Toronto police issued thousands of fines to drivers parking in bike lanes last year, according to data sent to Global News.
Officers logged 16,942 tickets for drivers obstructing bikeways in Toronto across 2021, an increase of 125 per cent compared to 2020.
The fine for drivers parking in a bike lane is $150.
“Parking in bicycle lanes obstructs the use of the lanes and creates a dangerous situation where bicyclists must swerve onto live lanes of traffic,” Toronto police told Global News.
The force’s parking unit has focused more on bike lane safety which has meant more enforcement, police said.
David Shellnutt, founder of The Biking Lawyer, a law firm that represents the victims of bike accidents, said parking in bike lanes was “endemic” in Toronto.
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“The bike lane is put there to keep cyclists safe and the minute you block that you create a hazard and a danger that creates a risk of people getting injured,” he told Global News.
In 2019, 6,913 tickets were issued by Toronto police for bikeway infractions. That figure rose to 7,532 in 2020 and almost 17,000 in 2021.
Shellnutt said solutions go beyond policing. He suggested driver education and automated enforcement using cameras as potential solutions to improve the situation.
Between 70 and 90 officers are deployed every day in Toronto to enforce parking bylaws, police said. The force said “a few” of those officers are dedicated to policing bikeways.
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The number of cyclists and bike lanes in Toronto has grown.
Last year, the City of Toronto added 22.7 kilometres of bikeways, taking the city’s total to 641 kilometres. During the first year of the pandemic, Toronto added 35.7 kilometres.
The Toronto bikeshare program also saw a record number of rides last year, with more than 3.4 million trips. The previous record was 2.9 million rides set in 2020.
A total of 25,118 people bought annual bikeshare members in 2021.
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