An enforcement blitz is needed to keep drivers from parking in the new Sherbourne St. bike lanes, a cycling advocacy group says.

With low, rounded curbs that are easy to drive over, parcel trucks and taxis are already stopping in the lanes for passengers and to make deliveries, an invasion of a dedicated space intended only for cyclists.

Unless a lot of $150 tickets are issued for blocking a cycling lane — a new fine authorized by city council just last week — http://cycleto.ca/Cycle TorontoEND says there is no way to stop them.

“We’d like parking enforcement do a real blitz the first couple of months after they’re open to make sure drivers get the idea,” said Jared Kolb, Cycle Toronto’s director of campaigns and membership.

The lane on the west side is almost finished between Carlton and Bloor StsEND. and is already being used by cyclists, while construction is well underway on the east side and could be finished by the end of the month.

The lower portion, between Carlton and King St., won’t be done until next year.

With a final attempt to save the Jarvis St. bike lanes rejected last week by city council, Sherbourne lanes, which separate cyclists from traffic, will be a key north-south route for bike riders.

We’ve seen two photos of a UPS parcel truck that had mounted the barrier and parked in the bike lane, including one sent to us by Alan Heisey, an avid cyclist and former chair of the Toronto Police Services Board.

Heisey raised the same question as Kolb: “Will the police enforce the new bylaw?”

When we checked it out last week we were surprised the curbs are so low and rounded on top; it’s like an invitation to drivers to park.

Many of the buildings north of Carlton have laneways that require the curbs to be cut down even with the pavement, making it even easier for a vehicle to breach the cycling lane.

Dan Egan, Toronto’s manager of cycling infrastructure, said the curbs had to be designed to allow police vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks to pull over them in emergencies.

“It’s not an ideal situation,” said Egan. ‘If we had a lot wider street, it would have been a much simpler design.

“This is the challenge of trying to do a separated bike lane on such a narrow two-way street.”

While the “rolled” curbs are easy for vehicles to mount, Kolb noted that they are too high for cyclists to ride over.

“When a cyclist is blocked by a parked car, they literally have to dismount and walk into traffic or go up on the sidewalk,” he said. “It’s dangerous and disrespectful.

“Enforcement in the first few months needs to be swift to shape behaviour,” he said. During a blitz, “police should give out leaflets or hanging tags with tickets to explain why parking in a separated bike lane is so dangerous.”

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Vigilant enforcement of the no-parking rule is an important element of the new lanes, said Egan, adding that “we have to rely on drivers to obey the law.

“If we have to, we’ll crack down with enforcement.”

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