What an insane thing. We have so much evidence of the benefits and use of not only those specific bike lanes but also bike lanes in general in dense city centers. Dougie looked at the irrefutable good of those bike lanes and decided he'd ignore those reports and continue his war on Toronto while ignoring the rest of Ontario.
the question is, how is it even a thing to not have bike lanes?? Like we would never say "oh, lets not have sidewalks because we need parking", yet with bikelanes it seems normal that people have to fear for their lives when they take their bike to go to work
The idea that removing bike lanes will improve traffic is fundamentally flawed. It is physically impossible to turn a 2m wide bike lane into a 4m wide car lane.
I work on university ave on the side with the new bike path.. it’s so beautiful and this Collège drop out is just going to rip them out. SMH, I can’t wait for them to see that the PC government is on the wrong side of history.
Before the bike lanes, University was 3 lanes wide in both directions. After the bike lanes, it's still 3 lanes wide. All that was done to make room for the bike lanes was to slightly narrow the car lanes a bit. And they're still wide enough even for larger vehicles. Now instead of bikes being the right hand traffic lane, they're separated. There is literally zero disadvantage caused to anybody by the bike lanes. Such pettiness.
@@davidreichert9392 it’s the one that makes the most sense to keep. Ripping it up it’s going to break my heart, and piss me off because now we have to suffer through months of construction
So I’ll give my 2 cents based on my experience: I regularly use the University bike lanes to go from work back down to Union station. The subway is always pretty full at quitting time, so renting a Toronto Bike Share bike for the quick ride down is a no-brainer for me, as it only costs $3 tops for my ride. The only reason I don’t bike up from union to work is because instead I do the 20 minute walk. In my experience, the bike lane most definitely is not impeding traffic. What is impeding traffic is all the street parking on University (yes, including the bike share stations that are literally on the street, I despise their placement) and construction. I have also driven in the area a few times for hospital & clinic visits and guess what still made traffic the worst there? The street parking and the construction! Not even considering the financial cost of removing these bike lanes, listen to the businesses who claim the bike lanes increase their foot traffic and sales. Listen to the hospitals who claim many of their staff cycle to and from work. Look at the simple fact that GO Transit had to start adding 2 bike cars to particular train trips to and from Brampton every day, because there are so many Uber Eats / Skip / Door Dash delivery people who use their bike to do their deliveries no matter the weather (something I personally wish they would do for all train trips, even if it meant adding just one rail car on and extending platforms just that tiny bit to accommodate). A safe bike lane means more people who may have chosen to drive instead are on their bike. Some may even opt to bike instead of take transit, or as part of their commute like I do. Oh and for any wondering - without really pushing it my bike ride down to Union usually takes less time than I would spend waiting for / riding the subway train down. Like it or not, the bike lanes do see significant use throughout the day, with exception only for the absolute worst of snowy days (but then really who’s even trying to go anywhere unless they have to those days). Not only does the network need to remain, it should be expanded in a way that increases access to destinations for everyone. This does mean SOME major roads will have bike lanes, specifically those that have more than 2 lanes going each direction (IE University) OR those that are the most continuous single line across the city (IE Bloor and Eglinton which needs to be completed). The city clearly had metrics they were looking at to put the existing network in place with minimal disruption. Let the cities do what works for the city streets, the province can mind the higher order roads as already agreed.
The best city and cultural powerhouse in North america is Montreal . Global index ranked Montreal the best city in north america for cycling with more than 1,200 of bike paths on the island ( the island is 10 times the size of New York ) and more than 3,500 in the greater Montreal with a population of 5.1 million.
It's -11C in Toronto this morning. -18C with the heavy wind chill and the bike lanes are empty. How many riders do you think are adding to traffic congestion by Ubering to work this morning? Bike lanes should exist on side streets like Annette or Runnymede, but not on busy thoroughfares like Bloor W, where the brain dead lane design took 1/2 the traffic lanes and prevents access to the empty bike lanes by emergency vehicles. Ambulances and Fire trucks are left navigating a single lane of traffic where the cars have no where to go to get out of the way. How safe is that?
It is freezing out there right now. I think it's stupid to have put them in, but it's going to take time and money to remove them. I never understood the whole bike lane thing when they can't be used during winter.
I biked to work today. There were 3 people behind me and 2 in front of me and this was just on the sherbourne bike lane going north at 8:30am. Just because you don't see someone in a bike lane at the exact moment you are passing by one, doesn't mean they aren't being used.
I love your content but I'm sorry I disagree with you on this one. Having many more off-road bike paths are where we should be headed. But bike lanes on arterial roads worsen traffic.
Studies have been done on this. One of the Toronto bike lanes causes 20 SECONDS of delay for cars... Meanwhile TTC riders often get 15 MINUTE delays. Yet Ford wants to waste money on removing bikes and act like they are a problem. Cars are the traffic, and getting people out of cars will solve traffic. It's that simple.
Bike lanes can improve traffic by taking cars off the roads, bikes are way more space efficient than cars. Bikes also need to get to destination on major roads, having them there can make more people use bikes and take people away from cars reducing traffic while using less space. Though to make that happen we need more people who bike.
@@Tasneemcommenting I've been using Bloor Street to drive my kids to school since before the bike lanes went in, and after the bike lanes went in, I can verify that the trip takes the same amount of time. In fact it's been better driving since the bike lanes went in. Before it was chaos with cars cutting in and out because of parked cars (the real cause of congestion, not the bike lanes)
I hope Ford removes all the bike lanes downtown. We don't need bike lanes; we need better enforcement of laws permitting bikes in mixed traffic. We are expecting another 100,000 cars over the next five years. The bike lanes remove entire lanes that could hold hundreds of cars 24 hours a day. Adding more cars means we must remove bikes. The people using bikes can use public transit in place of their bikes., I hope Doug Ford goes further and makes bikes recreational vehicles only usable on private property and parks on Sundays.
The only way your scenario of "better enforcement of laws" can work is if there's a police officer on every single intersection. Furthermore, a single car take up at least 6 times the amount of space that a bike does, not just in volume but in travel distance. Toronto already has the 3rd worst traffic in the world with Dublin, Ireland and London UK taking 2nd and 1st respectively. Adding more cars on the road and disincentivizing people from taking alternatives will just make it worse. Busses get stuck in traffic too and the TTC and GO Trains have been so underfunded that trains now have to slow down for safety, causing travel times to increase. All because of Doug Ford.
If Ford cared about Toronto traffic he would have fast-tracked building the Ontario Line. It has a projected daily ridership of 390.000 people, and that's despite some of the stations being pretty poorly situated for mass-transit. Instead his administration tried and failed to cancel the project and actively sabotages it where possible. Ford just wants a simple "car good, bike bad" message to appeal to his base, suburban and rural voters. He does not care about a holistic, functioning transportation system and knows most of his voters don't have the time or interest to learn about the actual issues plaguing a transportation in a city most of them only ever visit.
What an insane thing. We have so much evidence of the benefits and use of not only those specific bike lanes but also bike lanes in general in dense city centers. Dougie looked at the irrefutable good of those bike lanes and decided he'd ignore those reports and continue his war on Toronto while ignoring the rest of Ontario.
the question is, how is it even a thing to not have bike lanes?? Like we would never say "oh, lets not have sidewalks because we need parking", yet with bikelanes it seems normal that people have to fear for their lives when they take their bike to go to work
If you mention removing side walks again, I might have to ban you. You can't go around giving out ideas like that to this government. 😉
Toronto Transit is Moving Backwards with Removing Bike Lanes - Urban Planning Disaster by Doug Ford. Fixed your title.
I went back and forth on which one to use like 3 times.
The idea that removing bike lanes will improve traffic is fundamentally flawed. It is physically impossible to turn a 2m wide bike lane into a 4m wide car lane.
I work on university ave on the side with the new bike path.. it’s so beautiful and this Collège drop out is just going to rip them out. SMH, I can’t wait for them to see that the PC government is on the wrong side of history.
That's something I missed and very true.
Before the bike lanes, University was 3 lanes wide in both directions. After the bike lanes, it's still 3 lanes wide. All that was done to make room for the bike lanes was to slightly narrow the car lanes a bit. And they're still wide enough even for larger vehicles. Now instead of bikes being the right hand traffic lane, they're separated. There is literally zero disadvantage caused to anybody by the bike lanes. Such pettiness.
@@davidreichert9392 it’s the one that makes the most sense to keep. Ripping it up it’s going to break my heart, and piss me off because now we have to suffer through months of construction
So I’ll give my 2 cents based on my experience:
I regularly use the University bike lanes to go from work back down to Union station. The subway is always pretty full at quitting time, so renting a Toronto Bike Share bike for the quick ride down is a no-brainer for me, as it only costs $3 tops for my ride. The only reason I don’t bike up from union to work is because instead I do the 20 minute walk. In my experience, the bike lane most definitely is not impeding traffic. What is impeding traffic is all the street parking on University (yes, including the bike share stations that are literally on the street, I despise their placement) and construction. I have also driven in the area a few times for hospital & clinic visits and guess what still made traffic the worst there? The street parking and the construction! Not even considering the financial cost of removing these bike lanes, listen to the businesses who claim the bike lanes increase their foot traffic and sales. Listen to the hospitals who claim many of their staff cycle to and from work. Look at the simple fact that GO Transit had to start adding 2 bike cars to particular train trips to and from Brampton every day, because there are so many Uber Eats / Skip / Door Dash delivery people who use their bike to do their deliveries no matter the weather (something I personally wish they would do for all train trips, even if it meant adding just one rail car on and extending platforms just that tiny bit to accommodate). A safe bike lane means more people who may have chosen to drive instead are on their bike. Some may even opt to bike instead of take transit, or as part of their commute like I do. Oh and for any wondering - without really pushing it my bike ride down to Union usually takes less time than I would spend waiting for / riding the subway train down.
Like it or not, the bike lanes do see significant use throughout the day, with exception only for the absolute worst of snowy days (but then really who’s even trying to go anywhere unless they have to those days). Not only does the network need to remain, it should be expanded in a way that increases access to destinations for everyone. This does mean SOME major roads will have bike lanes, specifically those that have more than 2 lanes going each direction (IE University) OR those that are the most continuous single line across the city (IE Bloor and Eglinton which needs to be completed). The city clearly had metrics they were looking at to put the existing network in place with minimal disruption. Let the cities do what works for the city streets, the province can mind the higher order roads as already agreed.
Doug ford is removing 1 of 2 methods or transportation for me 😢
The best city and cultural powerhouse in North america is Montreal . Global index ranked Montreal the best city in north america for cycling with more than 1,200 of bike paths on the island ( the island is 10 times the size of New York ) and more than 3,500 in the greater Montreal with a population of 5.1 million.
“High stakes game of frogger” is hilarious
It's -11C in Toronto this morning. -18C with the heavy wind chill and the bike lanes are empty. How many riders do you think are adding to traffic congestion by Ubering to work this morning? Bike lanes should exist on side streets like Annette or Runnymede, but not on busy thoroughfares like Bloor W, where the brain dead lane design took 1/2 the traffic lanes and prevents access to the empty bike lanes by emergency vehicles. Ambulances and Fire trucks are left navigating a single lane of traffic where the cars have no where to go to get out of the way. How safe is that?
There are always at least the Uber Eats guys using them no matter what the weather.
It is freezing out there right now. I think it's stupid to have put them in, but it's going to take time and money to remove them. I never understood the whole bike lane thing when they can't be used during winter.
@@OurToronto Go out to a bike lanes right now on this -11 day and wait for a bike to go by. You won't be waiting long.
I biked to work today. There were 3 people behind me and 2 in front of me and this was just on the sherbourne bike lane going north at 8:30am. Just because you don't see someone in a bike lane at the exact moment you are passing by one, doesn't mean they aren't being used.
@@OurToronto Wear the right clothing and you're fine.
I love your content but I'm sorry I disagree with you on this one. Having many more off-road bike paths are where we should be headed. But bike lanes on arterial roads worsen traffic.
Maybe so, I just think it's a waste of money to be removing.
Studies have been done on this. One of the Toronto bike lanes causes 20 SECONDS of delay for cars...
Meanwhile TTC riders often get 15 MINUTE delays. Yet Ford wants to waste money on removing bikes and act like they are a problem.
Cars are the traffic, and getting people out of cars will solve traffic. It's that simple.
Bike lanes can improve traffic by taking cars off the roads, bikes are way more space efficient than cars. Bikes also need to get to destination on major roads, having them there can make more people use bikes and take people away from cars reducing traffic while using less space. Though to make that happen we need more people who bike.
@@Tasneemcommenting I've been using Bloor Street to drive my kids to school since before the bike lanes went in, and after the bike lanes went in, I can verify that the trip takes the same amount of time. In fact it's been better driving since the bike lanes went in. Before it was chaos with cars cutting in and out because of parked cars (the real cause of congestion, not the bike lanes)
Bloor/ Danforth /Yonge barely function as arterial roads. Too many intersections as it is.
I hope Ford removes all the bike lanes downtown. We don't need bike lanes; we need better enforcement of laws permitting bikes in mixed traffic. We are expecting another 100,000 cars over the next five years. The bike lanes remove entire lanes that could hold hundreds of cars 24 hours a day. Adding more cars means we must remove bikes. The people using bikes can use public transit in place of their bikes., I hope Doug Ford goes further and makes bikes recreational vehicles only usable on private property and parks on Sundays.
With or without bike lanes, there isn't enough room for the cars that exist now, never mind another 100,000.
The only way your scenario of "better enforcement of laws" can work is if there's a police officer on every single intersection. Furthermore, a single car take up at least 6 times the amount of space that a bike does, not just in volume but in travel distance.
Toronto already has the 3rd worst traffic in the world with Dublin, Ireland and London UK taking 2nd and 1st respectively. Adding more cars on the road and disincentivizing people from taking alternatives will just make it worse. Busses get stuck in traffic too and the TTC and GO Trains have been so underfunded that trains now have to slow down for safety, causing travel times to increase. All because of Doug Ford.
@@thesilverblack708 Also note that London and Dublin also have a big anti-bike factions.
You’re a complete idiot. Go watch some videos about bike friendly cities they are 100 times better.
If Ford cared about Toronto traffic he would have fast-tracked building the Ontario Line. It has a projected daily ridership of 390.000 people, and that's despite some of the stations being pretty poorly situated for mass-transit. Instead his administration tried and failed to cancel the project and actively sabotages it where possible.
Ford just wants a simple "car good, bike bad" message to appeal to his base, suburban and rural voters. He does not care about a holistic, functioning transportation system and knows most of his voters don't have the time or interest to learn about the actual issues plaguing a transportation in a city most of them only ever visit.