Toronto St Lawrence Market North | 25.3m | 5s | City of Toronto | Rogers Stirk Harbour

[reinventingthewheel]

The city is seemingly committed to making the entirety of St Lawrence market inaccessible to bike share, so I typically rack up on King St and walk down the park.

Do you really think it would be a good idea to encourage bike share users to ride on Jarvis or Front street or the sidewalks near there?

There are hundreds of docks within a few minute walking radius and no need to bring them closer into such a congested, hostile area.

 

[DSCToronto]

Do you really think it would be a good idea to encourage bike share users to ride on Jarvis or Front street or the sidewalks near there?

There are hundreds of docks within a few minute walking radius and no need to bring them closer into such a congested, hostile area.

Yes, there are docks on Front @ Berczy, @ George South & The Esplanade, @ Frederick & The Esplanade, @ St James Park on King (where the Market Lane Park docks were moved to and added to those already there). @ Frederick & King, @ Princesss & Front, @ Market Wharf just off Market Street and on The Esplanade in several places. There really are lots of docks in the vicinity - the problem is the universal one that BikeShare are VERY poor at filling and emptying them so one is often faced with 100% empty docks or 100% filled ones.

 

[xmyth_]

Do you really think it would be a good idea to encourage bike share users to ride on Jarvis or Front street or the sidewalks near there?

There are hundreds of docks within a few minute walking radius and no need to bring them closer into such a congested, hostile area.

If we really cared about the congestion and pedestrianized intersection of Jarvis and Front, we’d shut down Wellington/front on weekends. There’s also plenty of Bike Share racks at King and Bay without a bike lane, nobody is telling the suits to walk a block (unless as mentioned, Bike Share doesn’t circulate the racks)

The rack by the Tim Hortons was relocated to George st for a spell but is traditionally always full. St Lawrence Market North and South is one of the rare locations in the city where Bike Share doesn’t seem to care that it’s a destination.

perhaps the new park will fix this, but it is kind of egregious that a whole new building gets made without considering Bike Share.

I think you also need to consider average trip stats when considering destination. What are the number of people who are going to the market by bike share from 10km away vs those who are coming from under 2km? So if most trips are under 2km then why have the only racks a couple hundred metres away from the destination?

Third party reports put the average bike share trip to be between 2.8k-3.3k, and I’d be curious as to how users determine whether they’re walking and riding. I know I check rack availability.

But also, we already encourage bike riders to show up at the entrances of Market North and South- I know this because we have all those bike rings to lock your bike up. It’s where I lock up my Bike Share because users aren’t adequately serviced there.

 

[DSCToronto]

If we really cared about the congestion and pedestrianized intersection of Jarvis and Front, we’d shut down Wellington/front on weekends. There’s also plenty of Bike Share racks at King and Bay without a bike lane, nobody is telling the suits to walk a block (unless as mentioned, Bike Share doesn’t circulate the racks)

View attachment 723429

The rack by the Tim Hortons was relocated to George st for a spell but is traditionally always full. St Lawrence Market North and South is one of the rare locations in the city where Bike Share doesn’t seem to care that it’s a destination.

perhaps the new park will fix this, but it is kind of egregious that a whole new building gets made without considering Bike Share.

I think you also need to consider average trip stats when considering destination. What are the number of people who are going to the market by bike share from 10km away vs those who are coming from under 2km? So if most trips are under 2km then why have the only racks a couple hundred metres away from the destination?

Third party reports put the average bike share trip to be between 2.8k-3.3k, and I’d be curious as to how users determine whether they’re walking and riding. I know I check rack availability.

But also, we already encourage bike riders to show up at the entrances of Market North and South- I know this because we have all those bike rings to lock your bike up. It’s where I lock up my Bike Share because users aren’t adequately serviced there.

There is a LARGE bike dock on King in front of St James Park, the rack on Lower Jarvis @ Tim Hortons is back and the one at George S & Esplanade is still there. Where would you actually put a dock AT the Market(s)? Here is a slightly wider area..

 

[xmyth_]

There is a LARGE bike dock on King in front of St James Park, the rack on Lower Jarvis @ Tim Hortons is back and the one at George S & Esplanade is still there. Where would you actually put a dock AT the Market(s)? Here is a slightly wider area..

View attachment 723451

I think they could put the rack on the west side, closer to the entrance. The idea that racks on King where we already have a streetcar, street parking, no bike lanes and plenty of pedestrians is somehow more optimal than front/jarvis is kinda laughable. I can easily make my way to Front/jarvis on bike without bugging anyone. King st? Forget it

I’d be curious to see how much space a rack would take up on the east side of the south market. They already have bike rings there where bikes are parked without impeding the sidewalk,

Perhaps they’ll put a King/bay sized rack on the parkette, er, library, er… whatever the tent site becomes.

I do wish we had open data on these racks though, because I’m curious as to why the Tim Hortons rack is always full, if it circulates at all or if nobody uses it. There’s a Tim’s, a Pizza Hut, a shoppers and the market - folks should be in and out

 

[slicecom]

I think they could put the rack on the west side, closer to the entrance. The idea that racks on King where we already have a streetcar, street parking, no bike lanes and plenty of pedestrians is somehow more optimal than front/jarvis is kinda laughable. I can easily make my way to Front/jarvis on bike without bugging anyone. King st? Forget it

I’d be curious to see how much space a rack would take up on the east side of the south market. They already have bike rings there where bikes are parked without impeding the sidewalk,

Perhaps they’ll put a King/bay sized rack on the parkette, er, library, er… whatever the tent site becomes.

I do wish we had open data on these racks though, because I’m curious as to why the Tim Hortons rack is always full, if it circulates at all or if nobody uses it. There’s a Tim’s, a Pizza Hut, a shoppers and the market - folks should be in and out

Bike Share is my primary mode of transportation, and I live in St Lawrence, but I typically avoid both Front and Jarvis. They're just not good streets to bike on. Very hostile car traffic, and often heavily congested. I use The Esplanade or King for East/West, and Sherbourne or Scott for North/South. I'll never say no to more Bike Share racks, but I can't agree that there's a dire need for one at Front and Jarvis.

 

[nightstreak]

Demolition seems largely complete, awaiting hauling away rubble. That was pretty fast. The construction timeline is Spring 2026 to Fall 2026. Let's see if this is done for the holidays.

Sadly, it'll get in the way of the north market's Spring/Summer open garage door season which won't be open at all this year.

Bringing those just joining into the loop on the park:

Useful links:

Market Lane Park Improvements

The City is improving Market Lane Park, located at 149 King St. E, adjacent to the St. Lawrence Market North building. The park is part of a network of public spaces being improved in the growing St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood, which has a deep cultural history and archeological significance...

www.toronto.ca

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/9093-market-lane-park-improvements-what-we-heard-summary-may-2022.pdf