u/RZaichkowski

Good morning! For those of you Torontonians who haven't voted yet, TODAY is the last day of advance polls from 10 AM to 7 PM. Otherwise, make sure you get out and vote on Monday, October 26 from 10 AM to 8 PM. You can get the voter information you need at the Toronto elections website at the link. We can't afford to sit this one out given there are candidates out there who will take the TTC backwards including ripping out RapidTO bus lanes in Scarborough and opposing plans to expand fare capping.

Per Albert Koehl's latest article in Spacing, "If bike lanes were actually removed today, the premier would lose his scapegoat. How would he then explain worsening motor traffic congestion?" Well said!

Just got this "Bike The Night" event notice from MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon's office which starts Friday, October 9 (6:30 PM) at East Lynn Park. Please spread the word.

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Join Triple M for a rally and group bike ride through the east end of Toronto to show Ford that the bike lanes must stay!

Bring your bells 🔔

Bring your lights 🚨

Bring your energy 📣

We are going to make sure the absolute need for safe, accessible, and connected cycling infrastructure is heard and seen on October 9th.

https://preview.redd.it/qmk6cbrnz3ph1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=ac6e6c92648407ace7c41cc93b9ab11a71a226c2

For those of you who use the West Toronto Railpath, please note the stretch from Perth to Dundas will experience closures as early as next week until November for resurfacing and landscaping works. You will need to detour via Sterling Road.

Not sure if this was shared here yet, but a documentary called "Cycling Toward a Cooler Toronto" was released a few weeks ago featuring Cycle Toronto's Michael Longfield, Dr. Shoshanna Saxe, and two other U of T civil engineers. Also included a plug for open streets by Dr. Saxe near the end.

Oh The Urbanity put up an excellent clip explaining why cycling can be more useful than transit for car-free families. Especially when it comes to trip chaining. Add this to all the other reasons why the Ford government's war on bikes is irresponsible!

Great column by Shawn Micallef in the Toronto Star about the Ford government's war on bikes. Says "Ridiculous and absurd, sure, but this “war” is still on, and it has many active fronts."

Per a series of bike counts done by Community Bikeways (TCBC) over the years, removing bike lanes will adversely affect pedestrians! Per Page 19 of this PDF file, about 30% of cyclists rode on sidewalks at Royal York in August 2023 pre-installation compared to 4% in May 2024.

Given today's news about the Ford government moving forward with restoring traffic lanes on Bloor, Yonge & University, I looked at how a traffic lane can be added on Bloor from Clissold to Montgomery while keeping the bike lanes. Until we know for sure, we must stay vigilant and be prepared to take part in any direct actions in the event the bike lanes end up being removed.

Happy Monday! Over the past year, there have been a fair number of trail developments across Ontario. I rounded up several of them on my blog including The Meadoway, the Orangeville Brampton Rail Trail, and the G2G Rail Trail.

Thanks to the over 1000 cyclists - including Mayor Olivia Chow - who made it out to last night's Critical Mass ride! My blog post about the ride is now up for your viewing pleasure.

For those of you wondering what's happening with the Etobicoke Greenway trail project, an open house was held last week and the panels were made publicly available. Construction is expected to start next month and be done in early 2027.

The City of Toronto recently issued a construction notice for the Morningside Connections project from Highway 401 to Tams Road with an expected completion date of December 2026. This will include a multi-use path from the existing Meadoway trail to Tams Road which will bring us one step closer towards completing that 16 km trail which will allow one to bike from Lake Ontario to the Toronto Zoo!

Couldn't agree more, Mayor Chow! ;)

For those of you who are in Southern Ontario, the Simcoe County Loop Trail needs to be on your bucket list for gravel riding if you haven't done it already. I rode the 160 km loop yesterday - which was also my first Imperial century - and wrote about the experience on my blog.

Councillor Paula Fletcher has just confirmed she will be retiring from City Hall with only two days until nominations for the 2026 Toronto election close! Wished she could have announced this sooner to allow potential candidates to organize and register.