Next week’s city council meeting has two member motions proposed which the cycling community ought to pay attention to. The first is a proposed land exchange at Donalda Club for a future expansion of the East Don Trail and the second seeks to create a pedestrian streets program for Toronto. Let’s dive in to see what they have to offer.
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| The original East Don Trail ends at Milne Hollow Park |
On May 11, 2026, the TRCA updated the East Don Trail project website to say work on the Phase 1 trail is expected to be done by early July. However, I was notified by Tom on Strava last weekend that the trail is now fully paved from Taylor Creek all the way to Bermondsey. This morning, I used my day off work to check it out.
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!
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.
On Monday, I found out on the Urban Toronto forums that Bridge #2 on the East Don Trail (Phase 1) was finally installed; making it one of the last major pieces of infrastructure needed to complete the trail. Since I was also curious to check out how the trails are in the winter months, I went to check out that new bridge, as well as some of the trail conditions along the way.
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| A drone shot of Bridge #2 shared by TwinHuey on Urban Toronto on December 9, 2025 |
Earlier this month, The Meadoway noted on their Facebook page that a new stretch had opened from Marcos Boulevard to Midland Avenue, though some people noted the trail had been paved since September. I was also informed by city staff recently that one of the bridges needed to complete the East Don Trail could be done as early as last week, though the November 9 snowstorm likely hindered things. Given these developments, I checked out both projects yesterday during my afternoon off.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimmy Judgey and Gurinder Sandhu started The Driveside which hosts a series of community rides in Scarborough (and later in Hamilton) with a focus on community and inclusivity. Not unlike the GyalDem and ManDem cycling clubs; the latter of which will resume in Summer 2026. Since I never took part in their rides before and I have been curious to check out their Scarborough South Loop route, I checked it off the bucket list at today’s community ride which over 100 people attended.
Over the past few days, I found out on Urban Toronto that the East Don Trail has made some more progress since the tunnel installation in late May, while Joric shared in the Cycling in Toronto Facebook group that the Lower Don Trail access at Don Mills Road has been made more accessible. Earlier today, I went on a 19-kilometre ride to check out both items.
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| An aerial shot of Bridge #2 on the East Don Trail (via TwinHuey on Urban Toronto) |
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.
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| Bikeway construction on The Esplanade in May 2025 |
With last year’s “Ride The Meadoway” being one of my favourite rides in Scarborough, I was thrilled to find out it was happening again this year! This year’s occasion also gave an excuse to check out the newest Meadoway segment from Military Trail to Morningside, as well as the Marcos to Midland segment under construction. This morning, I joined about 60 people who started at Wexford Hydro Park while a few others joined in afterwards.
While I already stopped by the East Don Trail three weekends ago, the tunnel installation that happened last weekend prompted the need to do another site check. I also hadn’t checked out the portion of the East Don Trail north of Eglinton. Today, I decided to check both Phases 1 and 2 out, as well as see how they could be connected.
The last time I checked out the East Don Trail was in October 2024 when I first noticed the completion of the bridge adjacent to the double switchback structure. This effectively left the tunnel as the only major obstacle remaining. Earlier this month, the Urban Toronto forum showed some posts indicating new activity at the tunnel site. I decided to bike over and check things out, as well as highlight a few other updates along the way.
While trying to describe 2024 from a Toronto cycling perspective, the phrase "flip turned upside down" from Will Smith’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” song had come to mind. Especially considering the record number of cyclists killed and the Ford government’s passing of their anti-bike lane Bill 212 (which also calls for accelerating Highway 413 construction). Let’s recap 2024 to see why that was the case.
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| Winter conditions along the Sherbourne cycle track this afternoon |
It’s hard to believe, but another year is almost over, and it’s been quite the rollercoaster with the Bill 212 fiasco and all. With two more weeks to go, a lot has popped up which warrants a roundup post of its own. This includes a couple of updates regarding Bill 212, the East Don Trail, the Ellesmere Complete Street project, and some upcoming group rides. Let’s dive in to see what December 2024 has to offer!
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| A banner ridiculing Doug Ford's war on bike lanes found over the Gardiner (via Martin Reis) |
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you were able to enjoy the long weekend with lots of food, as well as some riding. With today being sunny and 10’C, I rode 25 kilometres to check out the progress along the East Don Trail, new cycle tracks along Ferrand, and improvements to the Leaside Bridge.
On March 16, I visited the southern half of the East Don Trail from the Forks of the Don to a dead end where a tunnel will be installed under the Richmond Hill GO line. Being curious to find out what the other side is like – as well as how it will connect with The Meadoway – I did a 56-kilometre ride yesterday to check the northern half of the East Don Trail, as well as newest segment of The Meadoway that opened last fall.
On Sunday, I wrote about the East Don Trail and had mentioned the eglintonTOday Complete Street project was expected to go to the Infrastructure & Environment Committee next Wednesday. Upon reviewing the agenda released this morning, it turned out the item will not be debated and will instead be dealt with in May. However, Motion IE12.4 covers several cycling projects such as Ferrand Drive, Galloway Road, Portland-Dan Leckie, Silverthorn, Weston Cycling Connections, and the Jones Street upgrades. Advocates are encouraged to e-mail iec@toronto.ca by Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 PM to show their support for any items that are relevant to them. Now, let’s get back to discussing last weekend’s site check along Eglinton.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everybody!
Yesterday, I did a ride along the Lower Don Trail, checked out the East Don Trail, and checked the progress along Eglinton Avenue. Since the eglintonTOday Complete Street project is expected to go to the Infrastructure & Environment Committee on Wednesday, March 27, I will focus this post on the East Don Trail and discuss Eglinton separately when the final report comes out on Wednesday, March 20.
