May 05, 2016 (Toronto, ON) – A 2.5km section of Toronto’s downtown Bloor Street will become a one-year pilot project with separated uni-directional bike paths ending what some characterized as a street fight between city councillors and cycling advocates. The project overwhelmingly passed Toronto city council in a vote of 38 to 3. The bike lanes should be installed by August between Shaw Street and Avenue Rd. for a cost of some $500,000. Some 130 car parking spots will also be lost with this move.
Mayor John Tory said the data will be thoroughly studied after the one-year pilot project. Proponents of the plan promoted it citing bike safety: some 30 “doorings” are recorded here each year on average. Opponents termed the move “a war on drivers.”
Cycling advocates consider this “a victory decades in the making” reports Global. “IT’S OFFICIAL. BIKE LANES WILL BE INSTALLED ON BLOOR ST W THIS AUGUST. #biketo #bloorlovesbikes” tweeted Cycle Toronto.
The news seems to be reverberating across Canada; the Montreal Bike Coalition congratulated their colleagues in Toronto in a Facebook posting, “Le conseil municipal de Toronto vient juste de voter 38 à 3 en faveur de supprimer du stationnement pour implanter des pistes cyclables unidirectionnelles SÉPARÉES sur un tronçon de 2,5 km de la rue Bloor, au coeur du centre-ville. Chapeau!”