LOOKING AHEAD 2024: Vaughan gearing up to develop more cycling infrastructure

City of Vaughan aims to build out its pedestrian and cycling infrastructure program in the next five years

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 5, 2024
Brian Capitao

The City of Vaughan has ambitious plans in the new year.

This year’s forecasted city budget allocated a large chunk of its capital budget to planning out a pedestrian and cycling infrastructure implementation program.

The cost of the program will be $81.7 million over the course of the next five years.

Some are saying they can see the beginnings of the plan taking shape.

Sam Cascun, owner of Cyclepath Woodbridge says he was previously invited by city council to talk about the need for building cycling infrastructure in the city.

According to Cascun, the City of Vaughan is beginning to make roads wider and will gradually start implementing bike lanes. He says he already sees it near his shop with multi-use lanes.

However, he says if the city is serious about cycling as an alternative mode of transportation, they need to do a better job of clearing up the roads of snow.

Customers have also come in and complained about the lack of storage for their bikes and ongoing theft is a problem, he says.

“They should have lockers for some of the nicer bikes,” said Cascun, stating that theft in the Hwy. 7 and Jane (VMC) subway station was a problem for his customers.

But the real danger may be cars eagerly making right turns, says Jean-Francois Obregon, urban planner and cycling advocate in Vaughan.

“These cycling lanes are just painted on the road and are at these street corners like Viceroy or Glen Shields with Dufferin or arguably Steeles are used as right lane turning lanes by vehicular traffic. Often, they can just speed in to the these turns,” said Obregon.

Obregon has advocated for cycling lanes in the city for over 10 years after going on an exchange program his undergraduate year and seeing the cycling lanes in the Netherlands.

“I thought 'If a small country like this can do it, we certainly have space to do it back home,’" said Obregon.

Recent improvements on Woodbridge Ave with funding by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FEDEV) make mention of a “renewed streetscape now promotes walking, cycling and transit use.”

When asked directly whether the new construction of Woodbridge Ave. was further part of building out cycling infrastructure, a spokesperson for the City of Vaughan wrote back:

“The renewed streetscape now increases safety between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, and includes new crosswalks on Woodbridge Avenue. As a result, active transportation (walking and cycling) is more convenient with access to trails and open space,” they said.

They did not however explicitly mention bike lanes.

Obregon believes the City of Vaughan needs to do better.

“I mean, in a way, you have this discrepancy, if I can call it that, with an official government commitment to building cycling infrastructure, then disclosing or reporting on the amount [sic] of kilometres built. But then it's not properly done,” said Obregon.

But Dorinda So, executive director of pointA, a transportation management association that covers North Toronto and Vaughan believes it’s a process.

“I find in particular in compared to experience in North York sometimes, often it's like recreational experiences is kind of the way that a lot of people end up using the infrastructure, like maybe cycling on a weekend. There's hopefully less traffic when you're doing it with your family. And then usually you can then consider what that would be like for your actual commute depending on where you're going,” said So.

So noted that having infrastructure plays a pivotal role in people feeling safe.

"It is a huge issue for sure,” said So. “But I also think when we think about cycling safety, we don't just think about actual user experience, but also think about parking,” said So.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Cascun.

“They need more parking at the Hwy 7 and Jane subway station,” said Cascun, noting that bike parking is a necessity if the city wants to be serious about their cycling infrastructure.

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