City proposes rapid bike network expansion with new lanes on Bloor-Danforth corridor and University Ave.

Thestar.com
May 26, 2020
Ben Spurr

The city is planning to create a 15-kilometre continuous bikeway on the Bloor-Danforth corridor and build separated cycle tracks through University Avenue’s hospital district as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bike network acceleration plan, which was released Monday and is tied to the city’s ActiveTO program, would result in about 25 kilometres of new bikeways. Together with 15 kilometres of routes council had approved before the pandemic for installation in 2020, if the plan is given the green light by council on Thursday the city would build 40 kilometres of temporary and permanent bike infrastructure this year.

At the city’s regular COVID-19 news conference on Monday, Mayor John Tory, who last week said councillors who were pushing for a bike lane on University Avenue were playing politics, described the proposed network expansion as “a quick and common sense way” to provide a “relief valve” to the hobbled transit system, allow employees and customers to access local businesses, and ensure people can be active while respecting physical distancing guidelines.

“This is not about ideology. It is about doing everything we can, where it makes sense, to make sure that people can get around in a safe and healthy way going forward,” he said.

If approved, work on some of the bikeways would begin as early next week and all of the projects would be at least substantially complete by July.

Even coupled with previously announced pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly ActiveTO measures to temporarily close major roadways and create 57 km of “quiet streets,” Toronto’s plan isn’t as ambitious as those being pursued in other cities during the pandemic. Montreal intends to create 327 km of bike paths and pedestrian streets this summer.

In a statement, Coun. Joe Cressy (Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York) said the recommended bike network expansion “would represent a big step forward for active transportation in Toronto.”

“With an east-west corridor along Bloor/Danforth and a north-south spine along University Avenue, this could be a game changer for cycling in Toronto,” he said in a statement. Those two bikeways would mirror TTC subway lines that are expected to operate at reduced capacity for the foreseeable future.

For most of the projects listed in the report, city staff intend to move ahead with “rapid installations” using temporary materials like paint, signage, and barriers that require “minimal change to the street design.”

On Danforth Avenue, however, the report recommends a more extensive “complete streets” redesign to support the corridor’s “main street character and local economy.” In addition to creating new cycle tracks between Dawes Road and Broadview Avenue, the plan would involve public realm improvements and “opportunities” for cafes.

A westward extension of the existing Bloor lanes had been previously proposed and was already under study by city staff before the pandemic hit. Unlike other projects in the report, if approved the Bloor extension would be installed as permanent infrastructure and push the east-west cycling route 4.5 kilometres west from its current terminus at Shaw Street to Runnymede Road. The extension’s design would differ depending on the section of the road, but it would feature one traffic lane and one separated cycle track in each direction.

The extension would require removing 194 pay-and-display on-street parking spaces, representing a loss in city revenue of more than $790,000 based on 2019 numbers. But those loses could almost entirely be offset by plans to add 132 new parking spaces on Bloor, and 104 more in the area.

Staff are also recommending creating a cycle track on Bloor between Avenue Road and Sherbourne Street, which would fill a gap in existing infrastructure along the corridor. If the Bloor projects and the Danforth redesign are complete, there would be a continuous bike lane on Bloor-Danforth stretching almost from the border of Etobicoke in the west to Scarborough in the east.

Albert Stortchak, chair of the Broadview Danforth Business Improvement Area, said opinion about bringing bike lanes to the eastern part of the corridor is mixed but many business owners are concerned about the economic impact of losing parking spots.

According to the staff report one traffic lane in each direction would be removed but parking and loading spaces would be preserved on both sides, albeit “at a reduced amount.”

“Businesses are already struggling to survive” through the pandemic, Stortchak said. “It’s just going to add a level of anxiety.”

In a statement, Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children, said his organization “wholeheartedly” supports the proposed bike lanes “as part of an ambitious, evaluated strategy to improve safe and active transportation for our Sick Kids staff and patients, as well as all Toronto citizens.”　　

Together staff estimate the Bloor extension and other new projects would cost about $6.5 million, with about $1.6 million of that funded through a provincial grant.

Tory, who last week warned of “devastating” cuts to city services if the provincial and federal governments don’t provide financial relief to municipalities, defended the bike lane spending by pointing out the money would come from Toronto’s capital budget.

The projected $1.5-billion shortfall the city is facing falls on its operating side.

If the bike plan is approved, staff will report back late next year with recommendations on whether to keep the temporary projects.