from Evelyn Wiggins to that trail.

Lack of curb cut at Evelyn Wiggins Road

The Pond loops around York University and leads to the recently installed cycle tracks on Shoreham; a first for North York. Shoreham runs next to the Aviva Centre stadium, though there are a couple of weaknesses. The first is the unsafe right turn mixing zone at Murray Ross Parkway – expected to get a boulevard trail to Steeles – while the other is the premature end at the Black Creek bridge.

These right turn mixing zones should be discouraged

The remainder of the cycle track to Jane Street is waiting on sewer work to be done, while a crossing could be added at the bridge to allow for safe access to the Black Creek Trail. If only the major corridor study on Jane north of the 401 could proceed, Shoreham would prove to be a valuable east-west connection.

North York's first cycle tracks on Shoreham Road

Looking forward, the Finch West LRT is currently scheduled to be completed in 2023 and will include some form of bike lanes. (Hello, Mobility Greenway?) As for the bike plan, getting Transform Yonge through council in early 2019 will be critical for improving cycling access in North York, as will the need to provide a safe crossing under Highway 401. There are also calls for a trail on Bathurst north of the 401, as well as a route using Faywood, Wilmington, Wilson, and Dufferin. Unfortunately, one of the main weaknesses of the bike plan in North York is the lack of dedicated east-west routes, though an update to the plan is expected in early 2019.

Unlike the east end where a few key route additions can complete the grid, filling North York’s black hole will require a lot more work. Having said that, a few strategic moves such as Downsview – York University and Transform Yonge could help build a catalyst for further improvements beyond the build out of the current ten year bike plan.

Fill that hole!
Rob Z (e-mail)