Bike lanes being extended on Richmond and Adelaide

TORONTO – The City of Toronto is extending separated bicycle lanes along Richmond Street and Adelaide Street.

The extension is part of a pilot project which began last year to improve the city’s cycling infrastructure.

The new work will result in the extension of cycle tracks on Richmond Street, which is one-way westbound, from Parliament Street to York Street, and on Adelaide Street, which is one-way eastbound, from Simcoe Street to Parliament Street.

Cycle tracks will then be in place on both Richmond and Adelaide between Parliament Street in the east and Bathurst Street in the west.

Bicycle lanes will also be installed on both sides of Peter Street, from King Street to Queen Street.

“When the extension is complete, dedicated cycle tracks will run right across the city’s downtown from Bathurst in the west to Parliament in the east,” said Councillor Jaye Robinson, Chair of the City’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, during a press conference Monday morning.

The installation of the tracks is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Robinson said ridership numbers have skyrocketed since the pilot project started last year.

On Richmond, the number of cyclists have more than doubled from 500 in June 2014 to 1,300 in May 2015.

The numbers are even higher on Adelaide where cyclists have more than tripled from 550 in June 2014 to over 1,500 in May 2015.

“We anticipate they are going to go up,” said Robinson. “There’s been no negative impact on travel times.”