Last year was a big setback for cycling in Toronto with the passage of Bill 212 by the Ford government. However, the events of this year proved the worst was yet to come at Queen’s Park. Even so, there was still a lot of good things that happened, so let’s look back at what happened in 2025.
Toronto’s newest transit line in more than two decades – the Finch West LRT or Line 6 – opened on Sunday, December 7 to lots of criticism over its slow speeds with some trips taking more than one hour. One person – Mac Bauer a.k.a. 514runner – beat the LRT by 18 minutes while running! While Toronto City Council passed a motion this week to speed up the LRT including enabling full transit signal priority, I decided to ride the Finch West LRT to Humber College and return via bike share.
On Monday, I found out on the Urban Toronto forums that Bridge #2 on the East Don Trail (Phase 1) was finally installed; making it one of the last major pieces of infrastructure needed to complete the trail. Since I was also curious to check out how the trails are in the winter months, I went to check out that new bridge, as well as some of the trail conditions along the way.
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| A drone shot of Bridge #2 shared by TwinHuey on Urban Toronto on December 9, 2025 |
One of my favourite winter rides is by far Cycling Good Cheer; a ride organized by Community Bikeways. This is the sixth year they put it together with this year’s ride starting at Raccoon Park and ending at Biidaasige Park with feeder rides coming from High Park, North York (a.k.a. the North Pole), Scarborough, and the St. Lawrence Market. Helen and Mozzie came along as they did last year, while it was a much-needed positive ride after my LeMond road bike got stolen on Thursday while waiting to depute on a bike plan item at City Hall.
On Monday, the Ford government approved Third Reading of Bill 60 which – among other things – would ban the conversion of motor vehicle lanes for bike lanes or “any other prescribed purpose”. Given this sad day which will be a major setback for cycling in Toronto, we need to look at how bad this bill really is. For this purpose, I will look at Toronto’s 2025-27 near-term bike plan and other projects which were already approved with a focus on arterial roads.
Earlier this month, The Meadoway noted on their Facebook page that a new stretch had opened from Marcos Boulevard to Midland Avenue, though some people noted the trail had been paved since September. I was also informed by city staff recently that one of the bridges needed to complete the East Don Trail could be done as early as last week, though the November 9 snowstorm likely hindered things. Given these developments, I checked out both projects yesterday during my afternoon off.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is held on the third Sunday in November. Last year’s event drew a large turnout of 200 to 300 people because of Bill 212 and six cyclists killed in Toronto that year. However, this year’s was more subdued with about 40 people even with Bills 56 and 60 prompting further attacks on road safety, though the colder temperatures didn’t help. Since Jun was unable to make it, I covered the event in his absence.
