TwoWheelPoli
Active Member
Got to check out the Harbord Street bike lane upgrades west of Grace this morning while doing some errands. Looks like one final layer of asphalt is needed to finish the job. Wonder if that could happen next week?
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Cycling infrastructure (Separated bike lanes)
- Thread starter MetroMan
- Start date
DSCToronto
Superstar
Member Bio
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- Jan 13, 2008
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- St Lawrence Market Area
The work on the Lower Don Trail is moving forward at its usual snail's pace. They are putting the new stairs at Dundas together like a 5 year old who has got his first Meccano set, did the factory forget to send the instructions?
The Project website seems to have been updated, predictable, with more delays added! What a complete F-up!
The last sentence is a warning!
The Project website seems to have been updated, predictable, with more delays added! What a complete F-up!
The last sentence is a warning!
JasonParis
Moderator
Is Lower Bayview expected to go back to two-way for vehicles on this happens?
DSCToronto
Superstar
Member Bio
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2008
- Messages
- 22,274
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- Location
- St Lawrence Market Area
I was told NOT a few years ago but .......
TwoWheelPoli
Active Member
City Council made the current Lower Bayview configuration permanent in February 2023 along with the Midtown Yonge bikeway.
JasonParis
Moderator
Good to know — I prefer it that way. Plus, there’s the little shortcut behind the Humane Society that gets you down there faster (IYKYK).
UntitledCyclist
Active Member
The previous timelines have been nothing but nonsense. They update it and remove the old versions, but it would be fun to use the Internet Archive to go back and trace all the broken promises they've made over the years...
TwoWheelPoli
Active Member
The City (and Metrolinx) are being equally sneaky with the West Toronto Railpath extension. I checked the website recently to find any updates on this project and found they now claim construction will start in 2026.
West Toronto Railpath Extension
The City of Toronto has finalized the design details for extending the West Toronto Railpath multi-use trail south, from Dundas Street West at Sterling Road to Abell Street at Sudbury Street. This multi-use trail will be routed adjacent to the Kitchener GO Rail Corridor.
www.toronto.ca
ADRM
Senior Member
Raised curb just like the bus stops or regular sidewalk curbs!
pawlyshyn
New Member
From the city website: "A public meeting was held on February 26, 2020, at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and was attended by 263 people. A presentation was given to review the final design elements (i.e. bridges, landscaping and community connections) and to give more details about the project and timelines. . . .The public feedback period ended on March 12, 2020."The City (and Metrolinx) are being equally sneaky with the West Toronto Railpath extension. I checked the website recently to find any updates on this project and found they now claim construction will start in 2026.
View attachment 691349
West Toronto Railpath Extension
The City of Toronto has finalized the design details for extending the West Toronto Railpath multi-use trail south, from Dundas Street West at Sterling Road to Abell Street at Sudbury Street. This multi-use trail will be routed adjacent to the Kitchener GO Rail Corridor.
I was there. We were all fooled into thinking this would happen in our lifetime! Meanwhile, the Gardiner rebuild is done a year early. . .
Full Metal Junkie
Senior Member
Sacrifices were made. Anything to appease the Car Gods…
adys123
Active Member
It looks like he's coming after transit lanes as well... https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-44/session-1/bill-60
Prohibition re reduction of lanes
195.3 (1) Except as permitted by the regulations, a municipality shall not, by by-law or otherwise, reduce or permit a reduction in the number of marked lanes available for travel by motor vehicles on a highway or a portion of a highway under the municipality’s jurisdiction and control for any of the following purposes:
1. A bicycle lane.
2. Any other prescribed purpose.
Transition
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a purpose set out in that subsection if, on the day before the purpose is prohibited under subsection (1), a contract has already been awarded or entered into for the construction or installation of any thing, or the marking of a highway, in respect of a purpose described in subsection (1), or, if the construction, installation or marking is to be done by the municipality and not by any party under contract, such work has already commenced.
6 Section 195.9 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Reimbursement
195.9 (1) If the Minister requested support or information from a municipality under subsection 195.8 (1) and the municipality provided such support or information, the Minister may reimburse the municipality for the reasonable costs it incurred in doing so.
No reimbursement or compensation
(2) For greater certainty, the Minister is not required to reimburse or compensate the municipality for any costs other than those described in subsection (1), including costs the municipality incurred to install the bicycle lanes.
Particulars
(3) To support its claim for reimbursement under subsection (1), the municipality may be required to provide the Ministry with the particulars of the costs it reasonably incurred to carry out the request made under subsection 195.8 (1).
7 Clause 195.10 (1) (b) of the Act is repealed.
8 Clauses 195.18 (1) (a), (b) and (c) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
(a) governing when the prohibition set out in subsection 195.3 (1) does not apply, including,
(i) prescribing highways, parts of highways and areas to which the prohibition does not apply,
(ii) providing that the prohibition does not apply in respect of a purpose set out in subsection 195.3 (1),
(iii) prescribing any other circumstances in which the prohibition does not apply, and
(iv) prescribing conditions, criteria or requirements that must be satisfied in relation to subclause (i), (ii) or (iii);
(b) prescribing other purposes for the purposes of paragraph 2 of subsection 195.3 (1);
(c) prescribing municipalities for the purposes of subsection 195.4 (1);
(d) governing the information that may be required by the Minister under subsection 195.4 (1).
Commencement
9 This Schedule comes into force on the day the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 receives Royal Assent.
Prohibition re reduction of lanes
195.3 (1) Except as permitted by the regulations, a municipality shall not, by by-law or otherwise, reduce or permit a reduction in the number of marked lanes available for travel by motor vehicles on a highway or a portion of a highway under the municipality’s jurisdiction and control for any of the following purposes:
1. A bicycle lane.
2. Any other prescribed purpose.
Transition
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a purpose set out in that subsection if, on the day before the purpose is prohibited under subsection (1), a contract has already been awarded or entered into for the construction or installation of any thing, or the marking of a highway, in respect of a purpose described in subsection (1), or, if the construction, installation or marking is to be done by the municipality and not by any party under contract, such work has already commenced.
6 Section 195.9 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Reimbursement
195.9 (1) If the Minister requested support or information from a municipality under subsection 195.8 (1) and the municipality provided such support or information, the Minister may reimburse the municipality for the reasonable costs it incurred in doing so.
No reimbursement or compensation
(2) For greater certainty, the Minister is not required to reimburse or compensate the municipality for any costs other than those described in subsection (1), including costs the municipality incurred to install the bicycle lanes.
Particulars
(3) To support its claim for reimbursement under subsection (1), the municipality may be required to provide the Ministry with the particulars of the costs it reasonably incurred to carry out the request made under subsection 195.8 (1).
7 Clause 195.10 (1) (b) of the Act is repealed.
8 Clauses 195.18 (1) (a), (b) and (c) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
(a) governing when the prohibition set out in subsection 195.3 (1) does not apply, including,
(i) prescribing highways, parts of highways and areas to which the prohibition does not apply,
(ii) providing that the prohibition does not apply in respect of a purpose set out in subsection 195.3 (1),
(iii) prescribing any other circumstances in which the prohibition does not apply, and
(iv) prescribing conditions, criteria or requirements that must be satisfied in relation to subclause (i), (ii) or (iii);
(b) prescribing other purposes for the purposes of paragraph 2 of subsection 195.3 (1);
(c) prescribing municipalities for the purposes of subsection 195.4 (1);
(d) governing the information that may be required by the Minister under subsection 195.4 (1).
Commencement
9 This Schedule comes into force on the day the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 receives Royal Assent.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
That's a leap.
The legislation does allow the province to ban it for "any other prescribed purpose". Which means the province could bring in a Regulation to ban it for transit lanes or other things - but as of right now, the province has not indicated an intent to do so and it is limited to just bike lanes. As of right now there are not any other "prescribed purposes" and that provision is likely there to provide flexibility in dealing with municipalities which are actively resistant to much of Ford's recent policy changes on the municipal level (i.e. Toronto claiming it can still enforce Green Standards despite the MMAH being very clear that the intent of recent legislation is to prohibit it).
COULD Ford come for transit lanes? sure. But he COULD have done so 2 weeks ago. The new legislation doesn't really change that possibility and the province has not shown any intent to actually do so.
adys123
Active Member
Would "any other prescribed purpose" not apply directly to removing lanes for anything? It does seem rather clear in that way.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
The way legislation is written "any other prescribed purpose" is basically saying "you can let this clause do something else as well with a regulation".
A regulation is not an Act, but rather a sub-clause of the act which does not need to go through the legislature. MZOs for example are all implemented as regulations under the Planning Act.
What the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 proposes to do is allow the Minister to institute a regulation which would expand their powers under 195.3(1) of the Highway Traffic Act to any purpose they desire - potentially including transit lanes.
What it does not do is actually implement any additional prescribed purposes to prohibit lane reductions. The minister would be required to propose a regulation and have it undergo public comment before any additional prohibitions could occur.
Opposition groups are angling it like the Minister is coming for transit lanes as that's one possibility which could occur through the legislation - but the Minister may have an entirely different idea as to what they would use that power for. I.E. if Toronto decides to remove lanes "for bioswales" and the project just happens to have bike lanes as well in an effort to bypass the legislation, the Minister would have the ability to relatively quickly pass a regulation to intervene instead of having to amend the Highway Traffic Act through the legislature first.
As of right now the Province hasn't indicated an intent to prohibit transit lane conversions and I would assume that position continues until we hear otherwise.