The Year #BikeTO Got Flip Turned Upside Down

While trying to describe 2024 from a Toronto cycling perspective, the phrase "flip turned upside down" from Will Smith’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” song had come to mind. Especially considering the record number of cyclists killed and the Ford government’s passing of their anti-bike lane Bill 212 (which also calls for accelerating Highway 413 construction). Let’s recap 2024 to see why that was the case.

Winter conditions along the Sherbourne cycle track this afternoon

The year started with a positive note; being the first time I joined in the New Year’s Day Ride which about 20 people rode to the Leslie Spit. Alex will be hosting the ride for the 13th time in nine days, so be sure to bookmark it on your calendars. January saw the opening of the new Port Lands bridges which got rave reviews, while a Critical Mass ride was organized for the occasion. I also put up interviews featuring Alison Stewart, Yvonne Bambrick, and Robin Richardson that month.

January's Critical Mass ride was organized to visit the new Port Lands bridges

February’s highlights included a well attended consultation for the Parkside Drive Study which called for a bi-directional cycle track on the west side, as well as an unusually warm “Coldest Day of the Year” ride which started in Etobicoke. The latter event saw me try Bike Share Toronto’s e-bikes for the first time. Sadly, the month saw not one, but two cyclists killed in Scarborough at Brimley & McNicoll and at Warden & St. Clair, while there was a hostile cycling event hosted by Councillor Stephen Holyday (which I didn’t attend). I interviewed Dave Shellnutt about his “know your rights” workshops, the Bike Brigade, and matters related to race and policing.

Parkside Drive Study consultation

Public consultations were held in early March for the Leaside-Danforth and West Parkdale cycling connections – among many others later that month – though the West Parkdale project saw some pushback from those concerned about the direction switch on one block of Macdonell Avenue. I got to check out part of the East Don Trail that month – which won’t be finished until at least 2025 – and did a follow up ride in April including the Meadoway to check out the new switchback section. Last, but not least, I spoke with Matt Pinder – who also has a bike blog – to get an engineering perspective on cycling in Toronto and Ottawa, as well as his advocacy for Ottawa’s South Keys Centre.

A double switchback structure used for the future East Don Trail

The total eclipse happened on April 8, so Helen, Mozzie, and I headed out to Stoney Creek from Burlington GO station to be in the line of totality. It was an experience of a lifetime; seeing the sky turn dark and the temperature drop during the eclipse. The month also saw an Earth Day Ride to promote the eglintonTOday project and a cycling research meetup hosted by Thomas Van Laake who was pursuing his PhD at the University of Manchester. Sadly, two more cyclists were killed that month on Bayview Avenue and on Avenue Road which finally spurred the City of Toronto to act on the latter.

The Waterfront Trail in Burlington was packed when we biked to Stoney Creek for the eclipse

May saw two IEC meetings take place; the first of which discussed the eglintonTOday Complete Street and the Micromobility Strategy. The former project was approved by council, while Toronto kept its e-scooter ban due to accessibility concerns. The second meeting debated the 2025-27 Bike Plan which unfortunately kept the status quo and recycled many projects from the 2022-24 plan. That month saw me take part in the Danforth-Kingston 4 All ride, and the launch of Albert Koehl’s book "Wheeling Through Toronto". Installation of the Bloor bike lanes from Aberfoyle to Resurrection started that month – and finished in June – while TCBC did another bike count on Bloor in Etobicoke which saw ridership increased 40% since installation from 500 cyclists to 700 (and again to almost 900 in September). Sadly, TCBC lose its co-founder Mary Ann Neary. RIP.

Danforth-Kingston 4 All Ride in May

My longest ride of the year happened on June 15 along the Uxbridge to Lindsay Rail Trail which was 100 km return. June also saw Phase 1 consultation of the Danforth-Kingston Complete Street Extension, though there’s still no word on when Phase 2 will happen.

Me doing the Uxbridge to Lindsay Rail Trail in June

July saw the installation of cycle tracks on Avenue Road from Bloor to Davenport; a swift turnaround from Ali Sezgin Armagan’s death on that road in late April. The Meadoway Ride in Scarborough drew in 75 people including free samosas. Sadly, that month marked the death of a 24-year-old female cyclist; making it the (then) record-breaking fifth cyclist killed on Toronto this year. The associated memorial ride – which Mayor Chow attended – was the most read post on my blog this year.

A panorama shot of the memorial ride held in July 2024

In August, I checked out progress along the Portland-Dan Leckie and West Parkdale cycling projects, as well as the protected intersection construction at Bloor & St. George. That intersection had some bumpy transitions shortly after opening which did get fixed. A sixth cyclist – Navjot Kaur – was killed at Burnamthorpe and Kipling in Etobicoke. Thankfully, there were no other deaths caused by motorists this year, though a seventh ghost bike was placed in High Park when a cyclist fell there and died from surgery complications.

A new bi-directional cycle track installed on Dan Leckie Way

Helen and I were gone to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Istanbul for most of September. However, the news broke out during our vacation about the Ford government’s plan to restrict bike lane installations which remove traffic lanes; later known as Bill 212. You can read about some urbanism observations I made from Central Asia, though I haven’t gotten around to writing about the sights in those countries.

A view of Bukhara from Bukhara Tower

October saw the introduction of Bill 212; ridiculously called “Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act” when we cyclists know the bill won’t accomplish either of those things. A Rally and Ride for Road Safety was held on October 23, while I did a few site checks along the Leaside Bridge as well as the Eglinton and Finch LRT lines. Another sin committed by Queen's Park in October was the cutting down of trees at Ontario Place to make way for a mega-spa, while the Ontario Science Centre was shut down in June.

Green MPP Aislinn Clancy addressing the Rally and Ride for Road Safety at Queen's Park

Fight For Bikes – a new group started by University of Toronto students Eva Stanger-Ross and Zev Godfrey – held two protests in November drawing over 1000 people each while I was asked to speak at the first one to highlight the work that went into making the Bloor bike lanes a reality. Prior to Bill 212 becoming law – despite widespread opposition – two ghost bikes were installed at Queen’s Park to show the Ford government has blood on their hands. The bill was amended to remove bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University, as well as ban people from suing the government should they get injured or killed because of the removals. I did an 85-kilometre ride to Brampton and back, while I deactivated my Twitter / X account in favour of Bluesky. Please look me up there if you haven’t already done so. I didn’t attend the Critical Mass ride that month which went from High Park to Etobicoke, but it was well attended.

The first Fight For Bikes protest at Christie Pits took over Bloor Street with about 1500 cyclists

December saw 150 people brave the snow for Fridays For Future Toronto’s protest ride from High Park to MPP Christine Hogarth’s office. Hogarth won the last provincial election by fewer than 1000 votes and will be a target to vote out during the next provincial election which could happen early next year. TCBC held their 5th annual Cycling Good Cheer ride the following day which about 60 people attended. Cycle Toronto launched their court challenge against Bill 212, though the best way to kill the bill is to vote Ford out of office. Please reach out to TCBC if you wish to help.

Fridays for Future Toronto protest ride at MPP Christine Hogarth's office

To close off this crazy year, I hope to see some of you at the Critical Mass ride on Friday, December 27. Meet 6 PM at Bloor & Spadina for 6:30 PM departure.

Last, but not least, here's my Strava recap of 2024.