[Northern Light]

Thanks. Can you provide any list or highlights of what has been "publicly paused?" (never mind privately).

Not publicly.

What I can say, broadly, is that projects that involve removing a lane of traffic are generally being slow-walked.

Some will still likely come forward.........but others will not, pending clarity from the province on what will and will not be allowed.

It's an obvious knock-on effect of the horrendous meddling of this foul and corrupt provincial government, but I haven't heard much from the city about pausing anything – not that that they would spend much time on that kind of PR.

This is it. No project has been killed yet. But there is a desire to move more 'upgrade' projects and multi-use path projects forward more quickly, vs what the mix had been up to this point.

What it says to me is the impacts of this policy will go far beyond whatever they deign to rip out (which I still don't clearly know) to cast a chill on years of previously planned and studied bike installations

This is true.

****

Don't lose too much heart. None of the road projects planned for complete streets are moving forward w/o that infrastructure, at least for now, so there is no lost opportunity, yet; only postponed opportunity.

 

[Northern Light]

People in search of some good news..........the upgrade of Brimorton to full cycle tracks is out for consultation.

The improvements may come with protected intersections, bump outs, physical separation, raised crosswalks and other moves as well.

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/8e2e-Brimorton-Drive-Public-Panels-Phase-1-FinalAODAreduced.pdf

Social Pin Point for comments is here:

Social Pinpoint - Brimorton Drive

A Place to engage your Community

toronto.mysocialpinpoint.ca

 

[Frankietls]

2.6 cyclists per minute in both directions, so only 1.3 per minute per direction, in August. Conveniently omitted stats for January/February.

Construction to upgrade University Ave lasted from November 2023 until early August 2024, during that period most cyclist had opted for different routes to avoid University Ave.
Conveniently omitted fact.

 

[evandyk]

If we took out every street that had less than 1.3 cars/minute pass through (averaged over 24 hours/7 days a week), we'd recover a LOT of green space for Toronto!

 

[txlseries4]

That seems pretty good to me, especially considering that is over 24 hours... the majority of those trips are probably during weekday working hours.

It's also purely speculation that the data is collected over 24 hours, and likely not the case -- there is no mention of it in the staff report. The data collected by the city through Multimodal Intersection Turning Movement Counts is done "over 8 non-continuous hours (before September 2023) or over a continuous 14-hour period (September 2023 and after)" so that's probably the time-frame used. I haven't seen any other source the city uses for counting cyclists, either here or on the city's site.

 

[txlseries4]

If we took out every street that had less than 1.3 cars/minute pass through (averaged over 24 hours/7 days a week), we'd recover a LOT of green space for Toronto!

Or even drawing conclusions based on the dominant mode of travel, streets could look a lot different if we re-prioritized based on numbers. Just for fun:

count_id​	Count Date​	Location​	Cars​	Bicycles​	Pedestrians​
46033​	2022-04-20​	Shaw St / Essex St​	94​	734​	444​
49301​	2023-07-27​	Ontario St / Winchester St / Ww W Rose N Winchester​	110​	213​	662​
45181​	2022-05-12​	Ritchie Ave / Herman Ave​	126​	57​	241​
46617​	2022-08-17​	Havelock St / Dewson St​	273​	364​	284​
110239​	2024-06-25​	Gladstone Ave / Sylvan Ave / Dufferin Grove Park Trl​	429​	598​	1820​
49001​	2023-05-10​	Kensington Ave / St Andrew St​	443​	303​	2536​
45239​	2022-06-14​	Garnet Ave / Shaw St​	519​	1510​	967​
110331​	2024-07-23​	Mitchell Ave / Tecumseth St​	978​	1150​	1414​
39251​	2019-08-24​	The Esplanade / Hahn Pl / Berkeley St​	1137​	156​	4057​
39237​	2019-08-24​	The Esplanade / Market St​	3040​	346​	15796​

Funny what happens when you give people cheaper and viable alternatives to driving a car

 

[northyorker1]

It's also purely speculation that the data is collected over 24 hours, and likely not the case -- there is no mention of it in the staff report. The data collected by the city through Multimodal Intersection Turning Movement Counts is done "over 8 non-continuous hours (before September 2023) or over a continuous 14-hour period (September 2023 and after)" so that's probably the time-frame used. I haven't seen any other source the city uses for counting cyclists, either here or on the city's site.

when the data doesn't support your narrative, the data is inaccurate. Got it.

 

[TRONto]

If I'm reading this correctly, even the best performing bike lanes (College) have only 1 bike per minute, per direction, on average? (3710 / 24 / 60 / 2)
What a waste.

The summer of 2025 will be the first summer of a minimal protected bike lane network (assuming nothing is ripped out), it is from this summer going forward that we will be able to judge the level of success of the bike network.

 

[northyorker1]

The summer of 2025 will be the first summer of a minimal protected bike lane network (assuming nothing is ripped out), it is from this summer going forward that we will be able to judge the level of success of the bike network.

Is this winter the first winter of a minimal protected bike lane? why can't we judge the level of success now?

 

[Northern Light]

Is this winter the first winter of a minimal protected bike lane? why can't we judge the level of success now?

Stop trolling.

You repeatedly ask questions that have no logic or merit to them, you make assertions that are inconsistent with the facts and you clearly post just to get a rise out of people. You're well on your way to exiting this forum involuntarily. Stop wasting people's time. This isn't your echo chamber.

 

[generalcanada]

Stop trolling.

You repeatedly ask questions that have no logic or merit to them, you make assertions that are inconsistent with the facts and you clearly post just to get a rise out of people. You're well on your way to exiting this forum involuntarily. Stop wasting people's time. This isn't your echo chamber.

to be fair this aint anyones echo chamber.
He cant post whatever he wants doesnt mean you need to read it

 

[Northern Light]

to be fair this aint anyones echo chamber.

That's true. But entirely off point.

He cant post whatever he wants doesnt mean you need to read it

You clearly mean 'can'; and you're wrong. Trolling is against the rules. Period.

The issue is not taking a position that a particular bike lane project is suspect; the issue is repeating the same arguments, again and again, ad nauseum, generally without any supporting evidence, and making no useful contributions to forum on any subject, no news, no photos, no analysis, clearly evidencing that the sole purpose of the posts is to be antagonistic. Which is not allowed.

I enjoy a good debate more than about anyone else here. But I expect you to make an argument, provide supporting evidence and citations, and when the exchange is concluded, win/lose or draw, you drop it, and don't repeat yourself again the next day and the day after.

 

[TRONto]

Is this winter the first winter of a minimal protected bike lane? why can't we judge the level of success now?

Due to network effects and public awareness.

When a new bus route is introduced, it takes a few years for ridership to mature due to public awareness.

Similarly, there has been a lot of recent construction on the cycling network - Harbord, College, University, Richmond, Adelaide, Bloor. Summer 2025 will be the start of the mostly construction free (hopefully) base protected cycling network. It will be this summer that people will begin to see that construction is over, routes for their commutes are available and protected.

There is an unmet demand for cycling as reflected in Toronto bike share ridership levels increasing over 10x from 2015 to 2024. There were 7 million bike share trips in 2024. It's best for everyone if those 7 million (plus personal bicycle trips) and growing rides are in protected bike lanes.

As condo completions continue in the old city of Toronto, the cycling population in Toronto will only be increasing.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Dropping off your kids at school on an e-bike? Here’s why you might not want to in Ontario​

If you use an electric bike to ferry your kids between home and school, daycare or activities, you’ll be risking a ticket and a fine of up to $1,000.

From https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/dropping-off-your-kids-at-school-on-an-e-bike-here-s-why-you-might/article_68bc095c-e3cd-11ef-af1e-270e6186a629.html

Kevin Shields rides an e-bike through the snowy Toronto streets with his daughters.

Liam Roach was pedalling his one-year-old daughter home from daycare on his bright orange cargo e-bike when he heard the “whoop whoop” of a police car behind him.

He assumed the officer was trying to pull over a car and moved to the side of the road to let him pass. When the military police officer got out and walked up to his bike, he says, he was confused.

The cop informed him that Ontario law prohibits having a child on an e-bike — something that sounded unbelievable to Roach, considering he had just purchased the purpose-built child-carrying e-bike at a local shop and he was using a certified child seat.

“I was pretty upset about the whole thing,” Roach said of the incident last September on the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston.

While he was let off with a warning, Roach had to pull his e-bike’s battery out, rendering it a regular bike, in order to ride home legally.

“I don’t disagree that there should be some regulations on e-bikes and children, especially maximum speeds and stuff like that. |

“But to have a blanket ban where any bicycle with a motor on it isn’t allowed to carry children seems a little ridiculous to me, especially when the rest of North America and most of the world is in line with this as a suitable method of transportation.”

Last November, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives overturned a law regulating electric bikes and replaced it with one that bans anyone under 16 from riding an e-bike — even as a passenger.

The ban has actually been in effect since 2006, according to the Ministry of Transportation, when e-bikes were regulated in the same way as scooters. In 2021, the Ford government brought in legislation that created a new category for e-bikes that would allow underage passengers. But the regulations were never proclaimed into law, and the Safer Roads and Communities Act, which received royal assent in November, overrules the previous law and maintains the ban.

And so while bike shops are selling them, parents are buying them, and a growing number of child-carrying e-bikes are rolling on the streets — doing so it illegal.

The province’s webpage on e-bike regulations doesn’t mention the ban on children.

While February flurries mean bike traffic is currently at a seasonal low, come spring when a growing number of parents pull out their e-bikes and start ferrying their kids between school, daycare and activities, they’ll be risking a ticket and a fine of as much as $1,000.

Toronto police could not say if any tickets have been issued. Spokesperson Laura Brabant said she is not aware of any plans for an enforcement campaign.

While other cities and provinces have rebate programs to encourage families to buy e-bikes, Ontario stands out as the only jurisdiction in the world that bans children on e-bikes, says Jamie Stuckless, the former executive director of the cycling advocacy non-profit Share the Road Coalition, who has been following the regulation of e-bikes in Ontario for more than a decade.

“We’ve been trying to change the e-bike laws in Ontario forever,” she said.

The way the law defines e-bikes is very broad and includes larger electric and gasoline-powered scooters that don’t need to be pedalled, said Stuckless.

“A decade or so ago, when these rules were made, e-bikes were not as prominent or as well understood, so perhaps it was just an abundance of caution,” she said. “But now we see there are a lot of purpose-built e-bikes for safely carrying families.”

“It’s time to update the law,” she said, adding that in the time she’s been advocating for e-bikes, she’s become a mother and bought an e-bike for her young family. “I don’t want people to be getting in trouble for this because tons of parents are riding and bike shops are selling these bikes with child seats and not letting you know that it’s illegal (to ride with children).”

The offices of Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria did not respond to questions about the ban.

Large “cargo” e-bikes are widely available online and in bike shops across the province and can be outfitted with child seats, safety bars and even a canvas rain cover. While some e-bikes operate without pedalling, most have “pedal-assisted” propulsion that uses an electric motor to make it easier to pedal. Popular e-bike brands such as Rad Power Bikes prominently display photos of parents and kids in their promotional material.

Child-carrying e-bikes are the biggest growth segment in the business, says Kevin McLaughlin, who has been selling all kinds of e-bikes out of Zygg, his Roncesvalles-area shop, since 2020.

“This is what people are excited about. People want to be able to take their kids to school and then keep on going to work and pick up groceries on the way home,” he said.

But McLaughlin said he had no idea a ban on child passengers was in effect.

“It’s very concerning, because people had been told that it was OK and there’s been no communication from the government.”

Instead of banning kids, the province would do well to start enforcing rules that actually relate to safety, like battery size, maximum speed and certification standards, he said.

During the legislative committee debate on the law, Progressive Conservative member Ric Bresee gave a hint that the government would use the new legislation to properly regulate the chaotic and rapidly growing micromobility market.

“There are a huge number of different styles and structures of these bikes,” he said, according to a transcript of the meeting. “We need to make sure that we get that right, as to which ones require licensing, which ones don’t etc., the age restrictions — all of that. That move to get those regulations requires that we, I’ll say, clear the path for those definitions, and that is exactly what this legislation is doing.”

Michael Longfield, the executive director of the bicycle advocacy group CycleTO, flagged the child passenger ban in a letter to the government while the e-bike bill was winding its way through the legislative process.

“I think this perpetuates a myth that kids riding on e-bikes are in some way dangerous, which is quite misleading given that traffic collisions in cars tend to be a much higher percentage of young people’s injuries and deaths,” he said.

There are years of data from other countries where e-bikes are popular and none of it points to any safety concerns for children, as long as the bikes are properly designed and certified, Toronto emergency room doctor Edward Xie said.

“I see tons of children on e-bikes, but I have not seen any e-bike injuries,” he added.

To the contrary, because of the health benefits associated with an active lifestyle, “we should encourage families to use these bikes,” said Xie. “The evidence is very clear on this that the health benefits of riding a bike are immense, primarily due to prevention of chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease.”

Opposition Transportation critic Jennifer French said the ban tells you everything you need to know about the Ford government’s attitude toward cyclists.

“This is not a government that is interested in hearing from cyclists. I think that they seem to consider them a fringe group,” said French, who linked the e-bike rules to the province’s plan to rip out bike lanes.

French said parents who came to committee to express their concerns were brushed aside by the Progressive Conservatives.

“It doesn’t make any sense that they would go forward with something that creates such havoc when I think the spirit of any e-bike legislation is meant to make things easier,” she said.

Kevin Shields and his wife, Ewa, sold their car when they moved to Toronto, and say biking, walking and transit are far better ways of getting around. They take their two kids, ages four and 10, on an e-bike to and from school everyday.

“It is our car. We use it 24/7/365 for everything we do,” he said. “The kids love it. They play ‘I spy.’ They sing. It could be raining or snowing and they’re under the cover, totally oblivious.”

E-bikes are a great solution for families feeling the squeeze of inflation, says CycleTO’s Longfield, with sales as strong as they are, going forward there are going to be more e-bikes with kids around — even if they’re not legal for use.

“They’re sold at Canadian Tire,” he said. “I don’t know if people know they are buying a vehicle they’re not legally allowed to use.

“Could you imagine buying a car and later finding out you can’t drive it?”

 

[TheGrimSweeper]

I drop my kids off via Ebike all the time.

Illegal to ride a bike now?