Last summer, Bells on Kingston was formed to help build support for extending the Danforth bike lanes into Scarborough and along Kingston Road. They hosted a few group rides including feeder rides to Community Bikeways’ “Light Up Toronto” road safety rally on October 2 and “Cycling Good Cheer” ride on December 18. With stakeholder consultations under way and public consultations anticipated for this spring – along with those for Bloor West – it’s time to take the next step in establishing a 30-kilometre bikeway from Kipling Avenue to Scarborough Golf Club Road. The Danforth-Kingston Complete Street is expected to be done in two phases; first to St. Clair Avenue East and then to Scarborough Golf Club Road.
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| Phasing of Danforth-Kingston Complete Street Project (via City of Toronto) |
Now, local residents near south Scarborough have launched Danforth-Kingston 4 All which was inspired by the successful Yonge4All campaign to make the Midtown Yonge Complete Street Pilot permanent through building a big tent of support of residents, businesses, and various road users. Many of the organizers had also built up Bells on Kingston and have a long history of road safety advocacy through groups such as Toronto East Cyclists, Scarborough Cycles, Cycle Toronto, and Community Bikeways.
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| Poster from Bells on Kingston's feeder ride for TCBC's Cycling Good Cheer |
Danforth-Kingston 4 All has launched a website and petition which I encourage to sign and share along with the sister petition for the Bloor West extension. I will provide a separate update on the Bloor West project when the public consultation details get announced. The Danforth-Kingston petition highlights how both streets are currently hostile, uninviting, and dangerous for everyone and that they want to see complete streets there that are safer, more vibrant, and still allow for efficient travel.
In addition to launching the petition, DanforthKingston4All – along with Toronto East Cyclists – plans to host a series of community-led discussions for residents to provide feedback on what they want on Danforth and Kingston. The first meeting was held this past Sunday – which a dozen residents took part – while the next ones will be on Sunday, March 19 (10:00 AM) and Tuesday, March 21 (7:00 PM) . Signing the petition is the best way to be notified about the DanforthKingston4All campaign, though I also recommend joining Toronto East Cyclists’ mailing list to find out about these campaigns and some of the group rides that happen during the summer months.
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| One of Toronto East Cyclists' group rides along the (then) recently installed Huntingwood bike lanes |
During Sunday’s meeting, participants were briefed about the City’s plans for Danforth-Kingston and the DanforthKingston4All campaign, while the majority of the time was used for participants to voice what they wanted on the corridor. Fixing the Danforth-Kingston intersection and taming the high-speed six-lane arterial of Kingston Road were brought up several times, as well as the need for a north-south bikeway to connect with the Danforth-Kingston corridor. There were a couple of events mentioned including the pedestrian death at Danforth and Birchmount, as well as last year’s World Day of Remembrance walk hosted by Friends & Families for Safe Streets which took place in Scarborough.
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| Improving the Danforth-Kingston interchange is key to completing the 30-kilometre Bloor-Danforth-Kingston bikeway |
If you support a Danforth and Kingston that’s safe (and works) for everyone, I urge you to contact Councillor Gary Crawford (councillor_crawford@toronto.ca or 416-392-4052) and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (councillor_mckelvie@toronto.ca) to voice your support. You can also register on the City of Toronto’s website to be notified about upcoming public consultations.
Some Other News
Since my last blog post, I finally managed to reinstate the ability to subscribe to get notified of new blog posts by e-mail. If you enjoy the content on this blog and want to be notified of new posts as they come up, please enter your e-mail address and hit the "Subscribe" button on the right hand side.
Last, but not least, I was recently featured on The MuniciPals for an episode on bike lanes and other Toronto political matters. Thanks Matthew King and Phillip Mills for the fun episode, though Phillip did get me good with that "Would you rather?" game pitting potential mayoral candidates against each other. 😉
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