Looking Back at the 2022-24 Bike Plan

When the 2022-24 Near-Term Cycling Implementation Plan was approved in December 2021, there was a call for 100 kilometres of new bike lanes during this time. Since then, about 13 kilometres was installed in 2022 and another 20 kilometres in 2023; the latter of which includes most of the Finch West LRT route. However, this still leaves the City 67 kilometres short with only one year left for this plan, while they have already started work on a replacement plan for 2025-27. Let’s look at what the key accomplishments were and what work remains on the table.

Map of bike lane installations from 2016 to 2023 with 2023's marked in blue

Major Accomplishments

The main highlight of 2022 was the addition of 2.65 kilometres of bike lanes along the surface portion of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT; thus, completing the almost eight kilometre stretch from Brentcliffe to Kennedy. The Bloor-Danforth bikeway saw the gap under the West Toronto Railpath filled in and an eastern extension from Dawes to Victoria Park built; making the Bloor-Danforth bikeway a 16-kilometre continuous route. Finally, two neighbourhood bikeways on Palmerston-Tecumseth and Bartlett-Havelock-Gladstone started construction in 2022 and were completed in 2023.

The Bloor bike lanes were extended again in 2023 from Runnymede to Aberfoyle – 3.7 kilometres total – with an additional one kilometre to Six Points planned for 2024. Bloor from Spadina to Avenue had most of the upgrades done with a protected intersection at Bloor and St. George coming up later this year, while the (much delayed) College Street upgrades were very well received. The Douro-Wellington bikeway was upgraded to bi-directional cycle tracks and extended to Blue Jays Way; acting as a de-facto extension of the West Toronto Railpath. Most of the bikeways along the Finch West LRT were installed – 9.3 kilometres total – including an awesome path under Highway 400. Finally, North York gained a new 1.3-kilometre cycle track on Chesswood and Scarborough got a 1.2-kilometre extension of the Lawrence East bike lanes.

You can check my Bike Lane Tracker for the full list of projects installed.

What’s Missing

Among the projects not completed as of the end of 2023, the New Cherry Street and Commissioners Road – both of which have cycle tracks – are expected to open later in January. Port Union Road also started construction in 2023 and is scheduled to be done in late 2024.

New Cherry Street almost ready to be open to the public

The following projects were already approved but not yet installed:

• The Queensway (Humber Treatment Plant to Burma Drive)
• Bloor Street (Aberfoyle Crescent to Resurrection Road)
• The Esplanade (Jarvis to Yonge Streets)
• Sheppard Avenue (Bloomington Place to Betty Sutherland Trail)
• Scarborough Golf Club (Kingston to Ellesmere Roads)
• Brimley Road Trail (Barkdene Hills to Bluffers Park Road)
• Steeles Avenue (Midland Avenue to McCowan Road)
• Sentinel Road (Sheppard Avenue to Dovehouse Road) plus upgrades to Lamberton Boulevard
• Martin Grove Road (Rathburn to Burnamthorpe Roads) + cycling connections

The Overlea Boulevard bridge was also approved, but it was listed as “Study Required” for the 2022-24 plan and therefore, not part of the 100 kilometres the City was aiming for during that timeframe.

Consultations were already done for the following projects and/or are awaiting approval:

• Portland-Dan Leckie Cycling Connections (Queen Street to Queens Quay)
• Weston Cycling Connections Phase 1 (Denison Road to Church Street)
• eglintonTOday Phase 1 (Keele Street to Mount Pleasant Road) plus neighbourhood connections on Croham Road, Jimmy Wisdom Way, and Glen Cedar Road
• Ferrand Drive Area (St. Dennis Drive to Eglinton Avenue)
• Champagne-Alness (Chesswood Drive to Finch Hydro Corridor) which will be debated at the January 9 IEC meeting
• Ellesmere Road (Morningside Avenue to Kingston Road) which consultation was done by Metrolinx for the Durham-Scarborough BRT. However, a separate consultation by the City is planned for Monday, February 12.
  

There are many projects which no public consultations were held yet (as far as I know of).

• Sudbury Street (Abell to King Streets)
• Caledonia Park Road (Davenport Road to St. Clair Avenue)
• Laughton-Silverthorn-Haverson (Davenport Road to Eglinton Avenue)*
• Elm Ridge Drive (crossing Allen Road)
• Trethewey Drive (Jane Street to Eglinton Avenue)
• John Street (Pine Street to Rosemount Avenue)
• Parliament Street (Wellesley to Bloor Streets)
• Willowdale Avenue (Bishop to Steeles Avenues)
• Bathurst Street (Bainbridge to Steeles Avenues)
• Overbrook Place (Chesswood Drive to Wilmington Avenue)
• Maxwell Street (Wilmington Avenue to Earl Bales Connection)
• Danforth-Kingston (Victoria Park Avenue to Scarborough Golf Club Road)
• Rathburn Road (The East Mall to Centennial Park Road)
• Centennial Park-Mill (Eglinton Avenue to Burnamthorpe Road)
• Dwight Avenue (Lake Shore Boulevard to Symons Street)
• eglintonTOday Phase 2 (Mount Pleasant to Brentcliffe Roads)

Map of the 2022-24 bike plan for Toronto-East York (Use these links for Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke-York)

What’s Next?

In addition to Champagne-Alness, the next IEC meeting will include a short extension of University Avenue to south of Wellington Street, an extension of the Richmond Street contraflow from Niagara Street to Strachan Avenue, and upgrades to the Dundas East and Harbord-Hoskin bikeways. The University and Richmond ones were not previously part of the 2022-24 plan. Please e-mail iec@toronto.ca – reference Motion IE10.2 – by Monday, January 8 at 4:30 PM to express your support.

If you live near any of the projects which public consultations have not yet started, I encourage you to reach out to your councillor and inquire about their status, including whether public consultations are expected anytime soon. Toronto’s road safety advocates have the obligation to hold the City accountable to their bike plans and climate action goals. Every bit of calling out and infrastructure installed counts.

UPDATE 2024/01/24: Public consultations for the Silverthorn Cycling Connections from Davenport to Rogers Roads will be happening on Tuesday, January 30 with feedback due by Tuesday, February 13.