Today was a beautiful Good Friday to be outside with highs of 20’C expected. Since I haven’t checked the East Don Trail since December and there was some other construction happening along the Lower Don Trail, I took out Raccoon – my Brodie gravel bike – for its first ride of the year!
On Monday, March 23, more than 250 people took part in a virtual meeting regarding the Eglinton-Allen Intersection Study. While the meeting only briefly covered the eglintonTOday project which many cyclists are interested in, it thoroughly explained some of the interim measures taken to divert traffic away from nearby residential streets, as well as the intersection redesign process. Given the next Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting is scheduled for April 7, 2026 which will debate that intersection, let’s recap what happened from that meeting and where we go from here.
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| All images are from the City of Toronto's Eglinton-Allen March 2026 presentation slide deck |
On Sunday evening, a cyclist was seriously injured at Eglinton & Oakwood. Something which prompted renewed calls asking when will the long promised eglintonTOday Complete Street from Keele to Mt. Pleasant be installed? Especially given the Eglinton Crosstown LRT opened last month. Given this unfortunate development, it’s time to put the spotlight back on Eglinton to find out where things stand and issue a call to action.
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| Cycle Toronto's Rally and Ride for Eglinton from September 2025 |
For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you would have noticed I am fiercely opposed to Doug Ford. Especially when his government went after bike lanes in Fall 2024 with Bill 212. Ever since he won his third majority last February, he has become even more unhinged with at least ten different controversial announcements within the past month alone which begs the following question. What will it take to stop Doug Ford?
On Wednesday, the Toronto Parking Authority presented Bike Share Toronto’s 2026 annual operating plan. Several media outlets mainly reported on the new e-bike design, but there are several other things in store for the next four years. Let’s pedal along!
Toronto hosted two bike shows this past weekend: those being the Toronto Bicycle Show and E-Bike Expo and Gremlins’ Vintage MTB Show. The former returned to the CNE after being held at the International Centre near Pearson Airport in recent years, while the latter was next to Blood Brothers Brewery on Geary Avenue. I went to both shows yesterday morning and here are my thoughts.
Today marks the longstanding annual winter cycling tradition called the “Coldest Day of the Year” Ride. However, the Alex Pretti Solidarity Ride held on January 31 was more deserving of that title with today ended up being a balmy 5’C. Even so, over 60 cyclists took part while Helen and Mozzie came along as well. This year’s route started at Sugar Beach Park headed southeast to the Tommy Thompson Park entrance before returning to Sugar Beach.
Almost three weeks after the big snowstorm, there were still some parts of the Bloor bike lane that were blocked by snow including the eastbound lane in Koreatown. Since I had to do some errands in The Annex and Chinatown this morning, I helped Albert Koehl and some other TCBC volunteers with the bike lane clearing in Koreatown.
On Sunday, January 25, Toronto had a record-breaking snowfall with 46 cm reported at Pearson Airport and higher accumulations downtown. Seventeen days later, there are STILL a lot of bike lanes that have not been cleared! Since I had the day off today, I went to the east end to do some errands and get some takeout while reporting on the bike lane conditions along the way. Having above zero temperatures also helped.
After fifteen years of construction and more than $13 billion spent, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT has finally opened to the public today! Since I haven’t rode a transit line on its opening day before, I did just that for Eglinton a.k.a. Line 5.
For far too long, Canada had studied the idea of high-speed rail; something which prompted a parody ad from Rick Mercer years ago. However, this latest round is the most serious one yet with actual funding, a contractor awarded called Cadence, and a new crown corporation called Alto which runs separately from VIA Rail. I attended a public consultation last night at St. Lawrence Market North which is also happening this afternoon (11 AM – 3 PM) and evening (5 – 9 PM) to learn more about the project, as well as how it could impact those who bike. Donna and Arthur with Toronto Centre Cyclists were also present to help ensure the interests of cyclists were represented.
On Saturday, January 24, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis, making it the second ICE killing after Renee Nicole Good. Since Alex happened to be a cyclist, Angry Catfish of Minneapolis organized a memorial ride in Alex’s honour, while over 100 other cities around the world held their own rides in solidarity. Toronto’s ride saw over 60 people take part which started at Christie Pits Park and ended with a moment of silence in front of the US consulate on University Avenue.
Tomorrow marks the last day you can join the NDP in order to be able to vote for their next leader in March. This race is a critical time given the NDP’s worst performance ever last April and – for full disclosure – was the first time I didn’t vote for that party. A sentiment many other lifelong NDP supporters shared. There are five official candidates in this race who are the following:
I will briefly go over these candidates and explain why I chose to support Avi Lewis.
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| A screen grab from the January 10 debate with Avi Lewis, Tony McQuail, Rob Ashton, Heather McPherson, and Tanille Johnston. Mike Layton and MPP Doly Begun (left) moderated the debate. |
With Toronto’s next municipal election nine months away, we need to take a serious look at what’s at stake. There are many people dunking on current Mayor Olivia Chow whether it’s for record breaking property tax hikes – 9.5% in 2024 – or not being bold enough on things such as housing and countering Doug Ford’s attacks on bike lanes. For the record, I wished she could have been more supportive on open streets. While there is a need to hold Mayor Chow and the rest of city council accountable, we also need to be careful to not put in someone who could be even worse.
Case in point is Brad Bradford.
Last month, Toronto City Council approved Councillor Parthi Kandavel’s member motion MM35.26 to advance the West Scarborough Rail Trail (WSRT) proposal to at least 10% functional design by a 20-1 vote with Councillor Burnside being the lone vote against. To celebrate the occasion, Misha Perozak and the Scarborough Junction Community hosted a temporary art installation at the GECO Rail Bridge next to Warden station.
Happy New Year!
Ever since I started biking in Toronto in 2012, I have had the opportunity to check out many trails in Toronto and across Ontario. However, I never got the chance to do a proper comparison of them. Thanks to some inspiration from a recent video Andrew (a.k.a. Cardiac Cyclist) shared of his favourite trails from 2025, I felt it’s time to do my own trail grading with a focus on rail trails.
