Group to propose bike lanes on Yonge from Lake to Steeles

Dennis Hanagan —

Cycling advocates want bike lanes on Yonge St. from Lake Ontario to Steeles Avenue.

“Those of us in bicycle advocacy believe if you build it they will come,” says Burns Wattie with Cycle Toronto.

An October public workshop discussed how Yonge might accommodate bike lanes. “It was a very preliminary discussion,” says Wattie. “We’re a mile away from presenting (the idea) to city council.”

To prepare for the workshop Wattie road his bike along Yonge from the lake to Steeles. He feels the space is there for bikes.

“There’s a tremendous dysfunctionality of the street for all its users, specifically in terms of cars,” says Wattie, referring to the street’s Downtown section.

“What I noticed is no one uses the right lane. It’s used to park illegally. It’s not utilized in the way it was intended, as a through lane.”

Upper Jarvis resident and cyclist Genessa Radke suggests reducing Yonge’s Downtown traffic lanes to two, widening sidewalks for the high pedestrian traffic, and using the left over space for bikes.

“It would increase the amount of people using Yonge St. safely with their bikes,” says the Cycle Toronto Ward 27 captain.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to work in collaboration with the city to suggest cycling alternatives. It opens up the whole possibility of having a field test for a dedicated cycling lane.

Cycle Toronto is focusing on the Downtown Yonge corridor to become a network of bike lanes, using roads such as Victoria, Bay, St. Luke Lane, Balmuto, and Gould —“all of those streets that cyclists use to go north and south in the vicinity of Yonge,” says Wattie.

Want more? Check out the longer story online: www.thebulletin.ca/?p=5608.