Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)

[nfitz]

On the way to a grocery store on Don Mills this morning, I noticed some new cycle tracks under construction on Millwood (at Overlea) and on Overlea (Millwood to Leaside Park). Are these part of the Ontario Line construction or something else?

I've been driving past this every day for the past few weeks (very bizarre - 4 police constables there most time I've driven past. With three doing little, and the 4th directing traffic - but not doing much because the lights are working, and traffic is flow when I'm there.

It's further south the the Ontario Line construction - which is little more than a couple of construction entrances to the new bridge, at the moment. Are they going further north on Millwood and Laird. (or further west on the other Millwoods)?

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

There needs to be a study performed in the Toronto suburbs that looks at every single street with grassy boulevards and which ones cycle tracks or MUPs can be added.

Many times im biking on those busy, somewhat dangerous roads for bikes and see this huge wide grassy boulevard between the sidewalk and road that could easily support a bike cycletrack.

Those road verges or grassy boulevards are where the snow windrows end up after a snowplow clears the street of snow. The wider a street, the wider a verge is needed. If they narrow the traffic lanes, and reduce the speed limits at the same time, they could make use of the roadway for cycling lanes and still leave someplace to plow the windrows onto.

 

[nfitz]

Those road verges or grassy boulevards are where the snow windrows end up after a snowplow clears the street of snow. The wider a street, the wider a verge is needed. If they narrow the traffic lanes, and reduce the speed limits at the same time, they could make use of the roadway for cycling lanes and still leave someplace to plow the windrows onto.

And yet it all works out fine 99% of the time when there's nothing between the sidewalk and the road. The wider the street, the more space there is on the street to put the snow!

 

[robmausser]

Those road verges or grassy boulevards are where the snow windrows end up after a snowplow clears the street of snow. The wider a street, the wider a verge is needed. If they narrow the traffic lanes, and reduce the speed limits at the same time, they could make use of the roadway for cycling lanes and still leave someplace to plow the windrows onto.

Thats a blanket statement. Thats exactly what a study would determine.

Somewhere like here, there is more than ample room for a MUP and for the plows to put snow off the road

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[Monarch Butterfly]

Thats a blanket statement. Thats exactly what a study would determine.

Somewhere like here, there is more than ample room for a MUP and for the plows to put snow off the road

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They tend to build the stroads to have very wide expressway width traffic lanes. Those traffic lanes should be narrowed to match a lower speed limit (posted speed limit signs are useless), and doing so does make room for cycling lanes AND someplace to dump the snow windrows.

 

[Northern Light]

There needs to be a study performed in the Toronto suburbs that looks at every single street with grassy boulevards and which ones cycle tracks or MUPs can be added.

Many times im biking on those busy, somewhat dangerous roads for bikes and see this huge wide grassy boulevard between the sidewalk and road that could easily support a bike cycletrack.

There's already a list.

Kipling, Steeles (partially done) ; Ellesmere and Bathurst proposed, more to come. Not to worry, staff are on it.

 

[Northern Light]

On the way to a grocery store on Don Mills this morning, I noticed some new cycle tracks under construction on Millwood (at Overlea) and on Overlea (Millwood to Leaside Park). Are these part of the Ontario Line construction or something else?

UPDATE: I was told this was associated with the Millwood Road Safety Improvements project.

Correct, but I believe delivered by Mx as it was their work that delayed this part.

MX is also responsible to deliver cycle tracks on Overlea in the section they are working on. While the City is responsible for further east.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Correct, but I believe delivered by Mx as it was their work that delayed this part.

MX is also responsible to deliver cycle tracks on Overlea in the section they are working on. While the City is responsible for further east.

IIRC, the portion of Overlea Metrolinx would be working on is from Millwood to Thorncliffe Park (west)? I know the Ontario Line shifts north around there given work on the elevated guideway is happening north of the Overlea bridge.

 

[Erich Nelson]

A few pics from this morning

Dr Emily Stowe Way was repaved with the slip lane from Surrey Pl removed and a left turning bike box painted at the College St end.

Construction on Bedford Rd has started with plans for new bike lanes from Bloor to Lowther

Harbord’s top layer of asphalt is being laid west of Bathurst today

 

[DSCToronto]

One suspects that The Man who really wants to be Mayor would not approve!

“Hitting a green wave? It’s the best feeling, especially when you’re in a hurry,” says actor Samuel Traum, unlocking his bike by a Copenhagen intersection thronged by two-wheeled commuters. “The opposite, a red wave, is the worst.”

For those of us who do not live in cycle-friendly Copenhagen, the green wave that Traum describes is a system started by the city authorities 16 years ago: in order to encourage bike travel, they synchronised traffic lights on several key roads so that a rush-hour cyclist travelling at about 20km/h (12.4mph) could catch green lights all the way.


Green waves are now set to spread to 15 more routes after the municipality approved new cycling provisions in the budget this month.

“The idea is nice because usually the lights are set at the speed of the cars,” says Lars, a 33-year-old analyst cycling down Nørrebrogade, where the first pilot project began. “I wish it would be expanded.”

More at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/26/how-copenhagen-gave-cyclists-a-green-wave

 

[evandyk]

I don’t even think Toronto bothers to try timing the lights to driving speeds, other than a handful of streets. That capability is probably well beyond what Toronto could coordinate. And doing it for bikes would be a non-starter for sure?

 

[DSCToronto]

I don’t even think Toronto bothers to try timing the lights to driving speeds, other than a handful of streets. That capability is probably well beyond what Toronto could coordinate. And doing it for bikes would be a non-starter for sure?

Actually, the City has quite a few coordinated signals and are adding more but you are, of course, correct about extending it to bikes!

SEE: https://www.toronto.ca/services-pay...gns/signal-optimization-coordination-program/

 

[nfitz]

I don’t even think Toronto bothers to try timing the lights to driving speeds, other than a handful of streets. That capability is probably well beyond what Toronto could coordinate. And doing it for bikes would be a non-starter for sure?

I'm puzzled why you think Toronto couldn't co-ordinate this, when small cities did standardly did this in the 1970s.

Or are you just referring to cars? It does seem a bit silly for bikes, given variable speeds, those who cycle, compared those on motorized vehicles in the bike lanes.

 

[afransen]

I don’t even think Toronto bothers to try timing the lights to driving speeds, other than a handful of streets. That capability is probably well beyond what Toronto could coordinate. And doing it for bikes would be a non-starter for sure?

Toronto has far too many lights to make synchronization feasible.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

With traffic signals, some drivers behave like they're at a drag race. Once the traffic signal light (on the farside of the intersection) ahead of them turns green, they press hard on the accelerator and try to rocket away from the stop line (or crosswalk or cross traffic lane) as much as possible... until they reach the next red light. Some go past the speed limit (posted or unposted). Sometimes there is a pedestrian or cyclist still crossing ahead of them, which they would have seen if we used nearside traffic signals, and the driver blare their horn to get them to move faster.

(Or are you chicken, McFly?)