Memorial Ride at Brimley & McNicoll

Unfortunately, it seems Toronto can’t get by a single year without a cyclist getting killed. On Monday, January 30, a woman in her 60’s was struck by a driver at Brimley & McNicoll and died of her injuries on Saturday, February 3. Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists hosted a memorial ride for the fallen cyclist earlier today which started at Kennedy Station.

Here’s Robin and Geoff with the ghost bike.

Time for a group photo. There was almost 30 people who gathered at Kennedy Station.

Leaving Kennedy Station.

On the trail which leads to the Gatineau Hydro Corridor.

Turning onto the pedestrian bridge crossing the railway tracks.

A look at the railway tracks which used to accommodate the Scarborough RT. RIP.

Riding down the double switchback.

This is the first time I saw the bus-bike RapidTO lanes painted on Midland Avenue to accommodate the extra buses since the Scarborough RT was shut down. Mayor Olivia Chow’s budget called for fully funding a busway along the Scarborough RT corridor which will be voted on this week.

The ride regrouped at Midwest Road.

Crossing Highway 401 didn’t involve dealing with any interchanges, but the pavement quality was poor with lots of potholes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a clear picture crossing the 401.

Past the 401, I noticed some edge lines were painted along Midland which helped make things a little more pleasant. Still would prefer a bikeway either on Midland or Brimley.

Geoff and Dave riding on Midland. Still need to master taking photos backwards. 😉

Turning onto the Finch Hydro Corridor.

Finally, some riding that doesn’t involve mixing with cars. However, I should note the trail between the hydro corridor and the Brimley - McNicoll intersection was rather narrow.

Arrived at the crash site where we were joined by a few more people including Councillor Jamaal Myers whose ward includes that intersection.

Setting up the ghost bike and the banner saying, “a cyclist was killed here last week”.

After a moment of silence, Councillor Jamaal Myers mentioned he had spoken to the son of the fallen cyclist who was still shocked by the crash, as well as stressed the need to address the high rate of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in Scarborough compared to the rest of the city.

Jun taking out some flowers to decorate the ghost bike. There appeared to be an initial reluctance for others to join in, though they eventually did.

One more look at the crash site before heading back via Brimley, Huntingwood, and Midland to the subway station.

A view of the former Midland RT station.

Riding on the bus-bike lane on Midland.

Before pulling into Kennedy station, I noticed a brief stretch of protected bike lane. However, there is a need to complete the short stretch to Kennedy Road, as well as connect to the trail we used at the beginning.

Thanks Geoff, Joey, and Jun of ARC for organizing today’s memorial ride. Having Councillor Jamaal Myers attend at the crash site was greatly appreciated and I hope more councillors attend memorial rides in their wards in the future to show they are serious about Vision Zero.

Here is a photo of Mark Fernandez of TCBC and I holding the banner at the crash site courtesy of Friends & Families for Safe Streets.

Here is Jun's blog post about today's ride.

For those who live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, there will be another ghost ride on Thursday, February 15 for a cyclist killed in the area on Tuesday, February 6. Thanks Janice of Cycle WR for organizing that ride.