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Mayor Rob Ford earned the ire of cyclists earlier this year when council voted to scrap the bike lanes on Jarvis Street. But now it appears that, in another part of downtown, the city is moving ahead with improved cycling infrastructure.

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A report coming to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting at City Hall on Thursday will “authorize the general manager of transportation services to initiate a municipal class environmental assessment study for separated bicycle lanes within the Richmond-Adelaide corridor, between Bathurst Street and Sherbourne Street.”

If the committee, and then city council, approves this report, the city could put in a pilot project to “install and evaluate separated bicycle lanes on the preferred alignment during the course of the study.” The pilot, should council approve it, would cost $400,000 at the low end, for one-way bike lanes (eastbound on Adelaide and westbound on Richmond), or $1.35-million for bi-directional bike lanes on either Richmond or Adelaide.

The report leans toward installing the lanes on Adelaide rather than busier Richmond, to minimize impact on car traffic.

It’s absolutely amazing to watch the City of Toronto tiptoe around this issue, considering that physically separated bike lanes are commonplace in cities such as Montreal and New York, especially given the loan that the city has guaranteed for the Bixi bike rental system. Where is Jack Layton when we need him?