Toronto Mayor John Tory pressured to drop opposition to Yonge St. bike lanes

City councillor John Filion says opposition to the plan on Yonge is “ridiculous.” Tory wants to locate the bike lanes on a parallel street.

Thestar.com
Feb. 20, 2018
David Rider

Toronto Mayor John Tory is unmoved by arguments from city staff, some Willowdale residents, their city councillor and safety advocates who want separated bike lanes on a stretch of north Yonge St.

Tory confirmed his opposition to that part of the “Reimagining Yonge” plan for the Sheppard-Finch corridor Tuesday after Councillor John Filion and others urged him to reconsider before the issue returns next week to the public works committee chaired by a Tory ally.

“I believe those bike lanes are better located . . . on Beecroft (Rd.), which is one street to the west, and I believe that will allow us to not take out two lanes of traffic on Yonge St.,” to free up space for the bike lanes as recommended by city transportation staff, Tory told reporters.

“It is my job as the mayor of the entire city to achieve a balance between all the different competing uses for space, competing groups that have different opinions, and so on. And that includes in this case cyclists, pedestrians, local businesses, local residents, pedestrians -- did I mention them? -- (and) car drivers."

Councillor John Filion, whose Willowdale ward includes most of the affected stretch of Yonge, called such opposition to the plan “ridiculous.”

“I’m kind of astonished myself that I have to scramble for 23 (city council majority) votes to get staff recommendations adopted,” he told reporters at a morning news conference at city hall, before Tory spoke to the media. “I can’t remember a similar situation . . .

“We’ve only got one chance to get this right. Once Yonge St. is reconstructed, which it needs to be, you won’t be able to fix this for the next 50 years. Let’s act now before there are more pedestrian injuries and fatalities and let’s get it right and get rid of a lane of traffic,” in each direction.

Between January 2010 and December 2017, that stretch of Yonge saw 78 collisions involving pedestrians and five involving cyclists. Eight of them were seriously injured or killed.

As well as reducing vehicle lanes in the stretch from six to four, the $51.1-million remake includes wider boulevards, better pedestrian crossings, and a landscaped centre median aimed at bringing more vitality and safety to a stretch flanked by an ever-growing forest of condominium towers.

Public works members will receive a detailed study by city transportation staff predicting vehicle lane reductions in that stretch would have “minimal” impacts on commute times for rush-hour drivers there, about three-quarters of whom live outside Toronto.

The study also warns that leaving vehicle lanes in place offers scant room for the other planned improvements aimed at bringing more vitality and safety to a condo-lined corridor with lots of cars and little street life. The Beecroft option is possible but would add about $20 million to the cost of the project and meet fewer of its objectives than putting the bike lanes on Yonge, the study says.

Tory told reporters he believes that extra cost can be reduced or even eliminated, without giving any details.

Jesse James, who lives with his wife and children near Finch and Willowdale Aves., joined Filion at city hall to demand the staff plan be built.

“My wife and I regularly feel threatened as we bike or walk,” by traffic on busy Yonge St. he said, noting the booming area often teems with students from nearby schools. “With over 52,000 children and youth (in the area), and a large proportion of them living within a two block walk of Yonge or travelling on bikes or walking . . . this most iconic street must be reimagined,” James said.

Jess Spieker of Friends and Families for Safe Streets, which advocates for measures to make pedestrians and cyclists safer, said the staff plan follows guidelines in Vision Zero, a plan to eliminate road deaths, and Toronto’s “Complete Streets” plan, both of which are endorsed by Tory and city council.

Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths are “the inevitable outcome of a six lane highway running down the middle of a neighbourhood" ," Spieker said, addressing her remarks to politicians.

“Road safety is your job. Lives depend on your decisions,” she said. “By ignoring city staff and supporting the Beecroft option, which would sustain the intense danger on Yonge St., Mayor Tory is showing us zero vision instead of following through on his express commitment to Vision Zero.”

Public works chair Jaye Robinson did not respond Tuesday to request for comment. At a meeting last month some residents, including Alasdair Robertson of the Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association, opposed removing vehicle lanes. He said doing so would funnel motorists onto nearby residential streets, and supported putting the bike lanes on Beecroft.

Tory, elected mayor in 2014 and planning to seek re-election in October, has been criticized for strongly supporting the King St. pilot project that limits vehicle traffic on that downtown road to help speed up the movement of streetcars.

But his administration has often focused on the need to keep vehicles moving, even if it costs more money. When city staff recommended replacing the aging elevated east Gardiner Expressway with a ground-level boulevard, council instead approved an option that keeps it aloft but moves it closer to the railway at an extra cost of more than $500 million.