May 2024 Danforth-Kingston 4 All Ride

This morning, about 100 people made it out for today’s Danforth-Kingston 4 All ride in support of a safer Danforth Avenue and Kingston Road in Scarborough. It was a short four-kilometre slow roll from East Lynn Park to Scotia Parkette east of Warden Avenue. It was the first ride held in support of bike lanes on Danforth since COVID-19 pandemic and was made more urgent given the Danforth-Kingston project – originally proposed for the 2022-24 Bike Plan – was recycled into the one for 2025-27.

Here’s a photo of the ride when I first got to East Lynn Park.

One Final Push For Bloor

This month has brought lots of good news for Toronto’s cycling community! First, Toronto city council approved the Bloor bike lane extension from Runnymede Road to Six Points with only one councillor opposed. This past Monday saw Torontonians elect bike-riding Olivia Chow in the mayoral by-election! And yesterday, Mississauga City Council finally approved the Bloor Street Integrated Project using Alternative #6 consisting of two traffic lanes, one centre turning lane, and protected bike lanes! Let’s find out what this means for the soon-to-become intercity bikeway.

Reflection on Bloor West Consultations

Last week, the City of Toronto hosted two open houses for the Bloor West Complete Street Extension which would extend the Bloor bike lanes in two phases from Runnymede Road to Six Points. Jun N attended Wednesday’s meeting at Swansea Public School and has a great write-up about it, while I attended Thursday’s meeting at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute. Since I already covered the technical details in an earlier post, this post will focus on general observations and community feedback.

Existing conditions at Bloor and Royal York

Bring on the Bloor West Complete Street Extension!

At long last, the City of Toronto has announced two public consultations for the Bloor West complete street extension. The first one will be held on Wednesday, April 12 (6:00 to 8:00 PM) at Swansea Public School (207 Windermere Avenue) and the second on Thursday, April 13 (6:00 to 8:00 PM) at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute (86 Montgomery Road). While I encourage those who support extending the Bloor bike lanes west to Six Points to attend, those who are unable to can submit their feedback online by Thursday, April 27. Let’s review what’s included in the plan.

Rendering of Humber River Bridge - All photos are from the City of Toronto's project website

Making Danforth and Kingston Safe for Everyone

Last summer, Bells on Kingston was formed to help build support for extending the Danforth bike lanes into Scarborough and along Kingston Road. They hosted a few group rides including feeder rides to Community Bikeways’ “Light Up Toronto” road safety rally on October 2 and “Cycling Good Cheer” ride on December 18. With stakeholder consultations under way and public consultations anticipated for this spring – along with those for Bloor West – it’s time to take the next step in establishing a 30-kilometre bikeway from Kipling Avenue to Scarborough Golf Club Road. The Danforth-Kingston Complete Street is expected to be done in two phases; first to St. Clair Avenue East and then to Scarborough Golf Club Road.

Phasing of Danforth-Kingston Complete Street Project (via City of Toronto)