July 2022 IEC Roundup

Next week’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting will be the last one held before the 2022 election. Upon reviewing the agenda, there are seven items which affect people who bike. Let’s do a quick recap of the projects to bring you up to speed and encourage you to send your submission over the long weekend.

Map of Yorkdale Transportation Master Plan (via City of Toronto)

IE31.10 (Yorkdale Transportation Master Plan) – The Yorkdale Transportation Master Plan covers an area from the Barrie GO line to the west, Allen Road to the east, Wilson Avenue to the north, and Lawrence Avenue to the south. The improvements will span over 20 years and is expected to cost between $356 to $458 million; the most expensive part of which involves extending Caledonia Road under Highway 401. Some cycling improvements are called for along Bridgeland Avenue, Yorkdale Road, Cartwright Avenue, and Dufferin Street. Dedicated pedestrian and cycling bridges are also called for crossing both the Barrie GO corridor and Highway 401. Here is a map of the plan for your reference.

Previewing The Queensway Reconstruction

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee approved the 2022 to 2024 cycling implementation plan and making last year’s ActiveTO bike lanes permanent on Thursday. (read my analysis here) These motions will go to City Council on December 15. One of the proposed projects is the reconstruction of The Queensway from the Humber River bridge to Burma Drive which will be subject to a virtual public meeting on December 7, 2021. I had the chance to view the materials during a stakeholder meeting earlier this week and with the slides now publicly available, here is a recap of what can be expected.

All images used in this post are found in the City of Toronto's presentation deck

Cycling Connections at St. Clair and Old Weston

A lot of the Toronto cycling community’s attention on Monday, June 25 was focused on the public meeting debating whether to move the Adelaide protected bike lanes to the left (north) side. However, there was another meeting the same day which has significant potential outside of downtown; that being the St. Clair West Transportation Master Plan (TMP). I had a chance to stop by that meeting on my way home from work to learn more about the transportation issues in that area.

Addressing Pickering's Transportation Plan Challenges

For the first time in twenty years, the City of Pickering is updating their Integrated Transportation Master Plan. If there is one thing which badly needs to be addressed in the plan update, it’s their lack of cycling infrastructure. Per this image from Google Maps, Pickering is a cyclist’s black hole except for parts of the Waterfront Trail and a few disconnected bike lanes in the rest of the city; some of which don’t even qualify as bike lanes. Henceforth, I provided this submission to highlight some of the challenges I experienced and suggest some improvements.

Google Maps bicycling layer of Pickering and the rest of Durham Region