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.

Protected Intersection Watching and Jays Game

On Wednesday, my employer organized a post work Blue Jays game which I haven’t seen in at least five years. During this time, work on the protected intersection at Bloor and St. George is well under way. This post covers the intersection progress so far, as well as what it’s like biking to the Rogers Centre (or Skydome for you diehards out there). 😉

Memorial Ride for a 24-year-old Cyclist on Bloor

Unfortunately, Toronto’s cycling community had to gather tonight for the fifth time this year to pay their respects for a fallen cyclist. The latest victim was a 24-year-old female who was struck and killed on Bloor Street east of Avenue Road. While I wrote about the initial death and how to address some of the design fails at this site and others across the city, it was essential to write about tonight’s memorial ride.

By the time Helen, Mozzie, and I got to Matt Cohen Park, the park and sidewalk was already packed with people.

Addressing Bike Lane Obstruction Risks

As you probably already know, a 24-year-old female cyclist was killed on Bloor Street east of Avenue Road last Thursday; making it a record-breaking five cyclists killed this year so far. A likely cause of death was the placement of a construction bin at the end of the bike lane which forced the cyclist to exit the bike lane early to get around before being hit and killed. Since then, there have been a fair number of reports of motor vehicles blocking bike lanes which prompted me to write about how we can address such bike lane blocking risks.

A blocked bike lane on Davenport at Bartlett on Saturday, July 27

A Record-Breaking Year for Toronto Cyclist Deaths

Just before 9:00 AM this morning, a 24-year-old female cyclist was killed on Bloor Street east of Avenue Road; making it the fifth cyclist killed this year with five months to go. If you refer to Toronto’s Vision Zero dashboard or Toronto Police’s fatal collisions dashboard, this year has been the deadliest on record for Toronto’s cycling community. However, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists put up six ghost bikes in Toronto in 2018; two of which didn’t count per the City and Police dashboards. One of them was for a 60-year-old male who collided with a parked delivery van in March 2018 while 19-year-old Aaron Rankin-Wright’s death in June 2018 was targeted and involved stabbing. Regardless of which metric you used, the unprecedented number of cyclist deaths this year deserves some serious reflection.

Miguel Joshua Escanan's ghost bike from August 2021 was not far from today's crash site

July 2024 Ride The Meadoway

This morning, about 75 people took part in “Ride the Meadoway” which was hosted by Toronto East Cyclists, Scarborough Cycles, and Regenesis Cycle UTSC. Bike Share Toronto provided some bikes for those who needed them, while Patty Time served some Jamaican beef patties and vegetarian samosas. Let’s reflect on what happened during the ride.

Avenue Road and Bloor Site Checks

Earlier this week, the City of Toronto started construction of bike lanes on Avenue Road from Bloor Street to Davenport Road. Since I had the day off today and had some errands to run, I decided to check them out on the way home, as well as provide an update on the Bloor bike lane construction between Spadina Avenue and Avenue Road which is in its final stages.

The City of Toronto's plan for Avenue Road from Bloor to Davenport