Mississauga’s Bloor Bike Lane Fight

While the City of Toronto’s latest bike plan called for extending the Bloor bike lanes west from Runnymede to Six Points (at Kipling) by 2024, Mississauga has their own Bloor bike lane fight through the Bloor Street Integrated Project. During the January 19, 2022 city council meeting, the City of Mississauga opted to hold a third community meeting on March 9, 2022 given opposition to the project; most notably from the Applewood Hills & Heights Residents’ Association and their petition which got 130 signatures. I heard of many arguments against bike lanes over the years of fighting for bike lanes on Bloor in Toronto, but none were as ridiculous as that about bike lanes violating charter rights brought up by Athinda Tagidou of the AHHRA during the city council meeting. An argument which made the top twelve weird things on Cracked.

Ridicule to the charter right argument was picked up by Cracked

The section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms brought up is Section 7 which states everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. The AHHRA stated their opposition was specific to the Cawthra to Dixie stretch which is primarily residential; something echoed by the owner of the Applewood Hills Plaza. However, what the AHHRA does not realize is Section 7 also applies to people who bike which Councillor Pat Satio (Ward 9) correctly stated while listening to the city council footage. By denying bike lanes on Bloor in Mississauga – or elsewhere – people who bike would be denied the right to security while biking; especially considering cycle tracks have been proven time and time again to reduce collisions. To counter the opposition, Chrystyna Kells gave an excellent deputation citing her experience being in a collision while riding her bicycle and expressing support for bike lanes on Bloor.

Map of proposed road resurfacing on Bloor Street (via City of Mississauga)

To get a better idea of what is being planned for Bloor, I reviewed the slides from the first and second community meetings held on June 23, 2021 and October 27, 2021. The first meeting revealed road resurfacing was planned for the stretch from Central Parkway – where Bloor Street ends – to Dixie Road this year, while the Dixie to Etobicoke Creek stretch is planned for 2023. When I asked the City of Mississauga recently for an updated timeframe given the need for a third community meeting, I was informed it was yet to be confirmed, but that 2024-25 would be more realistic. Should the City of Mississauga follow through with bike lanes from Dixie to Etobicoke Creek, I would encourage them to co-ordinate with the City of Toronto to ensure Toronto’s stretch from Etobicoke Creek to Six Points gets done at around the same time.

The Cawthra to Dixie section is the target of opposition to the Bloor bike lanes (via City of Mississauga)

The second meeting focused on specific road designs for the entire corridor. Bi-directional cycle tracks on the north side were recommended from Central Parkway to Dixie; claiming fewer driveways and access to more amenities on that side. The Dixie to Etobicoke Creek stretch called for uni-directional cycle tracks which exist at Six Points and east of Runnymede Road in Toronto. A new pedestrian crossing would be added at Little Etobicoke Creek to improve connectivity for the Applewood Trail.

Uni-directional cycle tracks are recommended from Dixie to Etobicoke Creek (via City of Mississauga)

One thing that left me disappointed is the City of Mississauga has yet to consider Dutch style protected intersections while the City of Toronto has included them with several recent cycling related public consultations. One place I would recommend a protected intersection is at Bloor-Dixie, while I encourage the City of Mississauga to consider them for future projects.

To help build support for bike lanes on Bloor in Mississauga – as well as extend Toronto’s Bloor bike lanes to the Mississauga border – the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition originally planned to host a ride yesterday. Due to the wind warning at the time, the ride has been postponed to Sunday, March 20, though a few die hard cyclists still came out per Jun N’s blog post.

A throwback to the 2016 Bells on Bloor ride to celebrate the then recently installed bike lanes

The Mississauga ride will start 12:45 PM at Celebration Square, while the Toronto ride will start 1:00 PM at Neil McLellan Park across from Runnymede subway station. Both rides will meet up at Bloor and Etobicoke Creek. However, the ride is not recommended for children given the currently unsafe conditions on Bloor west of Runnymede.

If you support bike lanes on Bloor in Mississauga, I encourage you to register for the Wednesday, March 9 meeting and/or the March 20 ride via the Facebook event page, as well as spread the word about both.