City hall’s plan for a network of dedicated bike lanes in downtown Toronto could be three-fourths complete by 2015, a city councillor announced at a ribbon-cutting for the first phase Monday.
Public works committee chair Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong, Mayor Rob Ford and city staff officially opened the Sherbourne Street bike lanes, which are intended to be a north-south route for cyclists on the east side of what will eventually be a square-shaped corridor.
At a cost of $2.4 million, the Sherbourne Street route represents Toronto’s first ever separated bike lanes. Some stretches are separated by a curb, while some are separated by a painted line.
Minnan-Wong said construction of the second phase – an east-west route along Wellesley Street, Hoskin Avenue and Harbord Street, between Parliament Street and Ossington Avenue – is expected to begin later this year.
The third phase involves an east-west route on Richmond and/or Adelaide streets that could be built as early as 2014, depending on the duration of a legally-required environmental assessment and a public consultation process, Minnan-Wong told reporters at a news conference on Sherbourne Street.
That route would run between Parliament and Bathurst streets.
The final phase would be a north-south route in the Bathurst Street area, he said.
Minnan-Wong also said he is working on a plan to save and expand the financially-troubled Bixi bike sharing service.
As for the Sherbourne Street route, Minnan-Wong called it “a modest step forward” and a sign of things to come as the city tries to create a safe network that encourages people to cycle.
He said the city worked with a number of stakeholders, including residents, local businesses, emergency services and the TTC, to come up with a design that worked for everyone.
Minnan-Wong said he is proud of the outcome.
“This is how you make positive and lasting change in this city,” he said. “This is how you implement a made-in-Toronto solution.”
“We’re committed to integrated bike lanes throughout the city, downtown, and this is a great first step,” Ford said.
The city now has 115 kilometres of bike lanes, Minnan-Wong added.
According to Cycle Toronto, about 30,000 cyclists travel on downtown streets every weekday.
The city is hailing the separated bike lanes as a safer route for cyclists, but they were constructed in a cloud of controversy.
City council voted in 2010 to install bike lanes on Jarvis Street, but those lanes were scrapped in 2011 in favour of the lanes on Sherbourne Street.
The Jarvis Street lanes were removed amid a push by council members, including Ford, who argued the lanes contributed to gridlock in the downtown core and would be better off on Sherbourne Street.
The city spent about $86,000 to install the Jarvis Street route, and then paid about $275,000 to remove it and reinstate a reversible traffic lane.
Cyclists launched a last-ditch effort to save the Jarvis Street lanes, and then protested when they were removed.
The cyclists wanted the Jarvis Street lanes to remain in place until the Sherbourne Street lanes were ready to use.
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