Your 2018 Bloor Street Check-up

Bloor bike lanes at St. George where Dalia Chako was killed

Earlier this month, I posted about the Bloor bike lanes from Sherbourne to Church being delayed yet again. With the municipal election only three months away and the need to build support for extending the Bloor bike lanes east and west, I rode along Bloor from Renforth Road (1.7 kilometres east of the Mississauga border) to Parliament Street to document the conditions along the way; similar to what I did on Yonge. Consider this your 2018 Bloor Street check-up.

Listening to a Legend

Cycle Toronto may be Toronto’s primary cycling advocacy organization today, but it is relatively recent in the larger advocacy story. Bike Pirates started two years prior in 2006, while Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists – the folks behind the ghost rides for fallen cyclists – and the Community Bicycle Network have existed since the 1990’s. In order to better understand the historic side of cycling advocacy, I interviewed one of Toronto’s legendary advocates, Wayne Scott. From the “food as fuel” campaign to demanding justice for fallen cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard, Scott’s 35 years of advocacy have been felt throughout Toronto’s cycling community.

A 1998 CBC clip from the show "Big Time with Daniel Richler"

featuring Scott, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists & other advocates