Toronto’s Toxic Relationship with Bike Lanes
An election is looming and parties need to come up with McIssues to entice undecided voters. This time, bike lanes have been the topic de jour.
This article is part of The G Spot, a weekly segment where criticista Gordistotle gives insight into the pop culture happenings of now through opinions or anecdotes on his life living in Toronto.
City Of Toronto 2025 to 2027 cycling network plan via City Of Toronto
Since their implementation on College Street in 1993, bike lanes have played an essential role in helping people traverse across the city. Over the last almost three decades, the city has completed 50 pedestrian and cyclist projects, with more expected to come. Bike lanes have breathed new life into local business and become a favourite recreational activity as Torontonians find new paths to cycle on and enjoy, while also finding time to stop and shop. While not only being a great leisure activity, thousands of people depend on bike lanes every day to get to and from work.
The recent completion of the lane spanning across the Bloor-Danforth has already caused a lot of commotion, escalating to the provincial level. Despite it only just being fully implemented this year, the Ford government has already issued statements that it will be one of the first lanes to go once the Conservative Party’s Bill 212 is enacted. Yes, all that time, money, and construction to build these bike lanes all to waste (dw we’ll be talking about construction later).
It’s the land of Ontario, where taxpayer dollars are unlimited, everyone knows that! Now the government has to pay for the removal, which is estimated to cost double the installation, wasting more time and causing more construction delays. But it’s the bikers that are holding up traffic, right?
What other lanes are on the chopping block?
There are three lanes that the Ford government is for sure axing, the Bloor-Danforth, Yonge Street, and University Avenue corridors. If you’re an avid transit user, you’ll recognize them as Lines 1 and 2. These streets are Toronto’s vital arteries, with most of the city's public service buildings like hospitals and universities found on these streets. The cross-section between the three serves as hubs for work, life, and anything in between. There’s a lot going on ok? It’s downtown baby.
With the removal of these lanes, thousands of commutes are being compromised. Bill 212’s official name is the “Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act”—are cyclists not entitled to having their time saved? Gridlock will occur regardless of bike lanes occupying a lane of the street; the Ford government is using bike lanes, and by extension, cyclists, as a scapegoat for a larger problem.
Cars should not be so prioritized in navigating the city, especially when there are so many alternatives. There are streetcars, the subway, buses, sidewalks, e-bikes, even the PATH—if you’re feeling adventurous. Park and ride exists for a reason—you’re the one who wanted to drive in for work, reap the consequences.
Cyclists are opting to use an alternative method of transportation that isn't actively contributing to gridlock and is an environmentally friendly option, so why are they being punished? As CycleTO put so succinctly, “Easing traffic congestion is about giving people more transportation options, not fewer”.
Rebuttals
One of the largest, and most nonsensical, arguments against bike lanes is the ~Winter ~:“Why do we have these bike lanes if Toronto is covered in snow for half the year?”
Ok well, November is almost over and we've yet to see any snow. Yet… I could go another couple of weeks without it. Point being, Toronto has very mild winters, and it’s not like the city isn’t equipped to handle the very little snow we get anyway. Bar the 3 days of snowstorm that effectively shut the city down, people won’t be cycling, but nor will the cars be driving. The world (unfortunately) doesn’t stop when snow hits the ground; cars still drive, people still walk, and cyclists will continue to bike.
Bike lanes are put in place not only to protect bikers but to protect drivers. Drivers are aggressive and inept, especially in Toronto. Raise your hand if you’ve almost been hit by a car (editor’s note: I actually got hit by a car once but I was late to a lecture so I had to just keep it moving and sprint to class), it happens to me monthly…
Bike lanes are essential in ensuring cyclists don’t end up as roadkill. With bike lanes, cyclists have peace of mind knowing cars are regulated to the road. It’s not like cyclists are perfect, but bike lanes help keep inexperienced or reckless cyclists confined to their own space, not disrupting pedestrians or motor vehicles. Fewer accidents happen when bikes aren’t swerving in and out of parked cars or making pedestrians fear for their lives as they barrel along the sidewalk.
Seen on Harbord & Palmerston, a cyclist being pushed onto the sidewalk by construction and improperly protected bike lanes.
The actual largest contributor to traffic is the nonstop construction happening all across the city, rain or shine. As Toronto plays catchup to its newfound status as a world-class city, it's hastily trying to give itself a severe makeover to look the part: new transit lines, hundreds of developments, and of course, road maintenance, have brought the city to standstill levels of gridlock. While these are all, of course, good things (depending on who you ask, NIMBYs can continue to seethe), it has disrupted the city’s flow and contributed to longer commute times for everyone.
To not tackle the root issue of construction, but instead use bike lanes as a distraction, is just one of the many deceptive practices used by the Ford government to confuse and rile up voters.
Bike lanes do take up a lot of space, why do we need them?
You may see fewer bikes than cars on the street, but this does not mean cycling isn’t integral to thousands of daily commutes. While not only serving the utilitarian purpose of getting people from Point A to Point B, biking is a great hobby that keeps people active at a relatively low cost. A poll conducted by the city in 2019 revealed that 70% of Torontonians rode bikes, with almost 30% of those being recreational cyclists. Bikes also take up significantly less space than cars: the more people we get out of cars and onto bikes the less congestion there’ll be.
Cycling lanes help alleviate traffic by providing Torontonians with more options for transportation. While Toronto will always be leagues behind Europe in terms of infrastructure, let’s try and set an example for the rest of North America, shall we? Bicycle lanes help businesses, whether through transporting goods or making for an easier stop-and-go experience (no need to find parking).
Toronto is currently knee-deep in a loneliness epidemic, meaning it’s never been more important to keep our city connected, especially in the wake of the pandemic. Driving a car is a very individualist experience, biking and walking create community and help businesses stay afloat via foot (and pedal) traffic.
While it may seem like a no-brainer, it should also be mentioned that cycling is, of course, better for the environment. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, moving away from motor vehicles plays an essential role in preserving what we have left.
With all these benefits, one has to wonder what the fuck is the Ford government thinking?
Why are non-drivers being punished?
Doug Ford has been actively penalizing citizens who don’t drive: the hostile takeover of public pedestrian spaces and converting them into either private industry or unsafe road ways contribute to a worse-off public body. For example, a study conducted in 2008 showed that the majority of businesses on Bloor Street were reached predominantly by walking or public transportation, with only 10% total being from cars. Bloor is a pedestrian and business hub, why are we letting the Ford government effectively turn it into an expressway? There is and always will be traffic in the city, is this your first day driving?
Visitor Habits and Consumption - Bloor Annex area via Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking & Business: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto’s Annex Neighbourhood
People living and working within Toronto should not be made to feel less than those commuting from the GTA, you’re the one who chose to live in a bedroom community, traffic and long commutes are some of the downsides! The removal of bike lanes directly impacts the health and safety of Torontonians, all to prioritize the people who drive to work and then drive home, who are at most buying lunch in the city. If Ontario’s open for business why prioritize the people who contribute little to the business in the province’s capital?
I chatted with Darren Elias, Director of Communications for the Ontario Green Party to get an insider scoop on what’s really going on at Queen’s Park. “Doug Ford's plan to rip up bike lanes in downtown Toronto is as fiscally irresponsible as it is dangerous,” he says, “It will put people's safety at risk and increase car traffic by taking away an affordable and efficient way to get around – all for a cost of $50 million.”
“This decision is being voted on imminently at Queen's Park as part of the Conservative's Bill 212, which claims to reduce gridlock but will actually make it worse. The other poison pill in this bill is the fast-tracking of Highway 413 – a proposed highway in the western part of the GTA that is estimated to cost upwards of $10 billion dollars while paving over the Greenbelt and increasing traffic and climate pollution.“
Can you believe this week’s G-Spot has commentary from someone in politics?
Besides, if you remove all the bike lanes in the city, how will your rent-a-courier deliver your A&W before it gets cold?