Yonge Street in Toronto could have bike lanes by next summer
If you're a cyclist in Toronto, this year has been a great one for new bike lanes, both permanent and temporary.
Between new dedicated routes on thoroughfares like Bloor Street and the Danforth, University Avenue and Queen's Park Crescent, and tens of kilometres of options through the city's new ActiveTO project, navigating the city on a bike this summer was easier — and most importantly, safer — than ever before.
Now, it looks like protected cyclist lanes are set to come to the city's biggest and busiest street.
Toronto City Council almost unanimously approved a motion on Wednesday that will look into adding space for cyclists on Yonge Street between Bloor Street and Lawrence Avenue.
Pending approval from Transportation Services, they could be in place as soon as summer 2021, complementing the new curbside patios that have made the city feel far more vibrant and engaging.
Thank you for advocating for bike lanes on midtown Yonge @ColleMike!
— Don Cornelius (@Cleanhead) October 29, 2020
(@stephenholyday will eventually wake up.)
Look forward to the redesign of Yonge N. of 401 from highway to complete street.
Eventually, Eglinton can be the be the belt to move people E/W across all of Toronto. https://t.co/Losde9dE1X
The plan is separate and more easily achievable than other recent proposals for the main street, which could see it completely overhauled to include walkable, pedestrian-only zones and more bike lanes further south, between Queen and College/Carlton Streets.
Residents have long been calling for a safer way to traverse Yonge in something other than a car, the mode of transportation that it often feels that Toronto was designed prioritizing, contrary to other, more European cities.
Our first bike lanes weren't built until the 1970s and received passionate and immediate backlash from drivers — backlash still exists today, though to a lesser extent.
Tone deaf @joshmatlow has just destroyed the businesses along Yonge. Parking will be removed, traffic chaos will be the norm and drivers will take their money elsewhere.
— Jay (@ljay0566) October 28, 2020
Meanwhile bike lanes will be empty.
This isn’t fucking #Amsterdam https://t.co/FjTbdK9DmO
"We're looking at a way of trying to calm the street down. We're telling people Yonge Street is not just a highway," Ward 8 Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Mike Colle, who presented the new motion, said to his peers on Wednesday.
He continued on Twitter: "Yonge Street is not just a highway to downtown. Yonge Street is the local Main Street to many wonderful Neighbourhoods and with countless unique shops and restaurants worth visiting."
