In late November 2021, the City of Toronto started construction of the Glen Road pedestrian bridge crossing Rosedale Valley Road which was originally expected to be completed by November 2023. As with many construction projects in Toronto, these timelines tend to get delayed. Today, I’m pleased to report the fences have finally come down and the bridge is open for pedestrians and cyclists as a quieter alternative to Sherbourne Street!
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!
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| RapidTO on Eglinton Avenue East |
The last time I checked out the East Don Trail was in October 2024 when I first noticed the completion of the bridge adjacent to the double switchback structure. This effectively left the tunnel as the only major obstacle remaining. Earlier this month, the Urban Toronto forum showed some posts indicating new activity at the tunnel site. I decided to bike over and check things out, as well as highlight a few other updates along the way.
The presence of car-brain – or motonormativity as the experts call it – in Toronto has been quite infuriating as of late. In addition to some new developments surrounding Bill 212, even transit developments and revenue tools are being affected along with a different cycling matter. Let’s look at this mayhem and how we can respond!
Back in 2018, BIKE MINDS was started in Toronto by Matt Pinder and Michelle Kearns as a storytelling series which was consistently popular here. However, there hadn’t been an in-person event since March 2020 because of the pandemic and the fact Matt had moved on to Ottawa which saw its own in person events. Thanks to Dani Griscti of Curbside Cycle and Rachel Wang, last night marked the first in person BIKE MINDS event in five years with the theme “Bikes and Unity” which saw a full house. Amsterdam Brewery and Fiesta Farms sponsored the event with beer and snacks.
Happy Friday, everybody! If you live in Toronto, I need your help!
Further to last month’s blog post calling for an open streets campaign – which got subsequently picked up by CBC – the petition calling on Mayor Olivia Chow and City Council to bring back open streets programs to Toronto by 2026 has just been launched this morning. You can sign the petition here which I encourage you to please share widely with your fellow Torontonians. I also encourage you to e-mail Mayor Chow (mayor_chow@toronto.ca) and your city councillor to show your support if you haven’t already done so.
The month of April brought some good news for Toronto’s cycling community with Justice Paul Schabas having granted an injunction until he can decide on Cycle Toronto’s Charter challenge against the bike lane removal aspects of Bill 212. While that decision may not be made for another few months, there are several public consultations which we need to get involved with. Let’s round them up here! 😊
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| The Leaside-Danforth public consultation from March 2024 |
