August 2025 Cycling Construction Check In

Last year, Toronto installed almost 27 kilometres of on-street bikeways; making it the second highest year ever after the 30 kilometres installed in 2020 during the pandemic. This includes 8.5 kilometres for Finch Avenue West which I deemed to be substantially completed per a site visit, but the City of Toronto didn’t count as Metrolinx hadn’t transferred the street back to the City. Even excluding Finch, 18 kilometres is still respectable compared to prior years. With Doug Ford’s Bill 212 limiting new bike lane installations and Cycle Toronto’s charter challenge win last month (which the Ford government formally submitted their appeal today), it made me wonder what the impact on new bike lane installations would be.

Bikeway construction on The Esplanade in May 2025

Unfortunately, the City of Toronto is on track to installing only ten kilometres of new bikeways this year after tallying this year’s installations plus other projects the City expects to be completed.

At this time, five kilometres of bikeways could be deemed completed including the following:

• Wallace-Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan consisting of cycle tracks on Hallam from Bartlett to Dufferin, as well as contraflow bike lanes on Millicent, Emerson, and Wallace.
• Silverthorn Cycling Connections Phase 1 including contraflow bike lanes on Silverthorn and Blackthorn south of Rogers Road.
• Bi-directional cycle track on Mill Road from Rathburn to Burnamthorpe.
• Cycle tracks on Champagne Drive from Chesswood to Finch.
• A short cycle track on Knox to provide a connection to the Lake Shore East trail.

Among the other on-street projects expected to be done this year, Port Union Road is the largest at almost two kilometres. Here’s a photo TwinHuey shared on Urban Toronto which was taken at Lawrence.

The other significant arterial installation will be on Steeles from Brimley to McCowan. Two shorter bikeways on Alness (Finch to the Finch Hydro Corridor) and The Esplanade (Yonge to George) are under construction and expected to be done this year. Finally, York Gate Boulevard, Logan Avenue, and Adelaide, Richmond, and Power Streets are expected to get some minor installations.

Two off-road trails have been making great progress including the East Don Trail – which I previously documented – and the Finch Hydro Corridor extension from Birchmount to Pharmacy. Per this photo from TwinHuey on Urban Toronto taken at Birchmount, that trail extension is just about done.

With the opening date of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT still uncertain, the chances of installation happening this year from Keele to Mt. Pleasant – along with a few other contraflow projects – are low even if it opens this fall as currently projected. The Bathurst to Allen stretch of Eglinton will be further delayed due to traffic studies in the area, while a short stretch east of Caledonia is contingent on storm sewer replacement works.

Despite this setback, a few more consultations are expected this fall; the details of which will be shared on the City of Toronto’s website soon. There could also be additional bikeways headed to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee – and City Council – for approval this fall for installation next year (and beyond). Until then, let’s keep the fight for safe streets going!