Last year was a big setback for cycling in Toronto with the passage of Bill 212 by the Ford government. However, the events of this year proved the worst was yet to come at Queen’s Park. Even so, there was still a lot of good things that happened, so let’s look back at what happened in 2025.
In January, I took part in the New Year’s Day ride for the second time, as well as went to Brampton for a Bill 212 rally in front of Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s office before the early provincial election was called. I also took the time to write about last year’s trip to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
February saw more than 50 centimetres of snow fall which saw bike lanes left unplowed a week after the storm. To be fair, the amount of snow meant it took a few weeks to do snow removal which is more time intensive than plowing. That month also saw Doug Ford win his third straight majority, though one silver lining was the defeat of PC MPP Christine Hogarth in Etobicoke-Lakeshore.
The month of March started with Cycle Toronto’s annual “Coldest Day of the Year” ride which lived up to its name with -8’C temperatures, while it ended with a rainy Critical Mass ride.
I called for an open streets campaign in April and started the petition in May which now has over 900 signatures and 44 organization supporters. That month also saw Cycle Toronto’s charter challenge against Bill 212 get its day in court on April 16, while the April 28 federal election saw the worst result ever for the NDP which were reduced to seven seats and lost official party status. That election broke my lifelong streak of voting NDP to voice my disapproval of their leader Jagmeet Singh who lost his own seat and resigned. Members will pick a new leader in March.
BIKE MINDS returned to Toronto in May with an event at Curbside Cycle, while the end of the month saw both the opening of the Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge and another Critical Mass ride. Finally, the RapidTO bus lane proposals on Dufferin and Bathurst started to get a lot of public attention thanks to significant car-brained opposition. Especially for Bathurst.
My most read blog post of the year was about the East Don Trail in June shortly after the tunnel under the Richmond Hill GO line was installed. A trail I covered on several other occasions this year. Community Bikeways (TCBC) celebrated their 5th anniversary with a ride to the Evergreen Brickworks, while I ended the month with a ride from Barrie to Brampton along the Thornton Cookstown Trail and the Caledon Trailway. The latter instantly became one of my favourite trails!
The big July cycling highlight was Justice Paul Schabas’ ruling in favour of Cycle Toronto for their charter challenge in April; something the Ford government promptly appealed which will be heard on January 28, 2026. I got a new Brodie Romax Adventure 1.0 gravel bike and christened it with a ride to the new Biidaasige Park which was widely praised. A couple of July events I attended were Bike Party and the second annual Ride The Meadoway, while I got a bike share membership and scrapped the e-scooter. The RapidTO project also won at City Council, though it only covered south of Bloor Street.
In August, I checked out the Escarpment and Chippewa Rail Trails near Hamilton. Back in Toronto, there was some bad news regarding Eglinton in which the City ended up resurfacing the street the following month without bike lanes. I also wrote about the 2012 trails plan to identify where things stood since that plan was approved and what was left to be done.
September was a whirlwind with the Rally and Ride for Eglinton, 2nd Annual Willowdale Community Ride, Danforth Kingston 4 All’s “Just Bluffing Around”, and unfortunately a memorial ride for Samuel Willetts. The Parkside speed camera was cut down for the seventh time in less than a year along with sixteen other speed cameras in Toronto which prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford to call for banning speed cameras which he saw as a “cash grab”. Despite forming a new group called Parents Against Speeding – now called Vision Zero Ontario – and Dr. Carrie Mitchell’s petition getting almost 9000 signatures, the Ford government skipped committee hearings for Bill 56 – which included the speed camera ban – and rammed it through.
One big change that also happened that month was my departure from TCBC to focus on the open streets campaign. Speaking of which, I managed to check out Open Streets Hamilton.
I did my longest ride yet in October; a 150-kilometre ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls! I also did the Scarborough South Loop with The Driveside for the first time, while there was a lot of consultations that month including for Kingston Road. Since ground broke for the Brimley Road South trail to the Scarborough Bluffs, I did a round up of what was happening with Scarborough’s waterfront.
The focus for November was on Bill 60 which – in addition to several provisions which were hostile to tenants – outright banned cities from replacing motor vehicle lanes with bike lanes or any other prescribed purpose (as opposed to requiring cities to get permission via last year’s Bill 212). This effectively killed the Parkside Drive Study and many other cycling projects. A protest ride was held on November 13 along with the World Day of Remembrance on November 16, but Bill 60 was also rammed through by skipping committee hearings. Last, but not least, I checked out the newest addition to The Meadoway from Midland to Marcos.
December saw a record number of bike lanes totalling twenty kilometres approved by City Council. However, the December 4 IEC meeting was dominated by the TransformTO debate which lead to the over 50 speakers on the bike plan item – myself included – either keeping our remarks short or declining to speak to avoid losing quorum. To add insult to injury, my LeMond road bike was stolen while at City Hall that day. 😠However, there were also some good moments such as the Cycling Good Cheer ride and the East Don Trail got its last major bridge installed. And for something different, I did a comparison of the Finch West LRT vs bike share which the LRT won narrowly.
As for what kind of bike things I have my eyes on for 2026, I would like to check out the new Stayner to Angus trail and continue to Collingwood. Checking out the completed East Don Trail will be a must, and I hope a group ride to mark the opening can be arranged. Speaking of group rides, it would be great to join Dismount Bike Club for at least one of them. Finally, I plan to continue the open streets campaign to see if we can succeed in bringing it back for 2026, though a lot remains to be done.
What were your highlights (and lowlights) of 2025? And what do you have on your bucket list for next year? Let’s hear it!
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