Calling Out Etobicoke Opponents on Bloor

When we advocate for safe streets, there will always be some people who will oppose them for a wide range of reasons whether it be loss of parking, perceived increased traffic congestion, and a bunch of frivolous arguments such as “violating charter rights”. Some public consultations and committee meetings have gotten a bit spicy, but never in the eleven years I have advocated for safe streets that I have seen things gone as bad as the campaign from the opponents of the Bloor West Complete Street Extension; the first phase of which was installed last fall to Aberfoyle Crescent. They even used a ridiculous name called “Balance on Bloor” when we know it’s the complete street extension that has brought balance to the street away from the dominance of private automobiles. Given the hostile February 28 meeting hosted by Councillor Stephen Holyday – one of the last consistent bike lane opponents in this city – we need to call out Cody MacRae – who started that petition – for his responsibility in promoting this and other events which have put city staff in undue danger.

You can watch the 30 second video shared by Dave Shellnutt here

Per several sources including Jun’s blog, a YouTube video by rootbrian, and discussions on Reddit and Facebook, the February 28 meeting – which was supposed to be focused on the 2025-27 Bike Plan – had quickly turned into chaos with city staff being constantly interrupted and cycling supporters being heavily outnumbered by opponents. Some supporters felt unsafe and left early, while one opponent openly said “Personally, I’d like to run them over to get them out of my way”. This incitement of violence should never be tolerated and only serves to discredit their cause, while Councillor Holyday bears some responsibility for refusing to condemn the violent behaviour as Dave Shellnutt's letter highlighted. It was also picked up on BlogTO.

Below is a letter I addressed to Cody MacRae (cody@rinomato.com) and copied Councillor Stephen Holyday (councillor_holyday@toronto.ca) which I encourage you to do the same to condemn this violent behaviour.

Know Your Rights with Dave Shellnutt

Over the past five years, Dave Shellnutt has become the new legal voice for Toronto’s cycling community. During this time, he has held numerous “Know Your Rights” workshops across Ontario, started the Bike Brigade early during the COVID-19 pandemic, and expanded his advocacy to cover anti-racism matters. I spoke with Dave on January 23, 2024 to learn more about his bike-focused legal career.

Bloor Bike Lanes Rally in Etobicoke

Back in September, the City of Toronto started installing the Bloor West Complete Street Extension from Runnymede to Aberfoyle, which will be further extended to Six Points next year. Community Bikeways (TCBC) hosted a celebration ride on Sunday, October 22 – you can read Jun N’s post here – which Councillor Amber Morley attended. However, there has been some backlash with over 10,000 people signing a petition opposing them and Ontario Premier Doug Ford calling for their removal; claiming only one cyclist bikes on them annually. Given this backlash, Community Bikeways, The Biking Lawyer, and other road safety advocates organized today’s Bloor Bike Lanes Rally which brought in 250 to 300 riders.

Photo from TCBC's Bloor West Celebration Ride

#ActivismTO

On August 11, Dave Shellnut (a.k.a. The Biking Lawyer) and some other road safety advocates organized a ride for safe streets near High Park to protest the ticketing of cyclists there and other questionable actions by the Toronto Police. While I couldn’t make it at the time, over 800 people of all ages and abilities rode their bikes and managed to shut down the Bloor-Parkside intersection. With police continuing their ticketing operations on Shaw Street since then and have been caught rolling through stop signs, a follow up event was held yesterday called #ActivismTO which saw hundreds of people take part and started at Trinity Bellwoods Park.