Tues., Aug. 2, 2016
Cyclists were excited.
Local shop owners? Understanding.
And for the most part, even drivers appeared to be mostly at peace as construction — and subsequent traffic jams — began Tuesday on the Bloor St. bike lanes project.
“Personally, I’m very optimistic about it,” cyclist Candida Girling told the Star as crews shut down traffic on Bloor St. W. between Avenue Rd. and Shaw St. to one lane each way and began painting markers on the asphalt. “I’m excited because (Bloor St.) is pretty treacherous, I often ride along here and it’s really not easy for bikes... I’m worried about narrowing such a narrow street already, but I’m really in favour of bike lanes in Toronto and I’m happy about it.”
The construction, during which city crews will install new painted bike lanes and flexible posts as well as new signs with updated parking rules, is expected to last around two weeks.
Another cyclist, Leanne Fry, said she was happy that bike lanes were being installed but that she would try to avoid riding on Bloor while the construction is ongoing.
“I think drivers are going to get more and more irate. Maybe today, they’re being okay about it but I’ve already heard honking and stuff.”
Though the Star didn’t witness any major traffic accidents while walking along Bloor Tuesday morning and afternoon, there were a few small hiccups — several vehicles drove in the closed-off lanes and then got stuck behind barricades, and there were multiple close calls as cyclists weaved between cars or were squeezed between the road and curb. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper in some stretches, and some cyclists took to riding on the sidewalks. At one point, a truck making a left turn onto Bloor knocked over, and then ran over, a “Road Closed” sign.
Helena Bialek, who drove her daughter to a doctor’s appointment along Bloor, said getting through the construction was “frustrating.” She was also forced to park on a residential street while waiting for her daughter as parking along Bloor has been eliminated during construction.
“It inconveniences the people who live in the area and who do have permits, and then you’ve got other people parking in their spots during the day,” she said, but added that she thought the addition of bike lanes was necessary for road safety and the environment.
Another driver, Osama Fattah, said adding bike lanes was important, but that the traffic was “a bother.”
“But I guess it’s okay,” he said. “Do I have any other option? No.”
Most local store owners along Bloor who spoke to the Star weren’t too worried yet about the construction’s impact on business.
“We’ve had our appointments come in so far,” Jenna Davey of the
Downtown Cat Clinic at 739 Bloor St. W. said Tuesday noon.
Customers are finding parking on side streets to get to the clinic at Grace St., across from Christie Pits, she said.
Genet Fetensa, a worker at the International News convenience store just west of St. George St., said she frequently sees minor collisions between bikes and cars in front of her shop. She said she was worried the lack of parking might deter people from coming in but added that the bike lanes were needed.
“It’s good to have that lane because I see a lot of accidents all the time… But at the same time, for business, I think it’s going to be really hard,” she said.
Once the bike lanes are installed, parking will be available on at least one side of the street with one lane of traffic in each direction and dedicated turn lanes at major intersections.
In the meantime, the city has asked for any scheduled deliveries and loading be made off of Bloor St. whenever possible.
City staff have been instructed to report back in the third quarter of 2017 on the pilot and recommend whether the lanes should be made permanent, modified or removed.
But Aaron Enchin, the general manager of Bloor St. W. bike shop Curbside Cycle and a lifelong cyclist, said he thinks the answer will be clear.
“I think with more and more bike infrastructure, the layout of the city is only going to improve … To consider traffic as not just cars but as pedestrians and cyclists all together is a really important step forward and I think that it’s going to be a really eye-opening endeavour for the city council,” he said. “To consider only cars as traffic is ludicrous, and we need to treat traffic as people.”
With files from Peter Edwards and Jennifer Pagliaro
From the street
The Star spoke to several cyclists and shop owners along Bloor St. W. Tuesday to get their thoughts on the installation of bike lanes along one of the city’s main arteries.
“I don’t think I feel safe on Bloor St. since there’s no special lanes for bicycles, you know? But on College St. it’s much better, and Spadina is also better. I think (the new bike lanes are) great. I ride a bicycle every day, so yeah. It’s good… I think it’s not safe if we don’t have a special lane for bicycles.”
“Some of (the bike lanes in Toronto) are pretty whack, but some of them are smooth sailing, they make it easy, you know? But it’s definitely not as forward or progressive as Berlin or Amsterdam or Montreal, even. They’re not as consistent, I would say.”
“Personally, I’m very optimistic about it... I hope it’s still going to work for the neighbourhood shops and that there are times when cars can access (them). So I’m interested to see if it will really work. I’m worried about narrowing such a narrow street already, but I’m really in favour of bike lanes in Toronto and I’m happy about it.”
“I think it’s long overdue… Bike infrastructure is really a wonderful thing for bicyclists and car drivers alike... I heard a lot of complaints about bicyclists being unpredictable and I think this is going to really put a lot of drivers at ease… I can also say that I’ve lived in a lot of cities that have bike cultures, and Toronto’s seems kind of primitive by comparison, but I’m pretty encouraged by what I see in terms of the community coming out.”
“We’ve been gunning for bike lines on Bloor for years and years… It’s just been a joy getting the construction notices in the mail and being a part of the building of this infrastructure… In the Annex, most of the business is walk-by traffic, cyclists and TTC riders. And only about five per cent of any business that comes to these shops is by car… I’m not worried at all that business is going to suffer at all here, and once the bike lanes are in, it’s only going to increase.”
“I’m just going to have to take it. And we’re in low season anyway, for the summer, for my type of business… I anticipate that it’s going to increase business for me (once construction is done), because my clientele for a health food store is all based on health-conscious people, mostly bikers. A lot of my clients right now, they mostly bike in the area, so if anything, it’s going to better for me.”
