Tooker Appears in the Annex
So there I was, walking past the Bloor Cinema with bike in tow, when I noticed something out of the ordinary. There was a long meandering white line in the middle of the north lane.
My brain quickly processed the image as a familiar sight: a bike lane! As I continued walking along Bloor to run some errands, it was clear that this impromptu bike lane had been spray-painted somewhat permanently to the ground. It appears to run the whole length of the Annex proper, from Spadina to Bathurst--only on the north side.
Curious, I walked over to Curbside Cycle to see if they know who did this. The guy I talked to there hadn't seen it before, so it must have happened earlier in the afternoon, right before rush hour.
As I continued to scope out the scene, camera in hand, I saw a fellow biking past me with a white spray-paint gun. The other guys he was with had mischievous looks on their faces.
I followed them for a bit, thinking this would make for good conversation... but as I eased into the bike lane I started thinking about how great it would be to have a bike lane here, and slowed down to enjoy the ride while it lasted.
When I bike into the Annex, I stick to the residential side streets like Lowther, Barton, Albany, and Brunswick (the usual suspects). Riding along Bloor during rush hour is no picnic, and the few times I've had to do it (for an express trip to Victory Cafe, for instance) I remind myself that it's much more relaxing and enjoyable to ride the side streets here. That would change if there were a bike lane. But when are we ever going to see one on Bloor?
Later, I saw the same chaps with the spray paint colluding with some of the TakeTheTooker folks (I think) who I saw at the Critical Mass last week. Whether they were involved or not, I applaud this act of defiance on the streets of Toronto. The spray paint will wash away with time, and the cars will move in once more... but the spirit of Tooker lives on!
Comments (20)
If the city isn't capable of properly taking care of its citizenry, the citizenry are more than capable of stepping up to the plate... I love to see things like this. It reminds us that WE are Toronto, not just "them."
haha, this is great. Traffic really slows down in the annex, and I personally have never thought twice about cutting off cars in that area, there's a lot of pedestrian traffic in the area making their own cross walks.
Views on bikelanes aside, this is a typical poorly contemplated move by the 'citizenry.' See the confusion the added lane markings is causing in the first picture, with cars unsure of which lane to take? Cars will swerve at the sudden appearance of a new lane marking, endangering both other cars as well as cyclists. And then imagine this at night in the rain - it will be only more confusing and dangerous. I applaud the sentiment, but I fear the activists are only damaging their cause with moves like this.
Reminds of the "Seinfeld" eposide where Kramer adopts a highway and paints over the lines to widen the lanes. I'm a bit torn on this one, I applaud the attitude and the "take back the power" feeling, but yeah, this could be dangerous, unfortunately, to the bikers themselves. Car-Worshippers are confused enough as it is : - )
Be careful.
That bike lane looks way too wide (is it 2/3rd of a car lane, or is the perspective tricking the eye?). They could have at least been realistic in their efforts to make their point.
Meh. I'm not sure if realism is necessary in making a graphic point like this. I agree that it might be dangerous if cars can't figure out what to do, but still, this tickles me pink. Now can someone do Queen West between Yonge and Trinity Bellwoods, before I nearly get killed again?
Look at the second car back in the photo here. It's being forced into the other lane. Clearly the drawings are likely to cause confusion, and the potential for accidents is there. I'm not being a prude, and think cyclists deserve bike lanes, but I do think they should have given their makeshift, protest-oriented bike lanes realistic proportions.
As a cyclist I'd be scared shitless to ride confidently in that lane. Cars'll swerve in and out of it, the lane is way too wide, and I don't see this act of defiance helping the whole "Gives us some real bike lanes" movement.
I think the over-sized bike lane here was deliberate; an extremist point was being made. Good job getting the point across, but yeah- dangerous for sure!
Like my friend Stef and I say all the time, cyclists are sometimes our own worst enemies. Firstly, the fact that some cyclists don't follow the rules of the road infuriates me to no end, and now, with this huge make-shift bike lane and the whole streetcar debacle during last week's critical mass ride... no motorist, councillor or police officer is going to take our claims seriously. It's like were taking one step forward and two steps back.
Still, I think the spray painted bike lane is cool. I wonder if the city will bother to sand blast it off, or just let it wear away.
Cyclists were riding two wide (beside each other) last night - hope noone gets hurt because of the confusion.
umm, i don't think the point is really "here's a safe bikelane" and comments about how it's confusing and unsafe kind of miss the point. It's more a comment on how the city finds it too "difficult" to put a bike lane there and how it's really not that hard if someone would just go ahead and do it.
jay, I think we all get the point of the protest. The fact that it's unsafe is an unfortuante side-effect that's worth mentioning here, don't you think?
Jay, though someone's making a make the point that Toronto needs bike lanes for cyclists - the lane is a deception to both cyclists and drivers, who you gonna' blame if a cyclist misinterprets the lane as safe and gets killed?
I rode the bike lane a couple of times by now and drivers left me alone. Seemed quite safe to me.
I took a ride on it yesterday and I didn't notice any confusion. It seems like drivers just naturally merged into the other lane, no confusion, no danger. I also noticed cyclists relax, slow down and enjoy the ride. As for the width of the lane. it seems to take about 2/3rds of the car lane, which I think is good. it's saying, this street is now only one lane for cars and one for bikes, don't try and pass on the inside lane, squeezing out the cyclists like they do on Queen St.
I applaud the lane. I think it makes the commute much safer. All worries of confusion are based in conjecture, not fact or observation.
Peace,
MLJ
Hey, if i remember correctly, Tooker was a shit-disturbing kind of guy. That's why we all loved him most of the time/hated him sometimes...remember when he burned his passport in shame of the complicity our gov't shows to Kyoto denyers?
Yes its true that cyclists are our own worst enemy...wear your helmet, get your free bike week T-shirt and FUCK OFF!! Those of us who don't get stuck in the quicksand of polite don't-you-know-it's-gonna-be-alright city-sponsored free pancakes know that it's gonna take a lot more than that to save the planet..
if bikes can't have an east-west route during a lousy two hours of the day during rush hour, on a street that has a freakin' subway line to boot...then what the hell kind of chance do we have of ever building a sustainable future?
This is great proof that an annex bike lane costs a hundred bucks, not a hundred thousand...and that political will isn't the only thing missing in getting a bloor street bike lane...it's a watered down message from the city that has somehow managed to charm cyclists into thinking that our government gives a shit...
We have spots available for all you cyclists in the "Manfred Home for the Aged", currently the bike plan calls for a bike lane right outside our residence. Imagine that. We figure by the time you are ready to retire, provided you are under 35, the bike lanes will be in place. Please call us at 416-Manfred to reserve your spot.
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