Confused Toronto drivers took over a bridge designed for bikes and people are fuming
Cars parked in bike lanes are a very Toronto brand of safety concern that cyclists in the city often have t0 deal with, but a couple of drivers decided to one-up others by driving through a separated bike lane and into oncoming bicycle traffic last week and, of course, it was all caught on video.
People riding on two wheels across the snazzy Cherry Street South bridge were surprised to find themselves face-to-face with multiple cars — at night, no less — their drivers apparently seriously confused about the new(ish) infrastructure, which features dual-direction bike lanes on one side, separated by a guard rail.
Welcome to Toronto.
— Bruce MacNeil (@bruce_in) July 9, 2023
While cyclists and cyclist advocates are calling out bad Toronto drivers and their perceived lack of consideration for other road users, some feel that the bridge could have used some better design — namely, more obvious indicators that the car-sized lane is cyclist-only, whether that be differently-coloured pavement, bollards at each end, or something else.
Need some bollards at the ends of the bridge. Maybe paint it green or something too. Yikes.
— CIW (@xina) July 10, 2023
Others feel that the designation should be pretty obvious to anyone actually paying attention while they're driving, even if it is their first time on the recently-installed viaduct.
Adults (with license) would have a full understanding that the road they were on, was the one they needed to stay on. Even at night, the street and bike lanes are clearly marked.
— Bicycle Mayor of Toronto (@BicycleMayorTO) July 9, 2023
Conclusion: They didn’t care that they were putting vulnerable road users in danger. pic.twitter.com/S0ozJsbUFr
While some people may have learned to drive in more suburban areas where there are far fewer cyclists and traffic in general (or are just not yet used to the growing number of bikers in Toronto and the associated infrastructure), there is no excuse not to try one's best to learn to share the road and be vigilant about noting signage and markings — which absolutely everyone behind a wheel or a set of handlebars should be.
Still, as one person on Twitter noted and as we should well know in this city after far too many streetcar tunnel incidents, "Engineers are aware that if a car can fit, someone will drive their car there. You have to design for the lowest common denominator."
