As Bloor Street bike lane debate looms, Matt Galloway reviews the route
Council meets Tuesday to debate after committee's split decision last week
Will Bloor Street get bike lanes?
The city's public works and infrastructure committee was split over the pilot project last week. So it falls to council Tuesday to decide whether to install the dedicated lanes between Shaw Street and Avenue Road.
Metro Morning's Matt Galloway rode down Bloor during rush hour. This is what he learned.
What does it look like to ride a bike down Bloor Street in rush hour without bike lanes?
I strapped a GoPro onto my helmet to find out.
Thankfully, it was an uneventful ride. What I was reminded of was why I don't ride on Bloor Street.
It's a very fast road. Unless you're stuck in traffic, no one seems to be going the speed limit.
For decades, cycling advocates have been calling for bike lanes on Bloor Street.
It's the major east-west route in Toronto. And as someone who has been doored twice on Bloor, it's a bit of a nightmare for cyclists.
What that means depends on how you get around.
On your bike, there isn't a lot of room for error. Near Bloor and Spadina, there was about six inches between me and the curb, with a car right on my elbow.
That means you're doing the usual set of simultaneous calculations as you ride along: Where is that car going? Is she going to cross the road? Wow, that car behind me sounds fast. Why is that bike riding the wrong way?
Would bike lanes make cyclists safer and get more bikes onto Bloor?
I don't know, but I personally would feel safer having a dedicated space to ride in.
Funny thing was, I turned off Bloor at St.George, onto a street that has a bike lane. There was dedicated space to ride but in that space would regularly appear cars, pedestrians and turning trucks.
Separate from traffic, but how much safer?
This debate has raised the question once again of who Toronto's roads are for.
The former NYC transportation commissioner Janette Sadiq-Khan was in town recently and said our streets are "broken."
How will council vote on the project? We'll find out this week.