Just as Toronto enters Stage 2 of reopening its economy, Mayor John Tory has announced that two new major downtown cycling network connections will be fully installed by the weekend.

A total of 2.3 kilometres of separated bike lanes have already gone up along University Avenue/Queen's Park Crescent between Adelaide Street West and Bloor Street West, and Bloor Street will also have newly installed bike lanes by the end of the week.

#ActiveTO bike lanes are coming to Bloor between Avenue and Sherbourne very soon 😍 Closing this gap in the network is going to make travelling to this area filled with businesses much safer and easier! #BikeTO https://t.co/9ZaNKUmHyb pic.twitter.com/3O13WEz7Mz

— Cycle Toronto (@CycleToronto) June 24, 2020

"By Friday, separated bike lanes spanning 1.45 kilometres will be nearly completed along Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Sherbourne Street," notes a city release. 

This new cycling infrastructure is part of ActiveTO, the city's plan to give pedestrians and cyclists more space to get outdoors and spread out throughout the pandemic. 

You haven't cruised down Queens Park Crescent like this before... 😍🚲 #bikeTO #activeTO https://t.co/50GSfvNiQb pic.twitter.com/oScJylF43y

— Cycle Toronto (@CycleToronto) June 19, 2020

About a month ago, the city announced plans to install 40 km of expanded bike routes as a part of this program, and these new lanes are just a few of the many routes that are expected to receive a cycling upgrade in the near future.

According to the city, design and installation planning are well underway for cycling routes along Brimley Road between Lawrence Avenue and Kingston Road, Huntingwood Drive between Victoria Park Avenue and Brimley Road, Wilmington Avenue-Faywood Boulevard between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue, and Bayview Avenue between River Street and Rosedale Valley Road.

The new Brimley Road bike lanes are expected to be installed as early as next week. 

"The ActiveTO cycling network plan is the largest expansion of Toronto's on-street bike network ever in one year," reads the city release. 

"It includes approximately 25 kilometres of temporary, new bikeways along with the acceleration of 15 kilometres of cycling routes previously planned for this year, for a total of approximately 40 kilometres of new on-street cycling lanes in 2020 to be installed. Through ActiveTO, the cycling network is being expanded quickly through temporary installations by repurposing curb lanes along several key corridors."

I was able to bike all but maybe ~5k of this on bike lanes thanks to #ActiveTO’s new bike lanes on University, improved lanes on Bloor, and a closed down Lakeshore Blvd. I love to see it, and would like to keep seeing it. pic.twitter.com/XQQnMwP4Qt

— Siobhan Özege (@sigh__oh) June 22, 2020

Just like other weekends, the city is also once again closing several portions of major downtown roads to cars this Saturday and Sunday in order to provide space for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Here are the ActiveTO major road closures that'll be in place this weekend, from Saturday, June 27 at 6 a.m. to Sunday, June 28 at 11 p.m.:

• Lake Shore Boulevard West (eastbound lanes only) from Windermere Avenue to Stadium Road. As a result, the eastbound Gardiner Expressway off ramp to Lake Shore Boulevard West (exit #146) will also be closed
• Lake Shore Boulevard East (eastbound lanes only) from Leslie Street to just south of Woodbine Avenue (Kew Beach Avenue)
• Bayview Avenue from Front Street East to Rosedale Valley Road, and River Street from Gerrard Street East to Bayview Avenue

"The ActiveTO cycling network expansion is going in rapidly so that we can see the benefits for our residents quickly," Tory said the release. 

"As we enter Stage 2, more and more residents will be able to rely on a well-connected cycling network along our transit lines that will get people, including frontline healthcare workers, moving to where they need to be and provide an important relief valve for the subway."