Based on a pilot study of bike lanes installed between Avenue Road and Shaw Street, a decision was made at City Hall on June 14, 2023 to install bike lanes from Runnymede Road to Aberfoyle Crescent.
Implementation of the Runnymede-Aberfoyle lanes was scheduled to be completed during December 2023 according to the following milestones:
Ongoing signage installation and adjustments along the corridor
Installation of platforms at bus stops, accessible loading and commercial loading zones
Installation of barriers and curbs near newly added platforms
The City and Councillor Morley have declared the following steps for 2024:
Observe new travel behaviour along the corridor and on parallel streets.
Conduct traffic counts on affected streets to evaluate before & after conditions.
Continue to collect, record, and analyze feedback.
Make evidence-informed upgrades and improvements.
For project details, please visit: Toronto.ca/BloorWest
To subscribe to receiving the installation updates being sent to stakeholders please email: bloorcompletestreet@toronto.ca.
Don’t like the bike lanes? Want changes made? Here’s what you can do ….
The only practical way to change a project that is underway or just completed is through effective lobbying of your Councillor and other Councillors at City Hall.
Councillor Morley has made it abundantly clear that she is in favour of the bike lanes. A necessary step for her to motion to make any suggested well-thought-out changes is showing her that the vast majority of her constituents are against the bike lanes as implemented on Bloor Street between Runnymede and Aberfoyle.
The first step in this process, a petition with a statistically-significant response, has already been achieved. A coalition of residents with website BalanceonBloor.ca, headed by Cody MacRae using Change.org, obtained over 10,000 signatures of residents from Etobicoke and submitted it to Councillor Morley under the name “Re-Evaluation and Balanced Integration of Bike Lanes on Bloor St. in Etobicoke.”
On Nov 3, 2023, Councillor Morley brought forward the petition at City Council meeting, which has grown to over 12,500 signatures as of January 2, 2024. You can click here to see and sign the petition.
The next important step is to continue to fill Councillor Morley’s communication channels with your concerns and suggestions about the new bike lanes.
You can share your view or questions with Councillor Morley’s office, using councillor_morley@toronto.ca, 416-397-9273 or the project team, using bloorcompletestreet@toronto.ca
Another option is to collaborate with residents, friends, or professional planners you may know who have other Councillors they could approach.
Historical References
Amber Morley makes it very clear she’s in favour of the bike lanes: https://ambermorley.com/ward-3-updates/2te27ijdxse1lqp98p27adv9k0sy6t
Etobicoke residents launch petition over new Bloor Street West bike lanes: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/10/26/bloor-street-west-etobicoke-bike-lanes-cyclists-drivers-traffic-congestion/
Bloor Bike-Lanes Pilot Evaluation: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2017/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-107582.pdf
Some History of Bloor Bike Lanes: https://www.communitybikewaysto.ca/a-short-history-of-bike-lanes-on-bloor
KPRI Involvement
February 23, 2023 saw a virtual meeting occur between City Staff and members of the KPRI Board.
The purpose of this meeting was to “present a high-level overview of the project, introduce the Project Team, discuss some of the next steps (i.e. loading survey) as well as receive feedback and address any initial questions that the RA might have.”
KPRI proposed a pilot for the bike lines in our area and were refused. See the meeting details here.
On March 23rd, 2023, City of Toronto staff sent an email to KPRI and other stakeholder organizations living along or near Bloor Street West from Runnymede Road to Resurrection Road to Attend a virtual meeting on April 2nd from 6 to 8 PM. The stated purpose of the meeting was to learn more about, and provide feedback on, the Bloor Street West Complete Street Extension Project.
Registration for the virtual meeting was restricted to two people per organization to accommodate the virtual format and limited capacity of this meeting. Two public drop-in meetings were scheduled for this project for April 12 and 13 and all residents would be welcome to attend.
KPRI attended the virtual meeting on April 2 and learned that the bike lanes were going in, regardless of how residents felt about them.
There were 26 participants that included Councillors Morley and Perks, City of Toronto staff, a bike consultant, some area residents, assorted biking proponents, and representatives from the Bloor West Association BIA and Swansea Association.
It appeared that everyone at the meeting was in favour of the bike lanes, with KPRI expressing concern about traffic congestion as a result of going from four lanes to two lanes. KPRI emphasized the importance of taking into account traffic data and that traffic congestion will become an even greater concern as new condominiums development in the area occurs.
On April 9, 2023 KPRI sent an email bulletin to all members announcing the April 12th and April 13th Public drop in the events, along with an online form to optionally use for feedback.
For Facebook users, multiple postings on the KPRI Facebook page occurred, starting March 23, 2023.
Steve Rankine, KPRI Director - Membership