Summer 2023

Welcome to our Summer Newsletter!

We have lots of exciting news to report since our last newsletter, beginning with the resounding 21-1 vote by City Council on June 14, 2023 to approve the Bloor West Complete Street Extension, which includes five kilometers of new bike lanes from Runnymede Road to Resurrection Road, just east of Kipling Avenue.

This issue also includes a full list of our annual Road Safety Champions, including the Bloor Annex BIA - further evidence that a growing number of merchants appreciate that bikes are good for business - and reporting on the work of our Political Engagement Committee, obliged to forego its anticipated four-year hiatus with the unexpected resignation of Mayor John Tory.

YES! We (Now) Belong on Bloor

Following city council’s affirmative vote on June 14, we are now one step closer to a dream decades in the making: Bloor-Danforth bike lanes that stretch across the entire city.

In fact, insofar as Bloor Street is now concerned, only 3.5 km remains after the Council vote to complete bike lanes to the Mississauga border. Coincidentally, the City of Mississauga is developing its own bike lanes on Bloor, which will increase the utility of the Bloor lanes. 

Installation of the newly approved section is expected to occur late this summer for the Runnymede-Aberfoyle/Royal York portion, and next year from Aberfoyle to Resurrection Road (near Kipling Avenue), where bike lanes are already in place.  

For the last two years, the dedicated volunteers of our We Belong on Bloor campaign have carried out a long list of initiatives from online fora to in-person meetings to mobilize community support. The work included a letter to City Council signed by 65 local merchants - the product of shop-to-shop visits - and 30 community groups in support of greater safety on Bloor along with an enhanced and more vibrant streetscape.

The proposal to extend the bike lanes also admittedly had some pretty vocal opponents, including a group that placed “Save our Bloor” signs on some front yards. But their anti-bike lane message was turned on its head by local resident Ruth Watkins with her own creation (photo above). 

There is more work to do, but we’ll take a moment to savour and celebrate this victory; another stage in the long battle. On Sunday, July 9 at noon in Tom Riley Park, we’ll be thanking our volunteers, supporters, and City Councillors Amber Morley and Gord Perks in person. Please join us there for pizza, refreshments, and our thanks to you.

Political Engagement Committee

Mayor John Tory’s surprise resignation in February meant that our Political Engagement Committee had to spring back into action.

The committee wasted no time in articulating specific road safety and transportation issues, then developing them into a survey for mayoral candidates.

The survey results included questions regarding the candidates’ views on the colossal expenditure for the Gardiner East rebuild, our road safety calls to action, and cycling infrastructure improvements.

See the survey results here.

Our Community Road Safety Champions for 2023

Fighting for safe roads isn’t a lucrative business; indeed, most of this city-building work is done by volunteers.

This year, as in the last two years, each of the award recipients received a framed photograph (by Martin Reis or Jun Nogami) in a ceremony at a location of their choosing.

Please ring your bells for this year’s recipients of our third annual Road Safety Awards.

Wayne Scott Community Service Award: Brown + Storey Architects

The award recognizes the contributions of James Brown and Kim Storey, of Brown + Storey Architects, over many years to the cause of safe roads and a better city.

Their past work includes the beautiful reconstruction of St. George St. in the 1990s, making it what might be the best example of a Complete Street in Toronto. Our banner photo for this issue shows St. George St. in the background. This year’s award, however, recognizes the pro bono work of James and Kim for the Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC) to transform the current motorway.

Advocate of the Year: Safe Parkside

This grassroots group of local residents includes among its leaders Faraz and Michelle Gholizadeh and Genevieve Lacroix.

Safe Parkside was recognized for its tireless efforts to convert Parkside Drive, which operates as a highway (documented by the thousands of tickets issued by the local speed camera) into a safe street consistent with its residential character and its location adjacent to High Park.

The group’s work has been an inspiration to other road safety advocates across the city. Faraz’s even-keeled manner and thoughtful arguments are regularly featured in the media.

Suburban Road Safety Champion: L’Amoreaux-Huntingwood-Agincourt Cycling & Walking Advocates

This multi-year, ongoing grassroots group promotes, celebrates, and advocates for cycling and walking in this Toronto inner suburb, far from the traditional downtown/near downtown sites of cycling advocacy.

Special recognition is due to a number of groups that have devoted countless hours to the cause of road safety in Scarborough, including Agincourt Loves Cycling, Huntingwood Day, North Scarborough Green Loop, Agincourt Village Community Association, Scarborough Cycles, and Toronto East Cyclists.

Business Road Safety Champion: Bloor Annex BIA, and General Manager, Brian Burchell

Opposition to bike lanes by local businesses used to be considered a normal hurdle faced by cycling advocates. Today, when a city project threatens the Bloor bike lanes in the Annex neighbourhood, one of the first calls we get is from the BIA’s Brian Burchell to raise the alarm.

Over time, and with a number of studies, merchants have come to realize that what’s good for cyclists is also good for business. Indeed, the Bloor Annex BIA has been a champion for all residents, especially those who walk and cycle (see the BIA’s recent letter to the city about the Bloor Complete Street Extension).

The foreground of the mural, where the recipients are standing for the photo, was once occupied by two car parking spots, but later repurposed by the BIA, working with the city, into a parkette now enjoyed by the neighbourhood and its visitors, including bicycle food couriers.

Please see coverage of the award on the BIA website.

Emerging Road Safety Champion – Yonge4All

Another of the great victories this year was the Toronto City Council vote in February to make permanent the Yonge Complete Street pilot, initially installed 18 months earlier.

We all know that these types of victories don’t come easily. We are grateful to Yonge4All, led by Robin Richardson and her band of dedicated volunteers, for their work in making the Complete Street a permanent installation.

Indeed, the opposition mounted a strong fight, even conscripting Mayor John Tory to its side. Ultimately, the mayor’s call for a deferral of the final decision failed, in what ironically turned out to be one of his final votes as mayor.

Vélo Odds and Ends

1. The Weston Village BIA had a fun bike repair event in which we gladly accepted an invitation from coordinator Audrey Swartz. The event didn’t attract the sun,but it brought out a lot of smiles and opportunities to talk about cycling with local residents.

2. Please donate to the Thorncliffe Park Autism Support Network (TPASN) and its June 10 to July 8 Bike-A-Thon for a summer camp for autistic children. To find out more, and to donate, please go here.

3. The Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards (C.R.A.S.H.), which now includes 17 Ontario road safety groups, is completing a comprehensive report with recommendations to address the greater dangers posed to pedestrians and cyclists by pickup trucks and large SUVs relative to conventional cars. The project has been advancing quickly thanks to the work of University of Windsor Faculty of Law student, Luis Palacios, who is working with us this summer thanks to a social justice fellowship.

4. Who hasn’t been frustrated, sometimes frightened, by road and other construction work that unexpectedly pushes cyclists from the bike lane into a busy motor traffic lane? A number of advocacy groups, including TCBC, have been collaborating with City of Toronto road safety officials to develop clearly articulated, enforceable rules to protect cyclists and pedestrians at construction projects that impinge on bike lanes or sidewalks.

5. An initiative by City Councillor Dianne Saxe to licence e-bike couriers has drawn our attention, and our response. We’ve articulated in a letter to the city why this is a very bad idea while also setting out opportunities for public education campaigns, especially to protect vulnerable pedestrians on sidewalks from illegal sidewalk riding. The TCBC participated in a Toronto Metropolitan University debate on the subject on June 21.

A Final Note

Community Bikeways is a fiercely independent organization that accepts no money from governments or corporations. This allows us to hold City Hall accountable for its climate, road safety, and cycling policies without constraint.

We are, however, happy to accept individual donations. Please email us at community.Bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com if you’d like to support our work.

Wishing you safe riding!

Mary Ann, Ingrid, Roger, Robert, Michael H, Marc, Michael B, Mark x2, Jonathan, Ersan, and Albert.