Cycle Toronto

"But nobody bikes in Toronto!!" More people ride bikes downtown than are passengers in cars (including taxis and ride sharing).

See you tonight at Critical Mass! 6pm High Park!

Source: Ontario Ministry of Transportation

"Ontario Investing $49 Million to Strengthen Supports for Small Business" And if Ontario wasn't intent on ripping out bike lanes this investment for small businesses could have been DOUBLED.

Just over 24 hours away until the start of the Big Toronto Bike Ride presented by McLeish Orlando happening Saturday, September 19! There's still time to fundraise to help support Cycle Toronto's work. Find out more: cycleto.ca

Today's editorial in The Globe & Mail can barely contain its exasperation with Premier Ford and his government's obsession with removing bike lanes despite all the expert evidence justifying their benefits and the unprecedented challenges facing the province that deserves his attention.

Ontario Society Of Professional Engineers (OSPE) continues to speak out against the province's reckless and arbitrary scheme to rip out 19 km of protected bike lanes.

But if the government won't listen, will engineering firms heed this message before bidding on Ontario's RFP?

On Saturday, hundreds of people came out to our "Cyclists Aren't Secondary" side streets ride. As elected officials ostensibly justify the planned removal of protected bike lanes in Toronto, the repeated refrain is bike lanes should be on "secondary" streets. So we took them up on it and invited Premier Ford, Minister Sarkaria, and other elected officials and candidates to join us on a ride from Islington to Runnymede, sticking to secondary streets and avoiding the Bloor bike lanes and other major arterials.

And what should have been a simple 4 km ride turned into a meandering journey along park trails and neighbourhood streets almost double the length and some challenging hills that saw half the group walking their bikes.

Even the park trails proved unsuitable for some of the bigger e-cargo bikes and e-trikes, vehicles that otherwise enabled families and seniors to choose to ride a bike. (Pictured: ride participants helping a senior woman and her dog get her e-trike over the rough trail.)

There are no routes that can replace the protected bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University. Yes, some of the more confident cyclists will choose to continue riding on those roads. But many more will stop relying on their bikes and many of those trips will be replaced by cars.

The ride made clear that if politicians insist on removing bike lanes, they also need to stop gaslighting us about the alternatives.

📸: X

"Why would I deceive you? There's no reason for me to do that."
All actual quotes from Minister Sarkaria justifying the Ontario government's scheme to waste $48M to rip out 19 km of Toronto bike lanes that won't solve traffic congestion and will put people's lives at risk.

Request a lawn sign: cycleto.ca/sign

Available for collection next week. Supplies are limited!

Thanks Canadian Cycling Magazine for the shout out! Find out more: cycleto.ca/events