Reacting to new bike lanes in a city that lost years shunning cyclists

I sometimes hear from viewers worried their city will never become more liveable and bike-friendly because so many years were wasted doing nothing to increase liveability. And then I found myself in the city that was once the Canadian capital of doing nothing for cyclists: Toronto.
But after a lost decade under previous city councils in which bike lanes were removed and cyclists marginalized, Toronto has made some great strides in recent years. So, with a few spare hours to kill in one of the biggest cities in North America, I asked some locals which new(ish) bike lanes to check out. What follows are my first reactions to riding on these new bike lanes, no doubt coloured by my last visit to the city six or seven years ago when the cycling infrastructure was so bad I felt grateful to escape with my life.
0:00 Introduction
1:13 Bike-lane 1: Adelaide Street (ugh)
2:25 Bike-lane 2: Richmond Street (better!)
3:15 Lack of connectivity
3:40 Bike-lane 3: University Avenue (the cheap option)
4:32 Bike Lane 4: Bloor Street (now we're getting there)
#cycling #bike #commuting
Sponsor
Two Wheel Gear: My favourite bike bags for commuters and urban cyclists www.twowheelgear.com/
Buy my book Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: rmbooks.com/book/frostbike/
I don’t really do proper product reviews, but here are some products that I’ve tried on this channel that I like. (Of course you don’t need anything fancy to ride a bike, other than a bike, but these are Amazon affiliate links, and I get paid a small commission if you buy them 😉)
• Here's the winter bike I'm riding these days: bit.ly/2PhqUqF
• Cliq Smart Bike Light (nice rear brake light): amzn.to/39lfqwo
• RedShift Acrlight Smart LED Pedals (clever lights for your pedals): amzn.to/3NL1Npg
• Aftershokz Titanium bone-conducting headphones (if you want to listen while you ride): amzn.to/3e9Tofa
• JBL CLip 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (for your party-pace group rides): amzn.to/3pcMLPm
• Crane Bicycle Bell (the ding is sublime): amzn.to/3OwfZCu
• Ibex Merino Wool clothing (good for summer and winter): bit.ly/3xXkbEd
• Bicycle Cargo Net (why did it take so long for me to buy one of these?): amzn.to/31s1Ovu
• Vaude Cover II Rain Poncho (for higher-end, try Cleverhood or People’s Poncho): amzn.to/3jLkift
• Kryptonite U-Lock (your bike is going to get stolen eventually, sigh, but at least make it hard): amzn.to/3tPWcGi
• Peak Design phone case (the one I use, paired with the Peak Design phone mount): amzn.to/3HGM0FU
Follow me!
Twitter: / tombabin
Instagram: / tombabin

[@PeterSdrolias]

One of issues for me is the inconsistent infrastructure. Painted lines vs concrete barriers vs plastic barriers, etc. This may not be an issue for those who feel comfortable riding in traffic, but it may discourage some. Thanks for the video👍

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Yes, I made brief mention of this, how barriers protecting cyclists seem to disappear and reappear at seemingly random intervals. Some consistency would certainly go a long way.

[@wonjez3982]

The different approaches are probably a thing of the individual districts, at least that's what i see in Berlin with the "bus lane district", the "shared bike lane district" and the "what are bikes district", as i would call them :) Consistency is a big factor. It's literally stressful to have to "search" where you can drive next, serious cyclists just surrender in the chaos and ride on the road (upsetting car users), but at least the road will not end abruptly and is in somewhat better condition. Remember, a car can simply follow two painted lines, for miles at a time, a bike can't do that here. The infrastructure has to be thought through, thinking for you, intuitive and familiar. In Berlin, even if there is bike infrastructure, you have to actively figure it out. There's striped lines, continuous lines, bus lanes, blue sign with vertical line, blue sign with horizontal line, blue bike sign and they all have a different meanings. And as of now, you might as well ignore it, because that infrastructure ends right after the intersection and throws you on the street again, my favorite is into into legally parked cars www.google.com/maps/@52.4697461,13.4417229,3a,15y,274.22h,86.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syrCr3ALV3Dm6AE4SlT3h7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Insbrucker Platz sums up the past 25 years of Berlin cycling experience: www.google.com/maps/@52.4787582,13.3441466,3a,75y,358.25h,65.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1siBgx_8ubxadjr3j1nkKIrQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 There the bike lane comes into existence to remind cars, going south it then leads into a very busy bus stop. It then turns onto the 1m lane on the sidewalk, which were generally ruled to be against law and thus not mandatory to use. 100m further it disappears again: www.google.com/maps/@52.4772586,13.3423376,3a,75y,268.7h,69.72t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5yy8-jjbeS0arO31lx9H_g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 I'm not saying that we need the best option everywhere, it just shows how far some people are thinking ahead at times and you just wont trust any bike lane after such crap.

[@MrMartinSchou]

Inconsistent infrastructure is almost unavoidable. Look at some of the cities in the Netherlands with spectacular infrastructure - they also have inconsistent infrastructure, because not everything was made at the same time or even with the same budget allocations.

[@kailahmann1823]

@@MrMartinSchou Some level of inconsistency is really unavoidable and I also may add space to the list of reasons. However when a painted bike lane has gaps, it really feels odd - here they *are* the quick fix to close gaps.

[@JimTeller]

I'm not from Toronto, but based on social media interactions I've noticed that there is active enforcement of bike lane parking violations in Toronto which is great. You can have the best bike lanes in the world but it won't do any good if cars can park in them thus forcing cyclists back into traffic

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Yes, I've seen those videos too. Even if those videos oversell the rate of enforcement (and I have no idea if they do or not), their mere presence probably does more to discourage bike-lane parkers than most cities.

[@jennonaplane]

This is completely anecdotal but I feel like there's not as much enforcement as those videos would have you believe, based on my daily use of the Bloor St. bike lane (which IS great, goes clear across the city, and is supposed to be expanded through Etobicoke in the coming years). Meanwhile though there IS arguably too much focus on enforcing speed limits on cyclists in High Park and taking away programs like ActiveTO.

[@codylittlefield7885]

I'm living in Toronto right now and I would say during an average 30-minute commute I am forced into the the road 4-5 times by a car parked in the bike lane; and have seen plenty of bylaw officers zip right past it. Nobody cares.

[@JimTeller]

@@codylittlefield7885 Good to know from someone who is actually there 👍

[@JimTeller]

@@jennonaplane Good to know from someone who is actually there 👍

[@juliebrooke6099]

Lack of connectivity is a problem with bike lanes/paths near me too. It means only the most confident and determined cyclists can use them and encourages the non cyclists to say “ look at all that money we wasted on cycle infrastructure that hardly gets used!” I say you have to start somewhere.

[@ethanstump]

Yes, be militant and ride on sidewalks. Have to start somewhere, only by problemitizing the issue will awareness be raised. You can only find solutions to the problems when you find problems, and for decades car investors have made sure to hide the problems from car owners for decades. Make problems to make solutions.

[@Humulator]

yeah carbrains say when a usless bike lane that connects to nothing doesn't get used, they say remove it, but really we should build more so it can be used. its like 1 road going to nowhere, no one uses it, but if anthor road intersects it, people will use it

[@davidmarsh3104]

I haven't found this in my area. Bike lanes in my region have made everything so much worse. More and faster cars or lots more congestion (and angry drivers) and people still riding on sidewalks. It really is the worst of both worlds. I avoid riding on any streets in my region that have bike lanes: it's too stressful. Out of curiousity: what area are you in?

[@meltingtomato]

Toronto has decent plans for massively expanding the bike/multi-use network, but as always, the biggest issues are money in general (budget is always constrained) and suburban councillors having an outsized influence (not to mention lighter workload) vis-a-vis their downtown (and typically progressive) counterparts. As for Adelaide, with the Ontario Line/streetcar track reactivation coming, the bike lane will shift to the north (left) side of the street to avoid all the curb lane issues. Great video Tom, cheers!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thanks for the context. This is very helpful!

[@arahman56]

Also, with Ford putting even more power in the Mayor's hands, probably as prep for a Mikey run, hard to be optimistic.

[@lucky247365]

@@arahman56 Mikey run? Seems like Tory and Ford are getting along better now and he will likely get re-elected. It would be great if Jennifer Keesmaat had put in a bid but I will be looking close at this new canadidate Gil Penalosa.

[@justinwalker5274]

The new King Street Transit corridor is also pretty good in general. Cars are allowed but cannot go straight through so it's essentially limited to destinations on that block only, while the streetcars and bikes can travel freely. The lack of through traffic really slows down cars which makes it much more pleasant to walk or bike.

[@antb533]

What was Ontario's largest export for a generation? Cars under the auto pact. I always thought that Ontario promoted car ownership due that reason. That said, with current density the only solution I think in Toronto is metro, walking and bikes. Hopefully we can learn from Europe and Japan. The biggest issue I think is a lack of bike paths that have good connections outside of the downtown core. Good cheap e-bike rentals may help also. For fun maybe try the Toronto island from Wards Island. Very special.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

It's good to see plans to keep improving Toronto's. Shoutout to @RMTransit's great new video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fKgpeLaqmIf5o

[@wonjez3982]

Isn't metro bike and walking always the best solution in urban environments? Mixed modes with a focus on micromobility sound like the most effective transportation to me. Maybe also add in some cab and bus service for the older genereation.

[@petertensuda1192]

The car industry made Ontario rich so we could afford cars. If that industry goes we better have a lot of bike lanes.

[@TheHanes88]

Your comments align pretty closely with my experience. The bike lanes are not continuous and don't really form a coherent network. I think having at least one protected bike lane that stretches across the city would make a huge difference. Expanding the the lanes on bloor would be a great start. Great video:)

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Yes, I rarely felt confident that the bike lanes could get me exactly where I wanted to go. I always ended up stopping, pulling my bike off the bike land and walking a few blocks to get where I needed to go.

[@pbilk]

If you are still in Ontario, you should do a bike lane reaction to Kitchener-Waterloo. Especially downtown Kitchener by King Street. They are currently building new lanes to increase connectivity.

[@djsiii4737]

Great video! One of the challenges in Toronto is the streetcar tracks. The streetcars are great, but there's no shifting the tracks to make room for other infrastructure or to fit more in the street on the cheap. So important streets like queen and college will never have bike lanes, and the portion of king outside the chore. The streetcar tracks on Danforth were ripped up in the 60s and replaced with subway, and now bike lanes and larger/more patios were added during the pandemic and the street has never been better from a vitality perspective.

[@LSOP-]

Welcome to Toronto! The lack of connectivity is my major issue as a cyclist in Toronto.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

After riding there for just a few hours, I concur

[@toothpastehombre]

The bike pulling through your frame right at the end of your opening statement was perfect :) Love your perspectives and input and how genuine you are. Literally reporting from the street is super eye opening

[@just_a_guy]

I just wish my city would try to catch up. Colorado Springs is such a beautiful place and i think would benefit from being a more bike friendly city.

[@rafthegoat]

Hey! I lived in Toronto through my childhood and young adult life. It used to be a lot worse. Even the bike lanes you see at the end of the video at queens park were not there just a few years ago. Almost all the infrastructure you showed was made in the past 2 years and there were massive development efforts put in around the uoft region in the past year (especially the lanes on bloor). I hope Toronto becomes more bike friendly and I can enjoy it when I go there to visit family again. P.s. thanks for showing me the streets in Toronto. I miss that place so much.

[@wonjez3982]

Shows how easy it really could be :)

[@loukosscheffer6056]

I think you hit all the main points The permanent new build stuff is actually pretty good and often raised. A stretch of the downtown Bloor lanes will be raised to sidewalk level next year and include one of the first fully protected "dutch-style" intersections at Bloor & St. George. A good early example with some flaws that were worked out in later designs is the Sherbourne lanes. There has also been a few non-major streets where work has been done. Shaw Street being the main example with filtered permeability used quite nicely. Definitely a very long way to go, but the year over year improvement is quite good but probably not aggressive enough.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Nice to hear that things are incrementally improving. I think an important if sometimes overlooked component is how a city learns from its mistakes.

[@baddriversofcolga]

One thing that Toronto has that are strangely good are the mountain bike trails. I honestly can't believe how fun they are within a large city.

[@transportationland6395]

Happy you came to Toronto! You should have looked of the more west parts of Bloor Street like near Dufferin or Shaw, and also Danforth Ave to the east of Bloor! Great video nonetheless Shifter! You are always welcome here in Toronto.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you. I hope to be back soon.

[@transportationland6395]

@@Shifter_Cycling Please visit again. If you are looking for a place for leisure cycling and not commuting, I will definitely recommend you ride your bike on the Toronto islands. Assuming you have seen Jason's video on the islands, you should totally visit!!!

[@Physicalchemistry15151]

Toronto seems to be the exception in Canada when it comes to bike friendliness. Sure all Canadian/Australian cities are car centric but some cities, like Sydney or Montreal rank among the worlds most bike friendly cities on the Copenhagen index. Perhaps it would be in its best interest to look at those cities first before Amsterdam or Copenhagen

[@theo4281]

Good to see they're making some bike lanes for you guys. They don't look save to me but you have to start somewhere. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Any Torontonians out there able to offer a broader picture of the cycling infrastructure in the city beyond my quick visit to these bike lanes?

[@DX2ification]

If you looks north of toronto either west or east you get some good bike lanes especially some within parks and near lake ontario. Then there's the one with challenges all on their own.

[@Bluong28]

A part from the downtown core, there is definitely a large disconnect between areas of bike lane paths within Toronto that makes it difficult to get around. One minute you're on a trail and the next, the main road. If you're still in the city, I would recommend checking out Danforth for some ad-hoc bike lane structure, Dundas street, Martin Goodman Trail, and the Don Valley Trail. The trails are long, nice, and makes you feel like you're not in the city at all.

[@antb533]

35 year all season Toronto bike commuter here. Along the waterfront is great. Inner suburbs are not great as shops prefer parking to bike paths. On the main streets you are crushed by SUVs and risk getting door'd. The separated and protected paths are growing but are disjoined (like many cities) so it is hard to stay on a separate trail for your whole ride. Covid may change things a bit. And I hope electric bikes may bring out a whole new group of riders who don't like to arrive sweaty or deal with the st clair hill.. The best thing Toronto could do is expand the number of dedicated bike lanes going to major destinations, expand the e-bike bike share program (300 right now), and invite lime and uber ebike sharing programs to Toronto and subsidize them. .

[@kahlilheslop7883]

The inner suburbs are still not connected to downtown. To this day, especially when using Kingston Road, I don't feel comfortable making the entire trip without using the sidewalk at some point. There are some multi use pathways such as the Meadoway being built that will make it safer, though for commuting, more protected bike lanes are needed, especially on the many 6 lane stroads in the city.

[@transportationland6395]

You should have went to Bloor St and Shaw St. I use that connection to get to school from the more north and use Bloor Street to go west from Shaw to Dufferin. Shaw is the safest way for me to go south, Dufferin has 0 infrastructure.

[@MrNutz52]

All the off street paths are awsome. The go from west to east for hours. Can't speak about the streets but love how far the paths go

[@ambcrn]

i visited toronto for the field trip festival in june 2017 and i used the bike share program quite a bit on my very short stay. i biked on some pretty busy streets lacking any true bike lane with my more experienced brother leading the way and this was all before i even knew what proper bike infrastructure was or even cared about urban planning. these days i don’t dare use a bike share program unless i know i can use protected or decent painted lanes… wild how ignorance is bliss! glad to see *some* progress is being made! hoping to be back soon!

[@Amir-jn5mo]

The wayfinding is extremely important i think. They need to think of the type of potential routes cyclists will take with the lanes they paths they put in each time and therefore plant potential signage for destinations along the routes.

[@devinbyrnes8058]

Way finding is the most important thing. More important than separated barriers. What is the use of being safe if you can’t get anywhere. Huge fail on connectivity.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

It's funny how many city's just look for places to put a bike lane without thinking through connectivity and complete routes. It's a backwards way of planning.

[@KcarlMarXs]

Looking at Toronto's downtown core I think wayfinding is following connectivity. Ie. College st., Where connectivity doesn't exist yet, but they've started the bike lane extension/hardened bike lanes, and completes multitudes of sharrows/one way(two way bike) through the neighborhooda adjacent. It'll come for Toronto.

[@Hafiz100ify]

I was waiting for you to come to Toronto!

[@jw6825]

Nice video. How did you like the Bike Share rental? I think that it's up there with some of the Priority bikes, being pretty close to the perfect year-round commuter. Full fenders and chain guard, internal gearing and built in lights and carrier. (It may be a tad heavy though)

[@michaelsuppa4675]

Connectivity and continuity of bike lanes is the norm here and in the surrounding area. There is no Master Plan to truly build a "network". This might be the biggest barrier to bike commuting for most. Even some of the stressful moments of unprotected lanes would be tolerable if the lanes and routes were connected. Thanks for putting this out there.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thanks for watching. Toronto isn't alone in building without a plan. Such a strange, yet common, way of going about it.

[@dacoz]

If you ever end up in Hamilton, I'd be curious as to what you would rate it's bike infrastructure.

[@Natoflyboy]

I agree with the connectivity. I know that Wichita is a very small city, so it's not fair to compare, but I appreciate that most of the bike lanes connect and have great way finding and i can go from one of the city to the other.

[@goodcompanycoffee]

Check out the Harbourfront trail! More for recreational riding rather than commuting since it's south, but it is amazing (safe) if you do live close to it.

[@letsgoskiagain]

Shaw street is pretty nice and also those new separated lanes in distillery district (mill str). So it’s kinda good here and there but as you noticed is lacking overall and connectivity is an issue for sure

[@denali637]

If you ever experience KZbinr's block, just know that you could do about a thousand of these before any of us get tired of them.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Haha. Good to hear.

[@johnnevada46]

I was last in Toronto in 2019 and while I cycle in New York and London it never occurred to me to cycle in Toronto. Glad to see that the city is waking up.

[@devinbyrnes8058]

Some of the openings in the protected bike lanes are near fire hydrants. I wonder if fire truck access is the reason.

[@MisguidedSage]

I used to ride 40km/day on my ride to work before I moved away. My route of choice was Bloor-to-sherbourne-to-gerrard. Highly recommended this route for anyone living or visiting there

[@adamlytle2615]

One thing to note about the Bloor bike lanes in particular - they are very long. They run 15 km across the city except for a small gap through a rail corridor.

[@mrMacGoover]

You should come to St. Catharines, we have multi-use pathways along the channels that seem to go on forever along with old rail routs that where changed to multi use paths that go from welland to port Colburn to chipawa. We also have roads with bike lanes that lead to roads that should have bike lanes.

[@Davmm96]

After safely rollerblading to commute/have fun in Montréal, I decided to give Toronto a shot for a few days. Felt like cars would roll over my left foot... For the first time ever I've found myself skitching cars since that felt safer than just rolling slowly. A good example of how Toronto feel is Spadina avenue. When going south to join the lakeshore cycle path you get a sharrow that disappears right before joining lakeshore boulevard, leaving you to deal with the mess of all the traffic joining/leaving the expressway that passes right trough the heart of the city....

[@Shifter_Cycling]

May we all long for Montreal together

[@yukihong9726]

You didn't mention it in the video (to be fair, its incredibly short, probably too short to warrant travelling all the way up here to see it) but just south of York University's Keele campus is a very solid 2 way bike track separated from car traffic by a wide (by bike standards) median type thing. Its only a few hundred meters long before going back up the curb onto a preexisting multi use trail, but its still incredibly impressive, and proof that Toronto is headed in the right direction. If you ever end up in the north end of Toronto, I definitely recommend you check it out. Edit: I forgot to mention this, but its on Murrary Ross Parkway, just west of Keele street

[@ecopennylife]

My town in Bathurst Australia is just an 'egg', not up to the bike tadpole stage yet 🚴

[@amandajane8227]

It is very sad that country towns don't have the funds to put in safe cycling infrastructure. I spent the summer in Benalla and it felt like cycling in the Netherlands as it is so flat. I saw people cycling to the shops all the time but it is only safe to cycle in the town. You need balls of steel to cycle beyond it.

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

I invite you to come over to Munich and do an assessment here, where Bikes have been around, like forever but needs a LOT of adjustment and adaptation. Here, it is a car city, also. Just cycle with me for a while and you will see how accomodating Toronto is becoming, especially with it's wide cycleways.

[@SnowCrashed1]

Adelaide also has a significant portion with barriers like Richmond. Right in the financial district is a mess for both however. The West Toronto Railpath is the best in the city.

[@dijikstra8]

The issue with wayfinding and unexpected end of bike lanes is something that is common here in Stockholm as well, and it's a big factor in making a good cycling city. It has become better with bike lanes including some decent separated bike lanes, but it can still be a bit patchy and if you don't already know your route by heart you're going to have to stop to look at your phone a lot because the signage is patchy at best especially compared to the signs for cars.

[@dougwedel9484]

I'm so glad you checked out Toronto's bicycling. There is so much that you missed. University Avenue was crazy wide. The city planners took a full car lane to make the bike lane, which is absolutely non-standard for Toronto's old ways of making bike lanes. When extending the Bloor bike lanes, they did the same from University Avenue to Sherbourne. A bike lane that is a full car lane wide is a lot better as soon as more than one cyclist uses it. Same with Richmond and Adelaide. When the city installed bike lanes on Yonge, from Bloor to Davisville, they kept the bike lanes more to the standard size and you really notice the difference. They are good, by the old standard, but it's really hard to pass other cyclists or ride side by side with a friend. In the past, that would have been seen as a luxury... you got a bike lane, don't be so greedy!! :) But it makes a big difference to how many new people take up cycling, for two reasons. A timid cyclist will not want to put up with others passing them all the time and, as bicycling becomes more popular, it is much more prone to reach a saturation point, when the bike lanes suffer terribly from traffic jams. Something I noticed this morning, I took the first subway train to Vaughan Metropolitan Station. I counted 7 other cyclists, 1 kick scooter and 2 e kickscooters all on the same train. When I left the platform, there were 3 of us with bikes in a row taking the escalator. I never saw that before, it was amazing. I'm expecting if and when bicycling catches on, the subway system will see an equal amount of people with bikes and e riders as people coming on as pedestrians. I don't know how that will work out. But we will be facing crazy traffic jams on the transit sometime by next summer or the one after and we need to figure out solutions before non-cyclist planners do and mess up our jive.

[@serbansaredwood]

I think they're planning on reducing University by half of its lanes and turning half of the street into a continuous park

[@TheNmecod]

If this is done in Montreal try out: Berri, Peel, st-Denis, william, Lachine canal and few other plateau streets

[@grahambonner508]

Route signage and connectivity are very important, the latter can present significant problems to do well.

[@mrmaniac3]

It would be cool for these to evolve into sidewalk level lanes with a curb. There's a roundabout in my hometown that has bike lanes like this, they pull bikes out of the standard painted bike lanes for the duration of the roundabout. They're pretty good, but they're made of pedestrian grade smooth concrete rather than a smooth textured asphalt that would be more ideal for bikes, but it is a surprising example in a town with mostly shared paths and standard painted lanes. I would like to see this expand in my hometown.

[@carsonho9338]

I visited Toronto 2 years ago, good thing is downtown bike lanes were built at some streets, but sometimes Barriers are missing completely made me confused

[@jasserole]

I think you might be a bit too positive on Bloor. The bike lane is way too narrow for all the traffic it gets and it makes for some really tight passing.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Ooh, passing in a bike lane. That might be a future video topic 😉

[@alexseguin5245]

Since you came all the way to Ontario to film this, are you planning to travel to Québec as well? Montreal has also been building some new infrastructure!

[@telocity]

The last one shows a line of cars parked on other side of bike lane. Get parked cars off street, more car parks in area are needed. If that is same on opposite side of street that combined reclaimed space could be used for a trolley line.

[@mah6183]

On University one thing I saw that you didn’t mention was the car parking. In Pennsylvania the law states that cars must park within 12 inches of the curb. That is stopping a lot of proposed bike lanes because car drivers fear losing their parking. What you saw on University is the proposed solution. A bill to amend the law to allow for it is in the legislature, now.

[@GreenPenguinSliding]

This is pretty good info!

[@alishasingh4856]

I’m moving to St. Catherine’s, Ontario this fall and I want to get a bike for myself for daily commute to my college. Keeping the weather conditions in mind which bike can you suggest me to get?

[@tanketom]

0:55 Is e-moped/scooters allowed in bike lanes in Toronto? Or is that some sort of hybrid that is considered "e-bike enough"?

[@brushlessmotoring]

Love your optimism, the risk of course is another car centric council gets in and rips it all up again. Pretty disappointed to see the e-scooter ban supported by 100% of Toronto's council on debunked claims about safety (taken in a vacuum and not viewed in context to the danger posed by the car journeys scooters will replace).

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I can't believe the scooter rhetoric in Toronto. It's not like they haven't been tried elsewhere. Bizarre. And I don't particularly love scooters.

[@Amir-jn5mo]

Definitely look into Gil Penalosa for this upcoming municipal election. He is a long time urban advocate and former mayor of Bogota. Lots of urban friendly vibes there.

[@sharpless]

I hate those, can be found thrown away, or parked across the bike/ped path, and just plainly horrible for everyone.

[@brushlessmotoring]

@@sharpless for dock-less rentals, yes, they are a nuisance - but for privately owned micro mobility, people are not going to abandon their own devices like that, they will take care of them and store them at home or work. I think Vancouver got it right, their pilot was for privately owned scooters only. Richmond, BC, has allowed Lime to operate, but with specific docks you have to return the scooter to, you can’t leave them anywhere. I have a theory, places that allow dock-less scooter rentals are actually trying to turn public opinion against non car transportation - they are trying to foster the anti scooter opinion you have expressed - so they can ban them more easily and continue car dominance as the only form of urban mobility. The UK has done exactly this, only dock-less scooter rentals are allowed, and the police will ticket you heavily if you have a private scooter (see Electroheads videos on it) and confiscate your scooter - you have to use the nuisance rental scooters.

[@sharpless]

@@brushlessmotoring absolutely, private vehicles are generally less of a hassle. Over here it seems to be difficult to ban the dockless rentals. Privately owned are allowed, as long as they have a motor effect less than 250W and can't forget more than 20 km/h. There are laws that will try to ban parking on paths and such, but I doubt that will help.

[@Ddaverr1]

What time did you record this! The streets are empty! Nice video 👍🏻

[@Shifter_Cycling]

It’s a weekday morning after rush hour, so yes, things were pretty quiet

[@JustaGuy_Gaming]

The problem with bike rush jobs is they are mostly disconnected bike lanes and very little else in terms of bike safe intersections or safe bike parking.

[@daniellicht]

I'm from Toronto, you showed some of the better lanes, should show where there are bikes painted on the ground but no dedicated lane just a shared road with cars & the cars typically don't care. That said we also have some great bike paths outside of roads meant more for exercise than transport such as beltline and around don valley.

[@1966johnnywayne]

Bike stencils, painted lines, semi-permanent barriers...these are all half measures. Until cities build dedicated bicycle paths that separate cars and bicycles this will not change much. It is not the car drivers fault nor the cyclists fault, it is the lack of vision for a true cycling city by our "leaders".

[@juniper4009]

Well done T.O 👏👏. Now St.John’s, NL needs to get with the program

[@bikinglikebecker]

Rob Ford had the right idea.. and I say this as a cyclist that has been riding my whole life over 40 years.... just make the curb lane shared... Countries that have snow should not have bike lanes... but if you want to keep bike lanes then so be it, but please for the love of god take down the bike lane on Danforth!! It is blocked by restaurant patios anyway & Danforth "used to be" an awesome place to ride with the curb lane wide enough to accommodate Parking, Patios & cyclists with enough space for cars to still use the curb lane to drive in.... I told all my bike messenger friends bike lanes are stupid & they all laughed, but within a year they all came back and complained about the very same things that I said bike lanes were stupid for... especially segregated lanes when you have to ride INTO an intersection before you can prepare to make a left hand turn!!!

[@mikefreiberger2040]

Bike lane react, which might be the most urban nerd thing I've ever said. Gold shifter! Pure gold!

[@tompaah7503]

Is that tram tracks on Adelaide Street?

[@TheBikeChallenge]

ever been to the UK? London has some great ones and some really sketchy ones too

[@therealsunnyk]

Quick question for Mr Shifter: How do you transport your bike to different cities? Do you put it on a car and then do reviews, or do you hire bikes? How do you do it?

[@superfly2449]

I think it was a rental bike in this video.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

This time I was using the public bike-share bikes, but I recently picked up a folding bike. Stay tuned for a video about that

[@blake-gl4wn]

Would be cool to have a video on amsterdams journey of building bike lanes. I haven’t seen a good video on KZbin.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Have you tried kzbin.info?

[@rock2946]

I'd love to see how you'd rate my city's bike infrastructure honestly. I personally rate it a D+. Too narrow lanes, no separation from traffic, no protection from traffic, lanes suddenly disappear forcing you to walk on the sidewalk, and too many potholes and road damage (only in the bike lane). I give it a few points for the bike paths that are completely separated from the road but they don't help with daily commuting and are mainly for leisure riding.

[@lowrads3653]

If we added abundant olivine minerals to cement, at least in the top coating, it would probably not need to be repainted in the lifetime of the surface. Olivine does weather, but without car traffic, it should still last a long time, especially in dry regions.

[@andycowan324]

I lived their in 2017 for a year and found it incredibly hostile to cycling. That said there was a massive amount of enforcement against illegal parking in cycle lanes where they existed. Its not a huge city and would be an incredible template for a cycling city.

[@zaired]

Come to Ottawa and Montreal!

[@myindigoblues5796]

This is how I feel about Edmonton coming from Vancouver

[@geoffreyhoney122]

Born and raised in Toronto. Rode my bike in the late 70's early80's from Lawrence and Avenue Road down to UofT and back. No infrastructure then and super dangerous. Although I left to teach for 35 years in Cobourg, as many have said, these changes are just over the past few years! Toronto has come a way and has more to go to even catch up to my new hometown of Hamilton which has a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community's rating! Super video and great to finally see some progress! Thanks for this Tom!

[@troydonaldson]

Toronto already has a Gold Bicycle Friendly Community rating, along with Ottawa and Waterloo.

[@WollyFatboy]

Shifter, what bike are you using in this vid?

[@Shifter_Cycling]

The Toronto Bike Share bikes. I shot this video 30 minutes at a time 🤣

[@oaueo]

Do this with Cincinnati! I keep wanting to see my city discussed - we have a lot of shortcomings, but there are also plans for connectivity and people *are* trying to move things toward bike-friendliness. I'm one of only three people I know here who gets around exclusively by bike, and most of the time it feels like I'm about to get killed, but I keep holding out hope! (If there are any other Cincinnatians in the comments section, please let me know!)

[@KcarlMarXs]

Toronto had made some of the best strides in bike infrastructure for the use of EVERYONE, not just painted lames. I consider moving back just so I can ride with friends (who aren't cyclists)

[@hayterrlgmailcom]

Thanks! You do more to address climate change than all politicians are able to accomplish!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Amazing, thank you Richard, for the kind words and support. It means a lot!

[@pennyroyal3813]

I cycled in Toronto throughout the 80s and there were zero bike lanes. Next trip should be Montreal, please. I took a friend out today (a Torontonian) who isn't a confident rider and she had a great time.

[@macedaking]

They have to cut down on the cars through downtown. The road noise is deafening.

[@jimlee7570]

I live in a strange place; here in Daytona Beach, Florida, we actually have bike lines. This is kind of surprising considering the rest of the town is very motor vehicle-oriented. The problem I have is that almost all our bike lanes are just lines painted on the asphalt; sometimes I can see some vehicles crossing over into the bike lanes. I guess even this is better than no bike lanes at all but, still, little/no protection from traffic isn't helpful; as a result you'll still see a lot of bicyclists taking the sidewalks. I think even plastic bollards would be a big improvement; no, they don't provide the sturdy physical protection of concrete barriers but, on the other hand, what motorist is going to ding up his car by purposely running over plastic barriers?

[@mikafoxx2717]

At least the plastic barriers help prevent stuff like tire bits and car bits and rocks from dump trucks from rolling into the lane to trip up bike goers

[@janetparsons4088]

A long ways to go! I live in north Etobicoke and work in the Jane/Weston area. No bike lanes for me here! I am able to use a bit of a multi use trail, otherwise using the right lane when not blocked by parked cars! On parts of Islington they will blow their horns at you if you try to use the road!! They do more in the downtown and forget about the rest it seems. I hope that changes!!

[@NoobixCube]

Jeez, I wish the bike lanes in Melbourne were as good as the worst of those. All of your bike lanes are _at least_ twice the width of the ones I have, and mine are all signed and marked for parking, anyway! The bike lanes in Melbourne are rarely even as wide as the bike glyph painted in them. I constantly worry my pannier basket is sticking out into traffic!

[@RailBuffRob]

This reminds me of Philadelphia, they resist building lanes, paint dangerous ones with zero engineering and they built a few nice semi-protected protected lanes that are typically full of parked cars that the city does next to nothing about.

[@youtube7076]

it is a decent video of some of the MOST downtown "hub routes" on torontos MAJOR thoroughfares, next time also include some of the 'spoke routes" youll find many of them to be in very quiet areas youll never see a car around. 5/10 good start.

[@Spider-zx6dm]

Toronto is okay. only thing are the streetcar track. That can be scary for ppl on narrow tires.

[@andriygera]

Great contend thanks

[@Viniter]

That's some very generous grading right there. Does a bike lane achieve a passing grade by merely existing? Is a D grade bike lane booby-trapped?

[@AntonWongVideo]

Looks like your conclusion was shot near U of T which had separated, protected, two-way bike lanes behind you

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Yes, the infrastructure around campus seemed to be pretty solid.

[@snoopyloopy]

I don't know, I have my doubts about the Inland Empire...

[@Raging-Lion]

Connectivity is a huge problem, the culture needs to change so that EVERYONE on anything can freely and safely use the road to get to where they wanna go and when they wanna go there.

[@kostyafedot551]

One of the candidates on current election where is pushing against of bike lanes in Toronto. And some bike lanes are next to no maintenance in winter. I rode from Toronto downtown east to the west of Toronto for 56 km. Lakeshore bike path is in rough condition.

[@amandajane8227]

Perhaps those stretches that are unprotected are outside the entrances to large office blocks and they are kept clear for emergencies so that fireys or ambos can get close to the doors. When I see what London has done and the huge number of cyclists using the new infrastructure I really don't understand modern 1st world cities that can't learn from it and do cycling infrastructure better.

[@dznrboy]

I commute by bike everyday in Toronto, biking in downtown Toronto is dangerous especially at peak times, painted bike gutters are joke, and a lot of them are not connected and drivers have no respect for them.

[@ex0stasis72]

I think it's possible to improve the bike friendliness of a city in a relatively short amount of time, but that all assumes that you can live affordable close to where you need to go. The people who need bike friendliness the most are probably the ones how can't afford to live in a dense, mixed use neighborhood. Not only would it be prohibitively expensive to develop bike friendly routes from the suburbs to urban environments, but it's also asking a lot of new or future cyclists to bike instead of drive those distances. So, as with most political problems the solution has to involve multiple changes simultaneously.

[@dowroa]

Do you have enough experience in Toronto to show what actual changes things like walkability and protected bike lanes have already changed in the city (businesses, etc) since the last time you visited?

[@VideoNOLA]

Wow, riding without a helmet. Example much? Amazing that they allow motorcycles in the bike lane. Also, 1:30 those train tracks are totally hazardous to bikes.

[@Jinrikagero]

Those ones are the less ideal bike lanes. if you go further west of bloor street towards christie pits park it gets better. I also suggest lakeshore multi path. Theres actually a guy exploring the new bikes lanes. Heres his channel. Check it out. kzbin.info Those new lanes are pretty good

[@jw6825]

I ride up/down University Ave every day, and have prior to the bike lane addition. The change is meh. Yes, for stretches, you're separated with the white flexi-sticks, but cars and large trucks are still turning at each intersection, and it feels like the cyclist is even less visible or noticed by the cars. Oh, and navigating the un-bike-laned stretch south of Richmond to Union Station is just nasty, with perpetually traffic-jammed automobiles resenting your cycling progress as they fume and crawl along to their Expressway on-ramp.... or that's how it feels. On the other hand, I've been fortunate and never had a cycling accident since riding downtown in the late 80's.

[@aaronlaw97]

Will you do a similar review on Montreal's bike paths as well? The current mayor Valerie Plante has heavily pushed for bike infrastructure development since she was first elected.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I love Montreal and can’t wait to get back. It’s been a few years.

[@Chris-qj3dk]

After trying to bike one time in Manhattan, I would say Toronto is 1000% more bike friendly LOL.

[@AbhilashBingi]

Thanks!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you Abhilash! I appreciate the support

[@Kevin_geekgineering]

robby and doggy ford ruined toronto and made it the most car infested unlivable ***hole in Canada, and it's getting worse in terms of cycling and pedestrian safety, drivers are so crazy in this city (and all the GTA) that you can not even trust the green/red light you have to pass on crosswalk like it's last moments of your life. so stressful. this city is not a place for people outside car. car supremacy on full action here

[@monteman59]

Toronto sucks to ride a bike ,I go there often