Let’s Show Solidarity with Transit Riders!

Earlier this month, I reflected on how Toronto’s car-brain issues go far beyond bikes including with the opposition to proposed RapidTO bus priority lanes on both Bathurst and Dufferin Streets. However, the anti RapidTO push has seen more short turns than the 504 King streetcar which deserve a follow up post on its own! Let’s look at how the current RapidTO proposals came to be, the evolving opposition, and what you can do to show solidarity with transit riders!

RapidTO on Eglinton Avenue East

The first RapidTO bus priority lanes were installed from September to November 2020 along Eglinton Avenue East, Kingston Road, and Morningside Avenue from Brimley Road to UTSC. At the time, five other corridors were being considered for RapidTO treatment which were Jane Street, Dufferin Street, Steeles Avenue West, Finch Avenue East, and Lawrence Avenue East. The Jane Street project was originally supposed to be implemented back in 2021, but still hasn’t been implemented. Meanwhile, Motion EX16.21 was approved in July 2024 which called for RapidTO bus priority lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst Streets ahead of Toronto’s hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup which brought us to the current round of public consultations which ended on Monday, May 26.

While Motion EX11.8 – which was approved in February 2024 – called for RapidTO lanes on Dufferin along the entire 29/929 bus route from Wilson Station to Dufferin Gate, the latest motion prioritized the portion south of Eglinton Avenue. The latest presentation materials suggested even then a phased approach could be pursued with south of Bloor Street being prioritized. The Bathurst Street proposal wasn’t part of the initial RapidTO consideration, but would cover from Eglinton Avenue to Lake Shore Boulevard. Both projects got initial approval from the TTC board on Wednesday, May 14, but would still need to go to the Executive Committee and City Council in either June or July.

Regarding the so-called "Protect Bathurst” and “Protect Dufferin” campaigns against the respective RapidTO lanes, the Bathurst one was revealed to have been linked with Summerhill Market on Saturday, March 17 (thanks to Dan Seljak's below Twitter/X post) while we still don’t know who’s behind the Dufferin one. Both campaigns have near identical messaging which was called out as examples of astroturfing per Terra Loire’s guide on spotting astroturf campaigns. Both have their own petitions on Change.org which have more than 2400 and 200 signatures related to Bathurst and Dufferin (respectively).

There's no name associated with the Dufferin one but to be clear, @summerhillmkt are the people behind the Bathurst one. pic.twitter.com/rXY3UH1jfx

— Dan Seljak (@anotherglassbox) May 17, 2025

However, the “Protect Bathurst” campaign has seen a lot more activity. Several businesses were called out on Reddit for opposing the RapidTO lanes there claiming the loss of parking would harm their businesses; something familiar to bike advocates. The Bathurst campaign was called out by Shawn Micallef for using AI which got picked up by Toronto Life and the Toronto Star. They falsely claimed supporters were being paid by the government and shared a video of a blocked streetcar which was recorded while driving. ($615 fine, anyone?) Finally, Summerhill Market recently broke ties with that campaign, but not before hiring ABC Toronto board member Jeffrey Kroeker to lobby on the RapidTO Bathurst file and they still plan to fund their own traffic studies à la “Balance on Bloor”.

So: the “Protect Bathurst / Dufferin” astroturf campaign run by Summerhill Market had videos of a guy talking about the neighborhood & RapidTO proposal. Real grassroots feel. Took a screenshot & put it into google image search. Guess what?

[image or embed]

— Shawn Micallef (@shawnmicallef.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 8:52 PM

The good news is a few editorials and op-eds in support of RapidTO were published in the Globe and Mail, as well as the Toronto Star. TTCriders started a letter writing campaign in support of RapidTO on Bathurst and Dufferin which got almost 700 supporters so far and is one I encourage you to sign and share widely. There will also be an opportunity to e-mail the Executive Committee, Mayor Olivia Chow, and your city councillor when the item comes to city hall for final approval. Let’s not let the car-brains throw transit riders under the bus and keep pushing for safe streets for everyone!

TTCriders painted a makeshift bus lane on Dufferin in October 2022 (via TTCriders)

In unrelated news, there will be a critical mass ride held tomorrow – meet 6 PM at Gwendolyn MacEwen Parkette – while I encourage you to please sign and share the petition to bring back open streets programs to Toronto by 2026!

I will keep a running tally of RapidTO developments on this Google Doc as things come up. Kindly let me know if I missed anything.