Revisiting Toronto’s 2012 Trails Plan

Back in 2012 when the late Rob Ford was Mayor, Toronto approved a 77-kilometre Bikeway Trails Implementation Plan. While the City of Toronto has since issued a Ten-Year Cycling Network Plan (2016) and a series of three-year plans, it’s worth revisiting which of the trails have been completed since then and which ones have not. Let’s dive in!

It’s Time to Demand Accountability for Eglinton

Two things that have made Torontonians furious at the Ford government lately are the constantly delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT and their war on bikes through Bill 212. Both of these matters intersected yesterday when Toronto Today had reported the bike lanes proposed under eglintonTOday would be paused because of Bill 212. While the article was later corrected to state the City of Toronto’s commitment to do the installation after the LRT opens, the City of Toronto updated the eglintonTOday project website to say installation would not happen in 2025 when the road resurfacing work happens.

Let’s Show Solidarity with Transit Riders!

Earlier this month, I reflected on how Toronto’s car-brain issues go far beyond bikes including with the opposition to proposed RapidTO bus priority lanes on both Bathurst and Dufferin Streets. However, the anti RapidTO push has seen more short turns than the 504 King streetcar which deserve a follow up post on its own! Let’s look at how the current RapidTO proposals came to be, the evolving opposition, and what you can do to show solidarity with transit riders!

RapidTO on Eglinton Avenue East

Delays, Delays, and More Delays!

Regardless of whether we get around by walking, cycling, transit, or driving, we can all agree that nothing frustrates us more than delays getting things built. We are also aware that Toronto City Council can push to accelerate certain projects as they see fit. We saw that with the ActiveTO bike lane roll out during the pandemic and last month’s approval of a motion to accelerate construction of a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway, so it gets completed by 2026 instead of 2027. Let’s review four active transportation projects that have been subject to ridiculously long delays which are unacceptable given the record number of cyclist deaths this year.

Looking Back at the 2022-24 Bike Plan

When the 2022-24 Near-Term Cycling Implementation Plan was approved in December 2021, there was a call for 100 kilometres of new bike lanes during this time. Since then, about 13 kilometres was installed in 2022 and another 20 kilometres in 2023; the latter of which includes most of the Finch West LRT route. However, this still leaves the City 67 kilometres short with only one year left for this plan, while they have already started work on a replacement plan for 2025-27. Let’s look at what the key accomplishments were and what work remains on the table.

Map of bike lane installations from 2016 to 2023 with 2023's marked in blue

November 2023 Chesswood Site Check

The last time I visited Chesswood was back in September given the need to hold contractors such as Sanscon accountable with some of their projects being delivered considerably behind schedule. However, I was informed by city staff a few weeks back that more progress had been made. To get a sense of whether the November 2023 contract deadline would be met, I followed up yesterday’s site check on Finch with another one on Chesswood this afternoon after work.

Chesswood Site Check (+ More Sanscon News)

Since the initial post on contractor accountability was put up, some more developments from Sanscon have come up which warrant a follow up. Another cycling related project they were awarded a contract for was on Chesswood Drive, while updates were issued for the College Street Upgrades and KQQR intersection. I did a site check on Chesswood on Tuesday and will discuss those findings.

The Need for Contractor Accountability

All of us feel inconvenienced by construction regardless of how we get around; especially when projects keep getting delayed as what happened with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Per Luis Ledesma from the Cycling in Toronto Facebook group, Sanscon Construction was responsible for having several projects delivered behind schedule such as the College Street Upgrades and the King-Queen-Queensway-Roncesvalles (KQQR) Intersection. Another of their projects – Military Trail Road Reconstruction – was discussed at last week’s Infrastructure & Environment Committee (IEC) meeting. I will review these Sanscon projects and stress the need to hold contractors accountable when delivering projects that support climate action such as public transit and cycling.

Final Bikeway Tally for 2022

It’s hard to believe, but another year has just about come and gone. The City of Toronto’s Pedestrian and Cycling Unit recently tweeted that this year saw approximately 20 kilometres of new bikeways and upgrades to another 20 kilometres. When I crunched the numbers based on some information provided by the City, I determined the final number of new bikeways to be closer to 13 kilometres. A far cry from the 30 kilometres installed in 2020 and 20 kilometres in 2021, but there were some notable additions to highlight.

Danforth at Victoria Park Avenue in July 2022

Bloor Loves Bikes - September 2015 Update

Since Spring 2015, Cycle Toronto's advocates, Bells on Bloor, and various resident associations have been working on a campaign called "Bloor Loves Bikes." This is the latest in a series or campaigns for bike lanes on Bloor Street over the past twenty five years, which also lead to similar campaigns on Danforth Avenue (a.k.a. Danforth Loves Bikes) and eventually, Yonge Street. Given recent developments, this post will discuss what has been accomplished so far, what can be applied to other campaigns, and how you can help make bike lanes on Bloor a reality.