In a move that seems almost engineered to rage-bait Fox News hosts, a new condo development in an increasingly-walkable "15-minute cities" area of Toronto has installed a bike locking ring designed to look like a surgical mask.

Short of a raccoon working at Tim Hortons, it may very well be the most Toronto thing that's ever happened.

The new bike lock is one of a trio spotted on the west side of River Street just north of Dundas Street East, recently installed in front of the new Daniels Artworks Tower condominium development.

Twitter user Rudy Limeback shared a photo of the curious new installation with a bit of brief history about this style of bike locks, which originated here in Toronto.

a face mask?

i've seen many variations of the post-and-ring bike stand but this is the first face mask i've seen

by the way, the original post-and-ring was designed by the city of Toronto in the early 1980s -- see https://t.co/NLqhLQBQQw #BikeTO pic.twitter.com/diPgKJI4y7

— Rudy Limeback (@rudydotca) June 26, 2023

These are not official City of Toronto bike rings, but instead are private locks on condo property, designed in a similar style as City-installed rings.

Unlike the official bike posts, these artistic interpretations include areas with much thinner (and, by association, less secure) metal than the sturdier ones installed on public property.

Limeback also shared the post on Mastodon, a Twitter alternative growing increasingly popular with people tired of Elon Musk's meddling. The post generated even more reaction on that platform, including one comment suggesting that these locks might not be up for the task of keeping bikes safe from thieves.

"I like it as whimsical art. Not so sure about it as a theft deterrent. That mask piece looks like it would be pretty easy to knock out of the middle with one hard kick," reads the comment.

Another commenter seems to agree, though acknowledges that "these look better than the ones in Ottawa in terms of usability."

The comment continues, "no disrespect to the artists, why are #BikeRacks so often forced into double duty as public art in ways that make them *worse as bike racks*?"

"Bank Street [in] Ottawa has a bunch like the one pictured here, which are super hard to securely lock my bike to because the rear basket is pushed out by the metal panel. No one would dream of making drivers park their cars on top of a textured metal 'parking spot/art piece.'"

It may not prove the most efficient design for locking up your bike, but it's really just one rainbow away from Tucker Carlson's worst nightmare. And that has to count as a win somewhere.