HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Winter 2025 Newsletter

Highlights

In this issue you will find news about the launch of our Closing the Toronto Loop campaign, Cycling Good Cheer ride, e-bike law reform work, and a variety of other updates.

Closing the Toronto Loop

On a blustery Sunday morning we launched our Closing the Loop advocacy campaign. Under the guidance of Ed Ravin, we cycled a central section of the larger 73-kilometre system of trails that could form a complete circuit of mainly off-road cycling trails. The Loop has the waterfront at the bottom and Finch Avenue/Hydro Corridor along the top, connected by trails along the Humber and Don Rivers. Imagine being able, as a city resident or visitor, to take your family on an enjoyable, affordable, and safe tour of many scenic parts of the city! By eliminating the ten remaining gaps --- which amount to only 5,500 metres --- the city’s heavy investment in trails would be fully realized to the benefit of utilitarian, recreational, and tourism cycling. It’s a good time to work on these trail gaps, given the Premier’s edict prohibiting bike lanes that eliminate car lanes. See: “After a half-century(!), it’s finally time to close the Toronto Loop.”  

Cycling Good Cheer

In the lead up to this year’s ride, organized by Janet Joy Wilson, Ruby hand-delivered invitations to every city councillor. Feeder rides from Scarborough (led by the Grinch), St. Lawrence Market (led by Bicycle Mayor, Alison Stewart), and from North York and High Park added to the festive spirit. At the end of the ride, participants enjoyed barbecued S’mores and delicious cookies from bike shop Pedaal. Curbside Cycle and Cycle Toronto generously chipped in with cargo bikes for Santa and his team. Heather Jackson and Pier Shu-Lutman (Bromptoning) as well as Jun Nogami (Biking in a Big City), Robert Zaichkowski (Two-Wheeled Politics), and Janet Joy Wilson documented the event with photos, videos and words.

E-Bikes – Blame the Regulator, Not the Rider

The only certainty about e-bikes is that at every public meeting about cycling, someone will complain loudly about them. The complaints are not just from pedestrians, but from cyclists (or prospective cyclists) themselves who may be intimidated, even discouraged, from riding in bike lanes shared with powerful, fast e-bikes, some of them operated by in-a-hurry food delivery workers. Fortunately, there is a way forward that both protects the desirable growth of e-bikes while addressing some of the problems. Our law reform work will include drafting a model e-bike regulation, drawing on work in other jurisdictions. We are looking forward to the assistance of University of Windsor Faculty of Law student Muskan Fatima, as part of our ongoing collaboration with the university’s Externship Program.

The Safest Pickup Is a Cardboard Cut-out

Our Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards (CRASH) has now grown into a coast-to-coast group with the addition of the Halifax Cycling Coalition. Our work to build awareness and support has included public events, including the EcoFair on November 2 and a Toronto Public Library road safety forum on November 15. Faculty of Law student Rachel How Tein Fat from the University of Windsor will be working with us in the upcoming semester. We will be reaching out to provincial coroners beyond Ontario to call for death reviews, given the higher fatality risk to pedestrians and cyclists from pickups. Our federal and municipal advocacy will also continue.

Velo Odds and Ends

Trump in Toronto?

The increase in intimidation tactics used by opponents to Complete Streets/bike lanes also extends to attacks on municipal initiatives such as homeless shelters. You may recall that a few days before the February 2025 provincial election, a group of local businesses (fewer in number than signed on to support the Bloor West Complete Street) in The Kingsway area of Bloor Street West launched a lawsuit against the city, the manager of the city’s transportation services, and local councillor Amber Morley. What was the urgency of filing the suit a few days before the election, if not to influence the result -- and to bully or punish city representatives who supported the Complete Street project. And what has happened with the Crooked Cue lawsuit since then? Nothing. A motion by the city to dismiss the case is now scheduled for June 2026. Lawyer Angelique Moss recently wrote about these tactics in Toronto Today.

New Car Lane May Help Secure Future of Bloor Bike Lane.

The province has invested $750,000 to add a new, eastbound car lane at a rail underpass between Islington and Kipling Avenues. Police had been calling for the lane to address a potential bottleneck. (A cheaper option would have been to widen the bike lane to accommodate emergency vehicles.) The project maintains the existing bike lane, suggesting that the remainder of it on Bloor is safe from removal. Why else spend so much money adding a lane while maintaining the bike lane if not to acknowledge permanence of the bike lane? Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario’s Transportation Minister have been in talks behind the scenes to keep the full Bloor bike lane in place.

Progress on Cycling Network Plan, despite provincial meddling

On December 18, City Council approved 20 kilometres of bikeways, including a six-kilometre stretch along Kingston Rd. The result is that Toronto is one step closer to a complete cross-town Bloor-Danforth-Kingston Rd bikeway. Meanwhile, the province’s appeal of Cycle Toronto’s successful Charter Challenge against bike lane removals on Yonge, Bloor, and University goes to the Court of Appeal on January 28, 2026. The Kingston Rd bike lane is the result of a well-organized campaign by Danforth - Kingston 4 All, led by one of our Community Advisors, Marvin Macaraig. The demand for this bike lane was included in our 2022 Road Safety Calls to Action in the lead up to municipal elections.

Construction Project Audits

Our Government Accountability Committee has completed a trial run of its assessment criteria for construction projects that impinge on bike lanes and sidewalks. Our criteria rely on the city’s Vision Zero Plan --- and its priority for vulnerable road users --- as the starting point. The next step is the evaluation of a range of projects before issuing our report card in the spring. We would be happy to hear from you about your own experiences at construction projects and whether you were provided with safe passage. Please email us  at Community.Bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com.

Our Steering Committee is now a Board of Directors

On November 1, 2025, Community Bikeways officially became an incorporated Not-for-Profit organization with all of the associated benefits and obligations. Jessie Ye was chosen as the Chair of our Board of Directors while Albert Koehl will act as the Coordinator/Executive Director. The other board members are drawn from our Steering Committee. Roger Morier remains our Communications Coordinator. Our Articles of Incorporation set out our objectives: reallocating road space to walk/cycle/transit modes; initiating law and policy reform; supporting fledgling road safety groups; organizing community events to highlight the joys and benefits of cycling; and holding City Hall to account for its road safety, cycling, and climate plans.

Support Community Bikeways

We are a fiercely independent group that shuns government and corporate donations. This approach allows us to carry out, without restraint, our mission of holding City Hall and other levels of government to account for their road safety, climate, and cycling plans. 

We nonetheless gratefully accept individual donations that help us achieve our objectives and to hold fun events that lift spirits. Since we are not a registered charity, we cannot provide income tax receipts. If you are in a position to donate you can do so by making a direct deposit (via electronic transfer) to Community.Bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com.

We wish you safe riding and Happy Holidays!

Jessie, Bilal, Ersan, Michael B, Michael H, Bob, Jennifer, Roger, Lance, Mark Fernando, and Albert.

Webmaster: Ian Mills