TORONTO – The City of Toronto has installed additional bicycle lanes on Richmond Street between Bathurst Street and University Avenue as a pilot project to enhance cycling infrastructure.
“The installation of this cycling infrastructure will provide safer routes and better connectivity for cyclists as they travel in this part of the city,” said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee in a media release.
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Minnan-Wong said the city has undertaken a public consultation on the project and there is a belief that the new lane additions will be beneficial to the neighbourhood.
The changes are part of the Richmond-Adelaide Bikeway Environmental Assessment Study to evaluate the feasibility of cycle tracks and other cycling infrastructure in this area.
The results of the pilot project will be a part of the final recommendations submitted to city council in 2015.
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Minnan-Wong told reporters Wednesday there is still a major concern with regards to vehicles parking in bicycle lanes and that there should be a more heavy-handed approach to by-law enforcement.
Drivers caught parking in the dedicated bike lanes can be fined $150.
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According to city officials, work on cycle lanes completed in Toronto thus far include:
• cycle tracks on Simcoe Street from Front Street to Queen Street
• contra-flow bike lane (bike lane that allows cyclists to travel in the opposite direction on a one-way street) on the north side of Richmond Street, designed to extend the Richmond-Adelaide route west from Bathurst Street to Niagara Street
• southbound bike lane on the west side of Bathurst Street from Richmond Street to Adelaide Street to connect to the eastbound Adelaide Street cycle track, and
• westbound contra-flow bike lanes on the north side of Phoebe Street from Beverley Street to Soho Street and on the north side of Stephanie Street from John Street to Beverley Street, designed to connect Beverley-St. George bike lanes to Richmond Street and Adelaide Street.
Work is currently undeway in the following areas:
• eastbound cycle track on the south side of Adelaide Street from Bathurst Street to Simcoe Street
• westbound cycle track on the north side of Richmond Street from York Street to Bathurst Street
• bicycle lanes on both sides of Peter Street from King Street to Queen Street, and
• traffic signals at the Queen-Soho-Peter Street intersection are being modified to accommodate cyclists crossing north-south, connecting the Richmond Street and Adelaide Street cycle tracks to the Beverley-St. George bike lanes.
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