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General cycling issues (Is Toronto bike friendly?)

81-717 said:
If bike lanes are banned, I think we shall expect a sharp increase in the number of cyclists choosing the sidewalk, and the anti-bike crowd will only have themselves to blame, full stop (although the only way they might actually get the message is if a large number of cyclists protested the anti-bike & anti-bike-lane sentiment by all taking the sidewalk at the same time, as a group, which might not exactly be good PR for them).


To add to this, I just watched this video, which includes this graph, specifically pertaining to cars (courtesy of Not Just Bikes):
View attachment 611261
Not only did I not expect it to be a curve akin to the inverse tan function or cubic root function (as opposed to more like a straight line), but I definitely did not expect the 50% point (and point of inflection) to be all the way at the 80 km/h mark, I would've thought it to be well before that.
Click to expand...
From googling, the data in the chart is from research published in 2011 that calculated the data from pedestrian fatalities in Germany between 1999-2007, so I'm curious how different that curve would be today given how much the design of vehicles has changed since then. There's been a significant increase in ownership of SUVs and trucks according to StatCan data (chart below), which is receiving attention for the danger they pose to people on bike or foot, like this from NPR: Taller cars and trucks are more dangerous for pedestrians, according to crash data.
All the more reason to have separated bike lanes.

1731302765222.png
 
kotsy said:
Why should we have? Municipal roads were strictly a municipal government decision up until now.
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Why? Because we've had a belligerent tool for a premier since 2018 who's been threatening to remove bike lanes since he took office. Instead of taking the bull by the horns our city council put their head in the sand and pretended like the problem would go away. Here's a quick ChatGPT summary of our premier's take on bike lanes.
  • During the 2018 Ontario Election Campaign:
    Ford made his position on bike lanes clear during the provincial election campaign. He expressed a strong opposition to bike lanes in downtown Toronto, especially those that were taking up car lanes. He argued that these bike lanes were harmful to drivers, caused traffic congestion, and hindered the flow of transportation. Ford's platform at the time emphasized improving road conditions for motorists and reducing congestion, positioning bike lanes as a problematic element in this vision.
  • After Becoming Premier (July 2018):
    After taking office, Ford's government moved to dismantle or pause several bike lane projects in Toronto, most notably on major streets like Bloor Street. His transportation minister, John Yakabuski, suggested that bike lanes were not the priority, and the government would focus on easing gridlock and improving traffic for drivers. Ford himself made several comments about his belief that bike lanes were a "waste of taxpayer money."
  • Comments on the Bloor Street Bike Lane (2019):
    One of the most significant points of contention was the Bloor Street bike lane, which had been introduced during the administration of former Toronto Mayor John Tory. Doug Ford’s government signaled that it might cancel or alter the Bloor Street bike lanes, particularly in response to business owners' complaints about the impact on parking and traffic flow. Ford himself criticized the bike lanes, arguing that they had negatively affected small businesses and the economy in the area.
  • Public Opinion and Backlash (2019–2020):
    Ford faced significant backlash from cyclists, environmental groups, and some urban planning advocates who argued that bike lanes were necessary for sustainability, safety, and reducing traffic congestion. In response, Ford defended his position, claiming that bike lanes were a "luxury" that needed to be reconsidered in light of real transportation challenges. His government continued to advocate for measures like more road capacity for cars and subways as key solutions to traffic problems.
  • Shift in Tone (2020–2021):
    As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, bike lanes became a topic of renewed discussion due to the increased demand for cycling as a safer, socially distanced form of transportation. Some cities, including Toronto, implemented temporary "pop-up" bike lanes to accommodate more cyclists. While Ford still maintained that bike lanes were a lower priority compared to infrastructure for cars, his comments softened slightly in recognition of the importance of promoting active transportation during the pandemic.
  • 2021 and Beyond – Ongoing Ambivalence:
    As of 2021 and into 2022, Ford's position on bike lanes remained ambivalent. His government did not make sweeping changes to bike lane infrastructure but continued to emphasize the importance of improving roads for vehicles and public transit. He often framed his comments in terms of balance, suggesting that transportation solutions should accommodate both cars and cyclists, but he still voiced concerns about the impact of bike lanes on vehicle traffic, particularly in dense urban areas like Toronto.
  • Election Campaigns and Rhetoric:
    Leading up to the 2022 Ontario election, Ford's rhetoric around bike lanes remained largely unchanged. He continued to favor road improvements for cars, often emphasizing the need to reduce congestion for commuters. While he did not explicitly call for the removal of existing bike lanes, he argued that urban transportation planning should prioritize drivers’ needs.
It wouldn't have taken a genius as Mayor in 2020-2021 to see that things were getting worse and heading towards an impasse. The right thing to do was to call up the Premier and say, we hear you on the bike lanes, we want to encourage cycling and keep people safe while not impacting congestion - what should we do?
 
Admiral Beez said:
Speaking as one, they're not immigrants in anyone's, including the government's eyes. But these temporary workers and foreign students are being doubly exploited by our government and US-based delivery apps. AFAICT, these apps rely on our bicycle infrastructure, such as dedicated bike lanes, lax/nonexistent enforcement of the laws for ebikes, and bike coaches on the GO Train to continue that exploitation. The whole TFW/SP experience in Canada must seem like the biggest scam once they arrive and realise the only work that's open to them is rubbish gig work, like racing the bike lanes to deliver our food. Let's put an end to ebikes on our dedicated bike lanes by enforcing the pedal-assist and pedal-only laws, with the added benefit that high speed DoorDash, Skip, etc. ebikes will be reduced and these US apps won't be exploiting as many visitors coming here for temporary work or studies.
Click to expand...
They still gotta eat though. Perhaps we should invest in a more livable infrastructure that would encourage them to seek less desperate employment options...

...meanwhile, e-bike and scooter users need to also feel safe on the roads too. As long as they're not being arsed holes when they're using the biking lanes they are more than welcome to share, IMO.
 
I'm going to ask people not to get tied up the politics of bike lanes/cycle tracks here to excess.

I feel like we're getting quite off track.

I totally get that we can't ignore the province's signalling, but neither should we spend a lifetime discussing it here.
 
DSC said:
Agree 100%. It was dangerously narrow in places and some parts were eroding into the Don and it flooded but it has taken FAR too long to do and the reason seems to be that 'someone' did not examine the site carefully before they started!
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If only they had done a little homework, they wouldn't have learned half way into the project that the site is between a river and a set of railroad tracks!
 
Cambry Ardship said:
Do you have any sources for those position statements? What you posted from ChatGPT isn't a citation or evidence in any way.
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Citations? Position statements? You're not in the classroom anymore. The evidence that our Premier has been demonstrably against bike lanes has been plain to see since 2018. My "position statement" is that given this resistance, Mayor Tory should have asked the Premier to either provide MTO guidance for bike lanes (just as the BC government does for its cities) or let the city do what it wants. Instead Tory was too busy chasing tail in the staff lunchroom to notice and we took the latter path while ignoring the former, and now Mayor Chow has to sort out this mess. She's a good Mayor, and given her success on the DVP and Gardiner upload, I think she's up to the job, and I predict that the bike lanes on Bloor (east of High Park), University and Yonge are safe. Etobicoke will lose its bike lanes on Bloor West and elsewhere, but if they don't like it they can vote out their PC gov't MPP.
evandyk said:
If only they had done a little homework, they wouldn't have learned half way into the project that the site is between a river and a set of railroad tracks!
Click to expand...
Shocker, IKR? Damn it. This city sucks at getting anything done.
 
Last edited:
...I am compelled to say though looking at this with the glass half full, that while it's highly problematic that Doug is removing bike lanes for his own personal gain with short sighted motorists to put it mildly...least it's only 3 lanes he plans to do this with. Furthermore, the rest lanes that are unaffected by the said short sighted'ness will mostly be left unscathed. And do not need provincial permission to be completed via the respective legislation here, to my understanding. Also see: Grandfathered.

Or tl,dr: It could of been much, much worse. And for what that's worth.
 
kotsy said:
www.thestar.com

Province-led survey suggests higher cycling rates in Toronto than Ford government has cited: city staff report

The question of how many people use bicycles to get around the city has become a topic of heated debate as the Ontario PCs move to dismantle bike lanes on some of Toronto’s major streets.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

paywall bypass: https://archive.is/5ahSQ
Click to expand...
Discussed during questions to staff at today's council meeting, and in a roundabout way in the article, the survey data is available to councillors and staff as a confidential attachment but because the province hasn't published the survey yet, no one can speak to the results of the survey.
 
kotsy said:
www.thestar.com

Province-led survey suggests higher cycling rates in Toronto than Ford government has cited: city staff report

The question of how many people use bicycles to get around the city has become a topic of heated debate as the Ontario PCs move to dismantle bike lanes on some of Toronto’s major streets.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

paywall bypass: https://archive.is/5ahSQ
Click to expand...

txlseries4 said:
Discussed during questions to staff at today's council meeting, and in a roundabout way in the article, the survey data is available to councillors and staff as a confidential attachment but because the province hasn't published the survey yet, no one can speak to the results of the survey.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, someone leaked the high level info from that confidential attachment to Ben Spurr at The Star (Kotsy's link above)..... (no it wasn't me.........lest I poach the credit0

From the article:

1731623132373.png


The above is in reference specifically to commuting and for the City of Toronto as a whole (but not he outlying regions)

When the criteria is broadened to all trips (not just commuting) the number drops to 4.4%

***

But lets take a closer look at downtown, where most of the cycling infra. is concentrated:

1731623259979.png


Look at that.........9%, not 1.2%...........

Also important to note, for those who think we haven't moved away from being auto-centric.......... the modal share for cars is a mere 25% in downtown.

Looking back up the page, I would note that the modal split for cars is only 45% City-wide when looking at commuting. Still too high........but a lot less than some might think.

***

Also of note, the number of cyclists commuting has tripled in the last 20 years in Toronto. Granted that started from a very modest number, and we have to adjust for population growth as well; still, a pretty solid gain considering most of the best cycling infra is less than 5 years old.
 
Cambry Ardship said:
Do you have any sources for those position statements?
Click to expand...
Here are the references for each of Beeze's 7 bullets:

 
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